FRC Bumpers

Bumpers are a critical part of the FRC robot. Bumpers serve as the jersey for the robots in competition. In sports like football and basketball, team members have a jersey for Home games and a different jersey for Away games. In FIRST, the robots wear a jersey for Red Alliance and a different jersey for Blue Alliance.

The Bumpers also identify the player on the field. In sports like football and basketball, each player is assigned a number that is prominently displayed on their jersey. This helps the referees determine which player committed a foul. Even in the sport of auto racing, each team prominently displays their team number to help them be identified during a race, even as their sponsors change and the paint job on the car changes.

Even with the criticality of the Bumpers to the game, teams often leave the bumper design and fabrication to the last minute. Many teams rush to finish their bumpers at the last minute and end up with a product that is less than their best.

Today is robot Load-In for Week 3 events. It is too late to do much about your bumpers. It is however a time when teams are thinking about bumpers and possibly regretting the results that they have achieved. In this vulnerable time, I'm here to suggest a solution for next year's bumpers.

I recommend FRC Reversible Bumpers (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uw5eNlRrA46mTpt6AEXgEAwaTSo1M8Y5zvqxpXRycUA/edit?usp=sharing). This bumper design consists of four bumpers. Each mounted to one of the four sides of the robot. They stay mounted to the robot throughout a competition event because there is a flap that can be flipped up or down to switch between Red Alliance and Blue Alliance. The flap is secured by Hook and Loop Fastener.

FRC Reversible Bumpers require a lot less work between matches, which gives more time to coordinating with your Alliance Partner on your Match Strategy. They require half as many pool noodles, half as many wood backings, and half the mounting hardware. While teams have lots of options for mounting hardware, looking at the price of the AndyMark Bumper Brackets and Fasteners Kit (https://www.andymark.com/products/am14u4-2021-bumper-brackets-and-fasteners-kit), it can be good to save half the cost.

Over the years, I've come to the understanding that when most people complain about bumpers, it isn't about the bumpers themselves, but the bumper mounting system. These FRC Reversible Bumpers don't solve that problem. What they do is allow a team to come up with a mounting system and then not have to worry about it between matches at an event. Mount the bumpers after Robot Inspection and then focus on other aspects of the competition. There are some ideas for mounting bumpers at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sWM6Os9mckHKyLsn-Q0BbCbh3vuzZRnvQ6GiA-1p5N0/edit?usp=sharing. 

The good news is that Bumpers are exempt from the Budget Constraints and Fabrication Schedule Rule, Custom parts, generally from this year only (R302). This means you can spend all summer and fall building your Bumpers. You don't have to take valuable Team Meeting time after Kickoff to build bumpers. Most teams use the Kit of Parts (KOP) Chassis from AndyMark. The chassis dimensions are known, so Bumper construction can start immediately. Teams that have a custom chassis are using a design from previous years or are practicing their chassis construction before the season. Again, the chassis dimensions are known before Kickoff, so Bumper construction can begin immediately. You have all year to build Bumpers. Take your time and do it right.

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