These videos show two Catapult robots that did some major damage at the Georgia TSA Qualifier this weekend. Completely cleared the field almost every round. SP’s? Who needs stinkin’ SP’s?
They ended up against each other in the finals - boy was that fun.
They could score fast and do it from ANYWHERE on the field.
Good luck stopping these guys at Worlds …
NOTE TO SUNNY: Yes these two are coming to YOUR event this weekend. Be afraid, very afraid …
Wow. For what it’s worth, I cast my vote for this bot to become template of the year.
wishes YouTube was higher resolution
10Z also has a spatula flipper catapult, but it isn’t this well developed. I agree that this will be a popular design.
I’m scared T3T that bot looks beastly , but i think i understand the basics for it=p
omgg catapults that actualy WORK!!!
however, you’ll notice that their opponets wernt that great eithor
it would be interesting to see one of these against a working"dumper" type
quite scary that the robot kinda “shoots” the balls to the other side, is it legal to attack their opponents?
I would be afraid if I was going to lose, but I don’t see that happening. 
But really, the 1235 robots looked really good.
Mudomeek’s point has some validity to it. I’m pretty sure you’ll see a pretty good “dumper” type at the PRHS Qualifier ;). Plus, team SHIRT is at our event, and they NEVER disappoint.
There’s nothing against attacking your opponents. 
I like these (a lot), but, even though how the balls get from your side to somewhere else is interesting; it isn’t part of your final score.
Everyone should continue to ask themselves how to end a match with fewer balls on thier side of the field.
There are
[INDENT]W Small Balls
X Medium Balls
Y Large Balls[/INDENT]and
[INDENT]20+120 Seconds[/INDENT]
Blake
Very impressive. I like the unique idea of a launcher. There is still strong competiton out there that is not a shooter, like a current 4-time tournament champion…
WOOT!
mah whole team is here!!
lol
bakc on topic:
btw why didnt they want any sp?
were they that sure that they were going to win every single game?
btw post vids (fast :D) in sunny’s competition
wanna see how they work out with sunny’s “good” dumpers 
Hhahaha. The PRHS VEX Qualifier is this upcoming weekend.
Our dumper needs to be “tweaked” to optimize performance (Who would’ve thought that anti slip mat is actually sticky???) but I’m working almost everyday after school to prepare for the event from both the organizer’s standpoint and the competitor’s standpoint.
Holly cow, that little bot is fantastic!
here is a pretty good video
has anybody figured out the trigger mechanism?
i think these are cool but i think they can and will be defeated.
That video was taken by our very own programmer.
The mechanism is simple enough. The robot uses surgical tubing to create the tension, and then it gets pull back on the arm. The claw/scooper is held down by a locking mechanism, and then when the locking mechanism is removed, BAM.
:D.
The evolution of VEX robots over the season is interesting. I know my students, like many, have been greatly influenced by the video of the launching robot, so I suspect we’ll see a few working launchers at Gladstone on December 12.
The teams that will be successful there, however, aren’t likely to be the teams that have copied the launcher design… but rather figured out how to beat a launcher design. As I like to say, there is nothing wrong with copying a design, so long as you are okay with being beaten by everyone who has improved upon it!
Right now I would suggest that robots have evolved a bit faster than strategy has.
I wonder how long it will be before we see the game being played in an entirely different way than it is right now?
Well, one can already see a change in the game.
Early in the season, rangitoto showed everyone how effective a dumper can be, and then we saw quite a few robots that followed suit and they created dumpers.
The 1235 robots have no shown how effective launchers can be, and like dt said, it won’t be long until teams follow suit.
245A was really good because they managed to incorporate both designs. They can probably beat a dumper, but I’m not sure how they’d do against launchers like 1235.
The game has already changed and it’s only December. I think the next breakthrough we see will be defensive. Some team will put up a monstrous wall or something or another.
Did you see 294 at their tournament? Their wall was pretty effective - they seeded #3 and went 7-1 in quals.
Here in Washington, it’s only November!
No offense, but we haven’t seen anything new yet. I don’t know about the rest of you, but our team had come up with launchers, dumpers, and walls within about two hours of seeing the game announcement. Nothing yet has blown me away. Several teams have shown amazing execution, but no breakthroughs in concept that have made my slap my forehead with a big DOH!
As much as I appreciate flawless execution (hello 254A), I await amazement.
You forgot about the month change between Washington and Georgia.
Well, that’s one example of how the game strategy has evolved. You created those launcher designs, and I’m sure quite a lot of other teams have thought of them as well, but it’s primarily the use of them in competition.
Where as maybe the initial designs have not changed, but people’s understanding of how to optimize performance might have changed.