Risks:

Idea1: I think risk here is just cost, in time and money. It also doesn't work with the motors we have, they can't rotate fast enough without some gear madness.

Idea2: Risk is percision, getting the ball to be hit up into the basket at the right angle seems very difficult.

Idea3: Low risk on this idea, I think biggest risk here getting the claw to be compact enough to fit into the size boundary and be able to drive up the ramp.

Idea4: Ball could easily get blown off path if fans are not oriented very exactly. External breeze could divert ball as its very light.

Idea5: Risks are similar to first one, I don't even know if the physics of a hot air balloon will function the same at such a small volume because I understand that they work by being less dense inside the balloon and creating a bouyant force that creates lift. Well I think this scales cubicly with volume so perhaps wouldn't work at a small size.

Risks with Design:

Claw is heavy and adds mass to the robot, increasing center of gravity. This will hurt its ability to climb the ramp.

The first design I made had the 180 degree servo at the end of the arm. This added weight far away from the 360 servo and added a larger torque, so I moved it back. I actually think that this is adding more weight because of the second arm that needs to exist and I'm going to remove it.

First improvement, the robot is too large to fit into the 12 in cube, I will raise the mounting point of the claw which will allow for a shorter arm that should fit into the box.

Second improvement, the arm seems to struggle sometimes to rotate, I think a shorter arm will help this but also a counterweight to decrease the torque that needs to be applied. Will have to check about allowed materials, was thinking coins for counterweight.