Intake Showdown: Noodles vs. Wheels

You have seen both. Which one do you build for DECODE? Let’s analyze the specific game piece: The Hexagonal Artifact.

The Matchup

1. Shape Handling

• Noodles: Great for odd shapes. The chaos helps orient the hex shape.
• Wheels: Struggle with corners. If a compliant wheel hits the sharp corner of a Hex Artifact, it might kick it away instead of grabbing it.

2. Durability

• Noodles: They wear out. You will be replacing zip-ties every 5 matches.
• Wheels: Indestructible. You install them once, and they last forever.

3. “The Stack Problem”

• Noodles: Cannot grab from a stack easily (they knock the stack over).
• Wheels: Can “pinch” one item off the top of a stack perfectly.

The Hybrid Approach

The best teams often use BOTH.

• Front Stage: Surgical Tubing to initially “slap” the object and center it.
• Back Stage: Compliant Wheels to grab the centered object and pull it rapidly into the robot.

Conclusion

Don’t choose. Combine. Use the chaos of noodles to feed the precision of wheels.