Let's Plan for VEX Next Year!

Each season’s VRC game is a complex challenge for teams to design and build a robot for. Each year a new game is released in April; students design and build robots throughout the year, competing at local events. 

But certain game aspects repeat themselves, year after year. Team 1614 has been playing VRC five years now:

• VRC Season 2012-2013 Sack Attack 
• VRC Season 2011-2012 Gateway 
• VRC Season 2010-2011: Round Up 
• VRC Season 2009-2010: Clean Sweep 
• VRC Season 2008-2009: Elevation

At today's meeting, we made a list of some of those aspects. It is reasonable to predict that whatever robot is designed for VEX next year will need to address these challenges:

• FIELD ELEMENTS - Many game objects
• FIELD ELEMENTS - Height Challenge of different sized goals
• FIELD ELEMENTS - Different sized game objects
• FIELD ELEMENTS - Played on foam mats
• AUTONOMOUS MODE - tape on the field requires sensor(s) to follow tape
• AUTONOMOUS MODE Followed by DRIVER MODE
• DRIVER CONTROL MODE - Assisting our alliance partner if overturned
• STRATEGY - How to score/descore objects
• STRATEGY - Organization! A place for everything. Don't waste time looking
• STRATEGY - Alliance selection scouting reports
• STRATEGY - Selling ourselves, advertising for alliance partners in playoffs
• STRATEGY - Interview with Judges
• STRATEGY - Have fun!

LET’S PLAN FOR VEX NEXT YEAR! SOLUTIONS
Next year's robot should be versatile enough to address those challenges with some core design philosophy:

• ROBOT BASE - Holonomic base, Omnidirectional wheels
• ROBOT BODY - Low Center of Gravity
• ROBOT BODY- Scissor Lift
• ROBOT BODY - Motors in bottom
• ROBOT BODY - Battery Access, add weight to bass
• ROBOT BODY - Short telescoping arms for hard to reach heights
• STRATEGY - 2nd controller
• STRATEGY - photos of other team robots -- what's working for them?

Remember the 7 Ps: Prior planning and practice prevents piss poor performance!