Sumo Bots B/C [Trial]

[kahafman]

I think kahafman is asking about B.

yes, sorry for not being specific

[gh]

Well, yes, of course it's a wedge bot; that's like saying it was "sumobot-shaped." There are a lot more variations on the wedge that make different designs more or less competitive, however, beyond making the scoop lower, sharper, and more steep (all of which are obvious though important), but they'll come to you more easily by intuition and experience than by reading about it here. Also, it's pretty important to adapt the design to your operator.

The rules are (almost?) the same across divisions, and the winning Niskayuna bot was a four-wheeled metal design using what looked like roller-blade wheels or similarly-made custom wheels. It had vertical plates all around the outside of the bot, with the side plates containing bearings supporting the shafts. There were concave metal scoops in the front and the back.

It seemed to have extremely high acceleration, and its strategy seemed to be ramming the opponent robot upwards of 5m/s before other robots (almost all of which tended to be fairly slow) could even move a foot or so.

Overall, I think what set it apart from other bots was they were able to pack a lot of power (I would guess at least 500W peak) into a polished, well thought out chassis. That indicates a team that really wanted to win the event and was willing to go above and beyond to build it, including adopting parts from heavier classes of R/C robots and spending a ton of cash. You need more than that to win, of course, but the lack of those would hurt you considerably in competition.

I think we definitely need to scale this event down some more before it stops becoming a battle of wallets. I would say maybe 500 grams to 1 kg max mass. All other portions of the event (field size, max voltage, etc.) are in pretty good shape.

[kahafman]

Well, yes, of course it's a wedge bot; that's like saying it was "sumobot-shaped." There are a lot more variations on the wedge that make different designs more or less competitive, however, beyond making the scoop lower, sharper, and more steep (all of which are obvious though important), but they'll come to you more easily by intuition and experience than by reading about it here. Also, it's pretty important to adapt the design to your operator.

The rules are (almost?) the same across divisions, and the winning Niskayuna bot was a four-wheeled metal design using what looked like roller-blade wheels or similarly-made custom wheels. It had vertical plates all around the outside of the bot, with the side plates containing bearings supporting the shafts. There were concave metal scoops in the front and the back.

It seemed to have extremely high acceleration, and its strategy seemed to be ramming the opponent robot upwards of 5m/s before other robots (almost all of which tended to be fairly slow) could even move a foot or so.

Overall, I think what set it apart from other bots was they were able to pack a lot of power (I would guess at least 500W peak) into a polished, well thought out chassis. That indicates a team that really wanted to win the event and was willing to go above and beyond to build it, including adopting parts from heavier classes of R/C robots and spending a ton of cash. You need more than that to win, of course, but the lack of those would hurt you considerably in competition.

I think we definitely need to scale this event down some more before it stops becoming a battle of wallets. I would say maybe 500 grams to 1 kg max mass. All other portions of the event (field size, max voltage, etc.) are in pretty good shape.

I think it was a bad idea to make the bot bigger yet weigh less. We are using a Losi car, which has lots of speed. We are making a scooper kind of thing, and will later make a wedge for States.

[creightonperson]

One of our wheels fell off, do you have a suggestion to put it back on? Ther is a spot to put it back on, but I am afraid i might glue the turning gear and it won't turn. It won't turn right now and the left just does donuts.

[Flavorflav]

Well, yes, of course it's a wedge bot; that's like saying it was "sumobot-shaped."

The first year's winner was a pyramid, but the bots were 50 cm then and the ring was 10'.

[Primate]

I think it was a bad idea to make the bot bigger yet weigh less. We are using a Losi car, which has lots of speed. We are making a scooper kind of thing, and will later make a wedge for States.

I'm not familiar with the R/C brand specifically, but are you sure that has enough torque? All of the modified remote control carbots at my regional competition could easily be taken out by a well-built Vex bot. If you modify it enough, though, you might have a chance. We had a heavily modified Vex bot win our competition, but that was largely my fault for turning the wrong way .

One of our wheels fell off, do you have a suggestion to put it back on? Ther is a spot to put it back on, but I am afraid i might glue the turning gear and it won't turn. It won't turn right now and the left just does donuts.

Are you using a kit or something to build your bot? If not, you're pretty much on your own. (We have no idea what your bot looks like.)

[kahafman]

I think it was a bad idea to make the bot bigger yet weigh less. We are using a Losi car, which has lots of speed. We are making a scooper kind of thing, and will later make a wedge for States.

I'm not familiar with the R/C brand specifically, but are you sure that has enough torque? All of the modified remote control carbots at my regional competition could easily be taken out by a well-built Vex bot. If you modify it enough, though, you might have a chance. We had a heavily modified Vex bot win our competition, but that was largely my fault for turning the wrong way .

The Vex's in our school got owned in like the first round, and they pretty much sucked.

[Primate]

I think it was a bad idea to make the bot bigger yet weigh less. We are using a Losi car, which has lots of speed. We are making a scooper kind of thing, and will later make a wedge for States.

I'm not familiar with the R/C brand specifically, but are you sure that has enough torque? All of the modified remote control carbots at my regional competition could easily be taken out by a well-built Vex bot. If you modify it enough, though, you might have a chance. We had a heavily modified Vex bot win our competition, but that was largely my fault for turning the wrong way .

The Vex's in our school got owned in like the first round, and they pretty much sucked.

Yeah, I was quite surprised too, especially since ours was a custom built bot. I later found out that the guy had laser cut some sort of plexiglass/plastic (I didn't get a good look) to form a perfect blade on all four sides of his Vex bot (it was a pyramid-shaped thing). It would have been no problem last year, but the stupid tennis balls make speed much more of a factor. He was able to get to his ball and broadside me before I was halfway to mine, and the rules prevented me from turning and giving my wedge a chance.

All the other Vex bots don't even deserve to be mentioned, though. No worries.

[kahafman]

Yeah, I was quite surprised too, especially since ours was a custom built bot. I later found out that the guy had laser cut some sort of plexiglass/plastic (I didn't get a good look) to form a perfect blade on all four sides of his Vex bot (it was a pyramid-shaped thing). It would have been no problem last year, but the stupid tennis balls make speed much more of a factor. He was able to get to his ball and broadside me before I was halfway to mine, and the rules prevented me from turning and giving my wedge a chance.
All the other Vex bots don't even deserve to be mentioned, though. No worries.

We just had the regionals, and we were good, (6th place, so close to a medal!) we used a special tactic, but it didnt work twice. Were goin to states, were gonna practice. so the vexes all lost. (btw, losis rule)

[iYOA]

so is vex generally a good idea ? provided that it is well built