So, did anyone build or consider building what we dubbed “vegetable bot”. We mapped this out and were really thinking about it
bot doesn’t even wheels its just basically a big block that sits there, and with 30 seconds left on the clock, the sides fold down
And with then once the robots are on the sides, they go up to get the lift
Basically a robot that just lifted other bots, the 12 inches, which was 60 points, we figured we would be the ultimate alliance pick if we didnt get in on our own anyways. and it not moving made sure you were always in the zone no matter what
but we ended up with a robot that moves, can reach the bottom and middle rack and lift one robot 4 inches
Maybe I’m missing your point, but if a team is going to build a robot whose only feature is to lift/elevate other robots above the playing field for the bonus points, then during the time that they aren’t lifting (approx. 1:30), wouldn’t the “dead weight” be put to better use playing defense…?
We thought about a robot that was just a rampbot who never left the home zone but would also have added the ability to block the opposing alliance from getting the 9 ringers at the back of your zone. A bot like this could have some interesting features due to rules differences inside and outside the home zone (for example wedges are legal inside the home zone).
If you went with no drive you could have created the first 100% autonomous robot which would have been somewhat cool in it’s own right.
In the end, we decided it would be much more fun to score tubes and took that approach.
We discussed that. If you dedicate all your weight to a lifting system, you could take care to make the platforms bigger than they need to be, and with vertical “walls” on the sides to stop alliance robots from driving off. The idea lost to the fun factor and the general team preference.
That’s pretty interesting. We were actually thinking the same thing. We figured that the robot-lift would be the biggest feature of the game, and if we could design a robot that did just that every single time, it would be pretty good.
However, we never seriously focused on that idea because come on, that would not be fun at all.
I hate to play the role of devil’s advocate here but… what if a robot of the opposing alliance pushed you out of your home zone because they had THAT much pushing force and none of your alliance partners had enough torque to push you back in?
While simulating the game at the beginning of the season, we had bots like this in a couple of our matches. The end results were mixed, but typically the other alliance would establish a pretty decent lead on the rack from the 3-on-2 advantage they had. The alliance with the “vegetable bot” could be fairly competitive if the ringer bots spent the entire match disrupting opposing rows (as opposed to building their own) and the other alliance didn’t have as much of a lifting bonus, but in most other situations, it got beaten pretty badly.
An interesting concept! But, it could potentially block access to your alliance’s dispensing slots. That could limit availability of your own Spoilers, which might be a strategic mistake!
Hey… What about a “Goalie” robot, that is a deployable double ramp, but in addition is intended to operate TOTALLY within in the home zone throughout the entire game??? That bot could deploy over 72" in the wide direction right away, still be a double 12" ramp at the end, AND simply move back and forth during the game itself to block oppenent access to the row of Ringers! (Hmmmm…)
Anyone out there trying THAT one?
Keith McClary
Chief Engineer, Team 1502, “Technical Difficulties”