FLL Mission Overview Part 6 - Oil Drilling
Objective: Move the three oil barrels off the Oil PlatformPoint Worth: 10 points.
Mission Location: Bottom left (South West) corner of mat.
Estimated Difficulty Level: 6/10
Time Length Rating: Medium
Unique Challenge Aspects: Scoring objects in this mission are also scoring objects in another mission.
This mission has a couple interesting twists to it. At first glance, it might seem easier than it is - just press a nice wide lever and out rolls all three Oil Barrels for 10 points. While this is technically all you have to do for this mission, you'll lose 40 points from another mission (Oil Barrels) if one of the barrels is touching water at the end of the round. The Oil Barrels mission also gives you an extra ten points per barrel if you transport them back to base. Because of these factors, we've given this mission a 6/10 difficulty level. The time length rating for this mission is medium, because the robot may need to travel around the parking lot when going to the Oil Platform because of robot parts and scoring objects that might be in the lot.
-Jonathan
Richard's comments: Wow! This post covered pretty much everything, so I'll go through some of the Q & A points, found here: http://www.firstlegoleague.org/default.aspx?pid=29620
1) Jonathan mentioned that you lose 40 points from the Oil Barrels mission if any oil barrel is in the ocean. However, per Q&A 9, if the oil barrel is completely on a ship, which is in the ocean, then no penalty will be taken.
2) However, if the Flood covers the oil barrel, it does NOT save you from the 40 point penalty.
3) Also remember that the points for the Corn mission is dependant on bringing at least one oil barrel back to Base.
So looking at this mission, I would rate this a difficulty of 8/10. Definitely one of the harder ones this year!
Comments
The robot may drive through the parking lot for any mission. Teams may move the items around in the parking lot to create a path for the robot, or even take the items off the table and place them on a small table next to the mat to allow more room for the robot. So this is actually a straight line mission from the base to the platform.
Linda Zoe
So looking at this mission, I would rate this a difficulty of 8/10. Definitely one of the harder ones this year!"
Not so - you start with 5 barrels in base, one of which you can deliver to the farm. Completing this mission is not necessary to it's success.
Personally, I would rate this mission's difficulty at 2/10 because it is a straight shot from base and along a wall.
Josh
I second that. That is it's 10 points total for knocking them all off base - not 10 points for each barrel knocked off.
"Teams may move the items around in the parking lot to create a path for the robot"
With the exception of items moved in by the robot. They can't be touched - how the ref will be able to track this is beyond me
"Personally, I would rate this mission's difficulty at 2/10 because it is a straight shot from base and along a wall."
That's true but there is added difficulty in making sure they don't land in the water.
Whoops, you're right about the scoring - it is ten points total. I must've misread the description. Anyway I updated the post with the correct information.
As David pointed out, you can't move objects in the parking lot that were put there by the robot. Hence, it could very well not be a straight line from base.
Josh,
2/10 difficulty would mean it's only slightly harder than pushing the lever on the Solar Satellite, which is not the case. And although simply removing the barrels from the platform is quite easy (although most teams will need an auxiliary attachment), you will of course want to keep the barrels from landing on the water. Add to that bringing them back to base for the extra 30 points, and the mission can be quite complicated. It will of course be easier or harder for different teams, but I think a 6/10 is a good average.
-Jonathan
As far as the 40 point loss factor.. if you break the mission down into the following scenarios, it doesn't seem as risky as you would think:
1) you are able to retrieve all three barrels to base
40 points awarded
2) same as #1 but one barrel gets away and lands in the water
10 points for mission
20 points for each barrel
-40 for oil in water
= -10 points for failed attempt
(also loss of time on the clock)
3) opt out of mission - too risky
zero points
David
for Corn Misson, a barrel is required at the Farm, not at Base -
"2/10 difficulty would mean it's only slightly harder than pushing the lever on the Solar Satellite, which is not the case."
I disagree. Yes, the mission may require 1 or 2 attachments, but the target areas are large. Because it is near the south wall, this makes both navigation and manipulation very easy. Once you have control of the barrels, returning to base is inconsequential.
The Solar Panel was rated 7/10 (which I agree with). The Oil Drilling isn't anywhere near the difficulty of delivering the Solar Panel.
The risk of dropping a barrel is low, again, because the target area is large.
The only object that needs to be delivered to the parking lot is the Truck, which if executed properly will not interfere.
Josh
The demonstration video practically screams at you to catch the barrels, when it shows the red one falling off and then rolling beneath the platform!
Josh
Has your team solved the Solar Satellite, Solar Panel, and Oil Drilling missions yet? My team has solved all three, and I've observed that pressing the lever on the Solar Satellite (a mission that can be solved by a simple chassis and a program consisting of one move forward block) was much easier than dumping the oil barrels off the platform, containing them, and bringing them back to base. It also seemed slightly easier for them to solve than the Solar Panel mission (which they solved with one simple aux. attachment and no sensors).
My ratings are definitely not completely accurate, and will vary for certain teams. The best I can do is base my ratings off of my experience in FLL in past years and from watching my team this year.
-Jonathan
Yes, my team has solved the Solar Satellite, Solar Panel, and Oil Drilling missions. I agree, the Solar Satellite is easier than Oil Drilling. I would rate the non-competitive 15 points of the Solar Satellite at 1/10 and the Oil Drilling at 2/10.
I think that the Solar Panel is more difficult than Oil Drilling because it isn't directly along a wall or a straight shot from base. Again, the target area to manipulation size ratio is significantly higher on the Solar Panel mission.
"My ratings are definitely not completely accurate, and will vary for certain teams."
They should only vary slightly. I agree that a mission can be slightly more difficult because of base robot design, but the mission difficulty is near standard.
I try to make non-biased ratings based on Manipulation to Target size ratio, Navigation Difficulty, and Manipulation Difficulty. These are roughly the same no matter who you are.
Josh
Jonathan and Richard are basing their reviews on their own experiences, their teams' experience, and probably some simple guessing.
Let's move on... there are plenty more missions to discuss.
Jim
If the truck is delivered to the farm, can the oil barrels in the truck count as the 2nd part of the Corn Harvest and Processing (one Oil Barrel has been moved TO the Farm)?
Thanks
Dexter