Team 250 Robot Concept Design Process

A week has already gone by and it seems as though the game was only released yesterday! That is not to say, however, that Team 250 has been sitting around doing nothing. On the contrary! Our students, alongside a few very devoted mentors, have broken up into teams, and have been working on concept design for potential robots. This week was the "prototype week"; it is possibly the most important period of the entire build season. During this short period, teams brainstormed and created mock-ups out of pink construction foam which represented what students believe is the best way to succeed in this game. When designing, each team had to not only consider what physical capabilities they wanted for their robot, but also take into consideration a potential strategy of how their robot will play the game. Every group came up with excellent and well thought-out designs, and obviously put a lot of thought and hard work into their creation. This continues to reinforce the dedication and commitment that everyone has towards this team and FIRST.

Although all of the mock-ups were designed differently, three reoccurring themes did emerge. First, it became very apparent that our robot would be under 4ft tall, giving us the capacity to weigh 120lbs. One of the limitations that FIRST imposes on us concern the height and weight of the robot; robots that are 4 ft. high can weigh up to 120lbs; 5ft. tall robots must weigh no more than 110 lbs, and the tallest possible robot at the beginning of the match, the 6ft robot, can weigh no more than 100lbs. A general consensus was agreed upon that the extra weight was crucial in this game, hence limiting our size to 4ft. Also repeated in several teams' bots was the ability for an arm to be capable of scoring on the top tier, nearly all teams planned for scoring on all three spiders. Finally, in an effort to take advantage of the bonus points, ramps became commonplace amongst the designs. Previous years have shown us that those bonus points can often greatly influence who wins at the end of the match. While using the mock-ups for a concept design helps us make design decisions, it also showed many different and diverse strategies and mechanisms that other teams may use, so it actually helps us with game strategy.

For the next few days, we will be testing and trying to perfect which designs will help our robot achieve its absolute potential. With this being said, it becomes essential that everyone on the team not only learn and understand the what our robot can do, but also has a complete comprehension on the game and its rules. Updates on the rules are sent out from FIRST periodically, sometimes weekly. Rules are clarified, and sometimes changed to ensure fair play and reduce misinterpretation of rules. Being aware of these updates is a priority for our team, because everything we do must be in compliance with the rules.