Subject:
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Re: rtlToronto11: Wrap up and Photo request
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto
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Date:
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Tue, 20 Aug 2002 01:14:38 GMT
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Viewed:
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538 times
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In lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto, Matthias Jetleb writes:
> Many thanks to all who participated, spectated, or organized. It was a
> fun event to participate in.
I agree! The great thing about this event was that it was simple enough to
attract many robot builders, but it was spectacular enough to entertain the
croud. I especially liked the surprising outcomes like when Bruces robot
reached the flag second, but was able to steal it!
> What really surprised me was that we had
> designs from each of the three major categories and each category
> finished in the top three - I really had expected the scissor-lift
> robots to be the likely winners
I was a little worried about this as well. I didn't want a go-go-gadget arm
to beat the real robots. In the end, what the arms gained in speed they lost
in reliability. The bridge crossers seemed to be more consistent.
> The three categories summarized:
Awesome summary! You tell it like it is!
> 1: The rugged outdoorsman individualist - led by Rob Stehlik:
> "I don't need no help from noooo-body! I'll build my own bridge, get
> my own flag and don't anyone get in my way!
>
> 2: The big-brother/little sister duos - led by John Guerquin and Ivan
> Louch: "I'll get the flag but I'm too scared of that chasm to cross it
> all by my self!"
These guys did an amazing job. The bridge was soooo slick. I just loved
watching it deploy. Also, the 'five footed self lifting' robot was nice. I
have seen this design before, but I'm not aware of is proper name. Can
anyone help with this?
> 3. The long-arm-of-the-(Murphy's)-law Goliaths - led by Doug Carlson:
> "I'm too wimpy to even try and cross the gap! I'll just throw an arm
> out there and hope I hit something*!"
I bet given more building time, Doug would have beat us all. His robot was
very fast, just a bit too unpredictable.
> The sheer speed of Robs machine and the smoothness of the bridge
> crossing amazed me, as did the concept of keeping the bridge inside
> the robot while crossing instead of the robot inside the bridge - and
> I thought I had the lightest bridge going.
Well... This was my second robot using the 'bridge straddling' technique.
The first one I built for the brickfest competition had many many problems.
I learned from my mistakes and made the next rendition a lot better. As far
as bridge weight, I'm sure yours was lighter. I really liked how you
deployed your bridge. In fact, I liked your entire robot. I was very compact
and crossed the bridge very reliably. Its too bad you had trouble locating
the flag. I bet replacing one of you light sensors with a rotation sensor
would have helped navigation a lot. In fact, I had an extra one and could
have lent it to you, but didn't think about it until now.
There were also some unique creations that don't fit in your categories: Rob
Z's 'hammer head' robot, his cousin Ron's 'cart on a bridge', Trevyns 'cart
on a bridge with really long wires', and Jeff E's RCX-less entry. I
especially liked the hammer head. A true example of thinking outside the
box. The big thump that occurred upon crossing was somewhat frightening, but
the robot seemed to take the beating (nice solid construction). This is the
one time I think suspension would be a useful addition to a robot.
I'm not sure if any of you noticed, but Ron's cart robot had a really nice
gripping mechanism. It was a simple toggle that would snap shut upon hitting
the flag and gripped the shaft with rubber bands. It was very clever. By the
way, did any of you get emails or contact info for these guys?
>
> Ivan's idea of solving the navigation problem by turning the wheels
> with the robot instead of turning the robot with the wheels was
> absolutely brilliant - I loved it!
>
> A great job by all the winners!
Thanks! I think this is the first time any of the rtl events have had such
close competition! John, Ivan and I were neck and neck right until the end!
It seems like most of the previous events have had one clear winner.
Remember Daveism? Anyway, this added a new level of competitiveness to the
group. In the end we were all winners, since we traded first and second
prize. For some unknown reason John and Ivan wanted the Yoda, So I was very
happy to take the UBS. What the heck was I going to do with thousands of
ugly green basic bricks anyway?
Rob
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: rtlToronto11: Wrap up and Photo request
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| (...) And I figured as much-building a consistent arm is as tough of a challenge as a bridge crosser. Some deflected a lot, like Bruce and Chris' (well mostly Chris') while others worked out good ways of resolving it: Doug Carlson used a double (...) (22 years ago, 20-Aug-02, to lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto)
| | | Re: rtlToronto11: Wrap up and Photo request
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| (...) This is what happens when you decide that the Grade 1 reading skills were an unnecessary step in life... When I was developing the robot earlier in the week, I built one of the flags. Now, I knew it used the large Mindstorms wheel rim at one (...) (22 years ago, 20-Aug-02, to lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: rtlToronto11: Wrap up and Photo request
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| (...) Many thanks to all who participated, spectated, or organized. It was a fun event to participate in. What really surprised me was that we had designs from each of the three major categories and each category finished in the top three - I really (...) (22 years ago, 19-Aug-02, to lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto)
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