Thought the same thing about tray bots but then we got cascading trays and mini trays that attached to lifts and then cube locks. Theres definitely going to be something.
I would also like to add that ITZ was very similar in that a rly good design was found super early in the season but, against all odds, a passive intake won worlds. There’s always something
Lol there are a lot of changes that can be made to the current “simple” snailbot. Think about how the scoring and descoring process works
I wouldn’t say against all odds… it clearly worked fine. It just wasn’t the most common thing. I wasn’t in ITZ but I have seen plenty of the intake from their itz photo album. Plus, that doesn’t discount whatever meta it was (the normal rollers??) that had been discovered early season. The thing is you kind of need some sort of obstacle to spur innovation in the way we are talking about. I am referring to being able to keep the stack in TT while towering. There is no similar problem this year that I know of. The game is achievable the way we have things right now. For me, it seems as if the main changes will just be ratios and efficiency. Don’t forget about programming either.
Ethan do you have some alternate design?
Yes
Do you believe it will be quite a bit better than the current design?? For example I don’t really see any reasons to fundamentally change something like the motor distribution or the purpose of what each motor is used for.
Yes
I too have some concepts that could make the hoodbot pretty op, while not (somewhat) over complicating it.
But they’re just concepts and the specifics arent there yet
There are a several passive mechanisms you can make this year that will make a significant impact on multiple key features of the game and more options for motor/power distribution than people seem to think
I know for certain that it is possible to make a fully functional hoodbot and still have 2 motors left over
Of course. That’s not the issue though. It’s power distribution; not necessarily just motor distribution
Bold claims coming from thread, I look forward to what designs you guys come up with
If you think thats bold, wait till you hear who’s winning worlds this year 
I wouldn’t deny you can have a 6m hoodbot, I am questioning why you would want to do that. I don’t see a huge amount of value in extra mechanisms right now because unless you want some sort of special defensive piece, there isn’t much I think you would want to sacrifice the simplicity of a normal 8m design for.
Yes I am interested in what you guys are able to make.
Ethan what do you mean by power distribution?
Also when the only actions are scoring and descoring I am curious what could be made passive and what choices this would provide.
You have a limited amount of power available, about 88w of motor power available, give or take. You need to spend it in the most efficient way possible. That’s what I mean by power distribution
I think 7 can actually be done with a folding spindexer
Yeah, when I made a spindexer CAD it could hold 6 easily with a 7th in the intakes, and possibility of an 8th in the flywheel. Not to mention the same sitting abilities as a trapdoor while keeping the opponent’s ball in the robot
My team is almost done building a hood bot. It can hold 3 balls.
Can someone please tell me what a spindexer is
It’s the part on a snailbot that actually brings the balls up to the goal.
Edit: Wrong ^^^
Llawc is correct
Its not actually that. Its similar to a hopper with a middle stirrer that moves the balls around in a circle. A bunch of FRC teams (such as 1690, 148, 254, 33, and 1619 to name a few) used them this past season. Paired with a vision sensor it could sort balls to be scored.