Saw the poll about frame perimeter sizes and that got me curious. I know some years (2015 probably) spawned some pretty tall robots…but I’m wondering how tall exactly.
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max. height in 2015 was 6ft 6 in. Which I assume at least one team hit. Shrinky Dink wasn’t in season, but should be pretty close to smallest. I think there was also another very small one this year. @EricH mentioned in the other thread that 36 in by 36 in was the maximum starting config. in the past which I’m thinking would be the closest option to frame perimeter.
Also, I just found this thread: What was the Bigest FRC robot ever?
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Actually, for 2015, unlimited frame perimeter, just fit in the starting area of the field.
For height, you either want 2005 or 1999 as those were stacking games placing a premium on getting above a certain height. Most other years have had a height limit.
Also: Forget frame perimeter. You want the expanded size. I’m not sure ~20’ wide is going to be beatable (68 in 2003); 71 in 2002 covered an awful lot of ground as well.
A quick primer: Back in The Day, you had a box that your robot started in. How it fit was up to you, it just had to fit without using the box walls to support. Once bumpers and frame perimeter became a thing, the box was retired, and replaced by a maximum frame perimeter (except in 2017, maximum playing configuration size, and 2015, see above).
By the way, tacking on a bit here:
If you want small robots, 2008’s lap sprinters tended to be a bit smaller than their hurdling brethren. (Or you could go back to the early 1990s as robots were smaller then.) Beyond that, the smallest anybody’s reliably gotten has been about a 18" cube with FRC parts.
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The smallest is probably the Shrinky Dink.
Wasn’t there an FTC game a few years ago in which robots had to lift a bowling ball as high as possible? IIRC there were some 8’ robots then, right?
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Over 10 years ago there was Bowled Over… I’m old.
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In 2005 our robot could get to 13’ high, but I’m pretty sure there were taller bots out there.
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I’ve had this idea for a while and wondered if anyone ever made it: the longest, thinnest robot possible like a Pong paddle. The largest minimum dimension of any control system part is about 3" for the battery. Combine this with 1x2" tubing on either side, and you can make a robot with the dimensions of 5" x 55".
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MORE Robotics (1714) in 2015 could almost touch both sides of the field at the same time. I think there was another at the Wisconsin Regional that had a similar mechanism that was a little bit longer.
The pan out to somehow get the entire robot in the shot is hilarious
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The lame answer for smallest robot is probably something from Maze Craze, since the max size was about 15x20.
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I’ve seen some theoretically smaller robots than 15x20, but only in CAD, never manufactured.
It’s ok, there’s a lot of that going around.
This week I learned Orbit balls were discontinued before most current freshmen were born.
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And good riddance!
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I think 2910 in 2021 was a 22x22in frame(correct me if im wrong)
This bot was also pretty light I think
This bot in my opinion was the perfect combination of being competitive but also practical in size
1997 also didn’t have a height limit and advantage for being taller.
For “funsies” I’ve been CADing what 21x21, 19x19, 17x17, and 15x15 swervebots could look like. In theory we could get as small as 14x14 (our swerve modules are 7" on a side), but can’t figure a non-horrible way to do that.
We’ve built an 18x18 WCD robot (and less than 18" tall so, “FTCFIRST Tech Challenge legal size”).
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The smallest WCD CAD I’ve seen is 9" wide, don’t remember the length
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Figure I’d put this here. Kettering Kickoff Rat Race, 1684’s 11x18 vs. 6081’s 12x12
This little guy from 6377 is called Shrinky Dinky and is 10x10. The robot didn’t play in season, but they are adorable and worked hard in off-season!
Picture from above link:
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