Robot Arm C

[Torvoor]

I don't know if this is the right place to ask this question but here it goes....

What can be put in the bonus jug?
How many extra points can be garnered via the bonus jug?
Is the bonus jug worth attempting?

I have looked through my copy of the rules multiple times and cannot find this information. Maybe I am missing a page?

[bearasauras]

You can put any of the scoreable items in the bonus box. You get 10 points if you put any pencils, PVC, or nails in there (up to 30 points for the 3 different types), but if you put 2 of the same type (e.g. 2 nails), it counts as only 1 type (10 points). Those are in rule 7.e. As for your last question....yah, I can't seem to find the answer to that in the rules either.

[twototwenty]

I don't know if this is the right place to ask this question but here it goes....

What can be put in the bonus jug?
How many extra points can be garnered via the bonus jug?
Is the bonus jug worth attempting?

I have looked through my copy of the rules multiple times and cannot find this information. Maybe I am missing a page?

As for if the bonus jug is worth attempting, that largely depends on how good your arm is.
Specifically, if it is fast enough to move to the jug and back multiple times, if it doesn't slow down too much when fully extended, etc.

If you do decide to go for it, it might be a good idea to pick it up with your arm and move it closer to the arm's base, so you don't have to waste as much time extending to it.

[Ron_Swanson]

The maximum achievable score without putting any items in the bonus box is 73. I can tell you that at our regional a score of 73 would have gotten 4th place (our region had 21 schools; 15 of them competed in robot arm). So I doubt you would have any chance of medalling at state/nationals if you don't use the bonus box. However, you obviously have to balance your strategy with your time/ability in designing and practicing with your robot in order to optimize your points.

For what its worth, a robot that simply had a large plate on the front with a linear actuator (pneumatic, solenoid or motor w/ gear rack) that just pushed the nails and batteries into the north zone and did nothing else would score 24 points (9 items in north zone and 15 for the boxes not being knocked over) with only 1 motor. This score would have placed 6th in our region. Again, there were 15 teams who competed in this event.

Sometimes it pays not to overcomplicate things...

[ohiostar]

The maximum achievable score without putting any items in the bonus box is 73. I can tell you that at our regional a score of 73 would have gotten 4th place (our region had 21 schools; 15 of them competed in robot arm). So I doubt you would have any chance of medalling at state/nationals if you don't use the bonus box. However, you obviously have to balance your strategy with your time/ability in designing and practicing with your robot in order to optimize your points.

For what its worth, a robot that simply had a large plate on the front with a linear actuator (pneumatic, solenoid or motor w/ gear rack) that just pushed the nails and batteries into the north zone and did nothing else would score 24 points (9 items in north zone and 15 for the boxes not being knocked over) with only 1 motor. This score would have placed 6th in our region. Again, there were 15 teams who competed in this event.

Sometimes it pays not to overcomplicate things...

Asuming you are refering to CWRU regionals in NE Ohio last saturday, Do you know happen to know the top scores?

[Balsa Man]

That's good to hear- we may not be as bad off as I was afraid. Our guys had nothing but notes and a few sketches 3 weeks ago (with Regionals this coming Saturday). After first build weekend, it became apparent getting the beast together, with a working claw/grabber wasn't going to happen, so they built so it can easily be upgraded to run a grabber, but have almost finished rigging a pusher system for Regionals that should be able to push everything across the mid-line.

[Ron_Swanson]

The maximum achievable score without putting any items in the bonus box is 73. I can tell you that at our regional a score of 73 would have gotten 4th place (our region had 21 schools; 15 of them competed in robot arm). So I doubt you would have any chance of medalling at state/nationals if you don't use the bonus box. However, you obviously have to balance your strategy with your time/ability in designing and practicing with your robot in order to optimize your points.

For what its worth, a robot that simply had a large plate on the front with a linear actuator (pneumatic, solenoid or motor w/ gear rack) that just pushed the nails and batteries into the north zone and did nothing else would score 24 points (9 items in north zone and 15 for the boxes not being knocked over) with only 1 motor. This score would have placed 6th in our region. Again, there were 15 teams who competed in this event.

Sometimes it pays not to overcomplicate things...

Asuming you are refering to CWRU regionals in NE Ohio last saturday, Do you know happen to know the top scores?

There was one team who got a perfect score using 6 motors. Two teams scored in the 85-90 range using 4 motors and one team scored in the high 60's using 4 motors. All four of those robots may have been capable of getting a perfect score if everything went right. After that I think there was one team in the 50's and everyone else was in the 20's or below.

To other people who have judged this event: Do you have a system for determining whether the pencils go out of bounds? That was by far the hardest thing to judge. Many of the robots used a mechanism where the gripper sorta scooped up the pencil in a quick motion and it was really hard to tell if it had lifted off the ground before it crossed the line. Perhaps put a little bit of chalk on the tape? I used an "innocent until proven guilty" approach i.e. an object is in bounds unless I explicitly see it touch out of bounds, but I suspect that some of the pencils may have touched the line and I really couldn't see it. Any ideas?

[FueL]

Could anyone clarify on the meaning of "quality of technical documents" (the second tiebreak)? Assuming everything listed on the rules is included, are there any specific areas in the documents that would give a team an edge if they were particularly excellent?

[OldSpice]

Could anyone clarify on the meaning of "quality of technical documents" (the second tiebreak)? Assuming everything listed on the rules is included, are there any specific areas in the documents that would give a team an edge if they were particularly excellent?

I wouldn't really worry about that unless you're getting perfect scores with your arm.

[FueL]

I wouldn't really worry about that unless you're getting perfect scores with your arm.

Just curious, better to know sooner rather than later.