2016 Scouting Ideas/Apps

[ABreyen]

I know that it's early, but we [our team] wants to get a jump on scouting ideas (and possibly mobile apps) for this year!
My thoughts on mobile apps: (subject to mentor approval 😜) 2014 we had 6 school iPads and 6 dedicated students in the stands, scouting on those iPads. It worked GREAT, I thought, the only issue was iPad security. Our coach could NOT leave the stands, as school policy for off-site tech states that whoever checks it out, is responsible for it.

2015 we used paper... Yuck. Given that 2015 was a confusing scouting year, but I believe iPads were easier.

So, I thought that, most students have iPhones or Android devices. Why not use those? (Again, subject to mentor approval) Obviously, devices CANNOT communicate in match and in arena.

So... Barring any complications w/ approval, are any teams planning on making an iOS 2016 scouting app, or iOS and Android? We would be greatly appreciative of one--as we have no idea how to code an iOS app 😜

TL/DR: Are any teams planning on making an iOS or iOS and Android 2016 scouting app?

[sagi34]

IDK about the apps, but last year I was lead scout in my team, and we tried to use app instead of papers, it was first year we did it, so I allowed each student to choose what he likes better, only 1 out of 12 studnets chose the app over the paper.
I think that it is much more comfortable to use papers, because you can use them however you want, and not according to the rules of a specific app, another reason is the battery, you need your phone battery to communicate with your team, you don't want your battery to reach 0% because you used the app, and if it reaches 0%, how will you continue using the app? you will loose a lot of scouting data.

[Farbod909]

Yes! MorScout 2.0 is a perfect solution for you. It can be used offline or online so you have that freedom in case internet is not working in the arena. Also, you can fully customize your scouting forms so you're not restricted to team 1515's scouting strategy (however, that will still be an option).

Here is the full description:
Team 1515 MorTorq is developing the next iteration of our scouting application, MorScout, from last year. Our scouting application is designed to be run without any setup, meaning your clients will require an internet connection to login and periodically to sync to the server. MorScout is designed to run primarily on Android and iOS, but also web browsers. Each FRC team can create accounts for their own scouters. Our application is designed for both match scouting, as well as pit scouting. Each team can create custom forms for their scouters to fill out, so teams are not limited by just our scouting ideas! Once scouting reports have been made, team members can view all reports from their team for specific matches and/or teams. Additionally, scouters will have the option of making their reports public or private. Private means that only the scouters’ team will be able to review that report. By making a report public, any team using MorScout will be able to view the report, allowing each FRC team to assist in every team’s scouting.

Although MorScout is currently in heavy development, you can view our progress at our Github pages. Our goal is to finish MorScout by Week 1 of FRC competitions.
Server: https://github.com/mortorqrobotics/morscout-server
Web client: https://github.com/mortorqrobotics/morscout-web
Android: https://github.com/mortorqrobotics/morscout-andorid
iOS: https://github.com/mortorqrobotics/morscout-ios

Last year’s version of MorScout is also available here:
https://github.com/mortorqrobotics/morscout-2015

[ABreyen]

Yes! MorScout 2.0 is a perfect solution for you...............

This looks awesome! We will definitely look into this! Are you planning on publishing to Google Play and/or the Apple App Store? Or is it just the source code to have teams compile?

One question: Do the devices talk to each other (via BlueTooth or Wifi or something), or do they sync to a central server to talk to other devices?

This looks awesome!

[Farbod909]

Version 1.0 is available on the App Store and play store, but in order to test them out, you would need to download the server from the morscout-2015 repository and run a local server process.

Version 2.0 will also be on the App Store and play store too. But this time, we will be hosting a centralized server, in order to make using MorScout even easier! All you would have to do is make an account, join a team, and start scouting.

The app syncs the scouting data with the server, and even if there is no internet, it stores the info on the device, and syncs as soon as an Internet connection is re established.

There will be 4 ways to use the app: iOS app, android app, desktop app, and website.

[ABreyen]

This is exactly what I was hoping for! Im attempting to try it on my devices, and hopefully I can convince the team to use it!! :cool:

[Farbod909]

For some reason the morscout-2015 server folder had been removed but I re-added it. If you want to test the mobile apps, you can follow the instructions in the repository to successfully run the server and connect to it via one of the apps.

If you have any issues please let me know. My email is rafezyfarbod@gmail.com

[Adam8234]

2052 has a scouting app. FRC Krawler is not like most scouting apps where it's made for a specific season. FRC Krawler is meant to be used for any season. Meaning, you don't have to wait for updates. Sadly, it's only for Android, so that might not work out for your situation.

Main Advantages:

You can add as many questions, or metrics, as you want. So you only scout what you want. (The main reason why it's so flexible)
Bluetooth Data Transfer across devices
Excel formatted exporting for easy data evaluation
And more...


There are currently 5 metrics with 2 on the way

Boolean (Yes or No)
Counter ("+" and "-" with an increment for each press of a button)
Slider (A seekbar in a range you provide)
Chooser (A list that you choose one item from)
Checkbox (A list of checkboxes)


Examples of 2052's metrics for 2014...

Auto High/Low - 1-3 - Counter
Move over Auto Line - Boolean
Accuracy - 1-10 - Slider
Role - Inbound, Trusser, Finisher - CheckBox or Chooser.

I could go on...

Google Play Store (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.team2052.frckrawler)
Check out more here - http://www.team2052.com/frckrawler/
If you have any questions or need help, email frckrawler@team2052.com

[adammiller3122]

I highly recommend SuperScout. You can check out this thread (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141002) for more information.

[beurwonderwall]

In my team, we use a combination of paper and an Android app.

The Andorid app is an app we custom write each year and we use it to take data all day Friday and then compile it Friday night.

The paper is used to funnel the drive team much needed information throughout the day.

Personally, we use Telerik Appbuilder to build our app because it is simple and straight forward. We choose Android because it is easier to build an app for.

I highly, highly recommend using an app as it makes the compilation of data much easier.

As for your concerns with the coach not leaving the stands, I would suggest having some sort of system. We have a leadership member or mentor in the stands at all times, so it isn't much of a problem for us.

We also use a rolling box (sort of like a suitcase, but plastic) to keep everything in so we can easily take it to lunch with us.

We also use a convertor to charge the tablets so we never run out of battery.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me!

[SVanNess]

When will Krawler have the 2016 events imported?

[The Doctor]

I'm making a scouting webapp to compile numerical data on team performance during qualification rounds. It's a bit limited in that it needs a computer or a tablet with wired internet (because Wifi is disallowed). Like I said, it's only for match scouting, and we'll probably use a separate mobile app or paper for pit scouting.
As stated here (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142104&page=2), pit scouting is likely much less valuable than actual match scouting. If people are interested, I might publish the code.

Early prototype:

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/img/a42/a428377be1fd50483b02ef1fe7fc8de2_l.jpg

[Adisai1]

Team 226 is working on a scouting app, that is completely offline. It should be ready before at least a week in advance to the week 0.5 competition: http://github.com/hammerhead226/masterfrcscouter.

[evanperryg]

I know that it's early, but we [our team] wants to get a jump on scouting ideas (and possibly mobile apps) for this year!
...

2015 we used paper... Yuck. Given that 2015 was a confusing scouting year, but I believe iPads were easier.

So, I thought that, most students have iPhones or Android devices. Why not use those? (Again, subject to mentor approval) Obviously, devices CANNOT communicate in match and in arena.
...

TL/DR: Are any teams planning on making an iOS or iOS and Android 2016 scouting app?

It's still legal to take advantage of your device's mobile data connection. We are developing Android and iPhone apps that will communicate with an AWS database. (we aren't creating our own network, but taking advantage of one that is already present) A laptop in the pit with a broadband card will keep data updated. In the event that this system fails, the apps also save CSV files with all the data onto individual scouter's phones, which can then be emailed to scouting leadership once the student has access to Wi-Fi. Our app was very successful last season- two teams on Einstein were using it throughout the season :D .

[Citrus Dad]

It's still legal to take advantage of your device's mobile data connection. We are developing Android and iPhone apps that will communicate with an AWS database. (we aren't creating our own network, but taking advantage of one that is already present) A laptop in the pit with a broadband card will keep data updated. In the event that this system fails, the apps also save CSV files with all the data onto individual scouter's phones, which can then be emailed to scouting leadership once the student has access to Wi-Fi. Our app was very successful last season- two teams on Einstein were using it throughout the season :D .

We've been using a similar solution. For those who are interested we have white papers on the technical implementation.

[Citrus Dad]

I love seeing all of the scouting systems posted here. It's expanding the scope of technical challenges for students to achieve.

[Robomom457]

I have been to the App Store and downloaded the app, I have gone to github and tried to follow the links, but I am unable to download/find the "useable" version of morscout. What am I doing wrong?

[Farbod909]

I have been to the App Store and downloaded the app, I have gone to github and tried to follow the links, but I am unable to download/find the "useable" version of morscout. What am I doing wrong?

http://github.com/mortorqrobotics/morscout-2015 is a usable version of MorScout. However, it is designed for the 2015 game. MorScout 2.0 is currently in development and will be finished by the beginning of week 1 competitions.

[ANiyaz]

FRC 868 released FRC GamePlan, an Android application primarily designed for tablets so teams devise game strategy. FRC Teams can easily share their devised strategies with other teams using Bluetooth. Features also in the app include match saving and restoring, manipulation of robots and boulders, a pen tool to draw out certain movements, and match notes!

Link follows as below:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.techhounds.frcgameplan

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Qn_RQbbKrG_jzksSxYTsVlqWuU2q8otry2pP91Z3PTRDSRXYAM hGKiwOiX2gEXyKpyI=h400https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/FiWHYb7rDPwxM_fe-ZC1uw52qNCrRQ4wq2eS7H-ZNCZQGQbEC8PZ7jQ57-GCKh69D_Y=h400

[anishde]

After a paper scouting disaster last year, we're looking to mooch off some other team for a scouting service :P

[evanperryg]

I'd like to expand a little on my previous post. My team has used a few main methods of scouting over the last three years, and each certainly had its merits. I'll lay them out below:
Paper Scouting
In terms of ergonomics, paper is by far the best. It's so easy to understand that it requires virtually no scouter training for it to work. However, it comes with so many glaring problems that I'd never use it again. The biggest issue is entry- in order to keep up with the onslaught of papers, I had to be in the stands, typing in data for the entire duration of the event. Not only is this tedious, it's stressful, uncomfortable, and horribly inefficient. Taking turns on entry would be fine too, but still incredibly tedious and shift changes can put you behind very easily. I would only recommend this to new and entry-level scouting teams who don't have the time to take advantage of the numerous better options.
Game Controllers
Game controllers are a good option for teams who want to go a step above paper, but don't have the programming skills to go with an app or database. It's pretty easy to make with a basic understanding of java. Just have data entries export to a text file, import it into excel, and you're golden. The biggest problem with this system is that it's horribly uncomfortable for scouters. Game controllers were never designed for data entry and they don't lend themselves well to it, outside of the ease of programming. Expect significant data inaccuracies and headaches over tangled cables.
Apps
This is the gold standard, without a doubt. Android Studio has a learning curve, but it comes with a vast set of awesome tools that make app development easier. Almost everyone has a smartphone, so it's very accessible. Having the app export data to a text file is easy, and will work consistently. However, this method can cause issues, as some devices will save the text file in places that can't be accessed easily (phones with emulated SD cards do this) and ensuring everyone is giving their phones over for data ripping can be annoying. We did this last season, and found great success with it. The data is reliable, the management is easy, and the backend is simple. However, if you're really looking for a god-tier scouting system, an app that interfaces with a database is the only way. With a broadband card on a laptop in the pit, you can have live data updates between the stands and the pit, without breaking tournament rules. The data aggregates itself, so there's no headaches over data reliability.

So, now that I've layed that all out, here's team 2338's scouting system for the 2016 Season- GearScout.
Features:

Universal: Available for both iPhones and Androids. Both applications do the exact same thing.
Simplicity: Communication with an Amazon DynamoDB noSQL database- all data is aggregated live, and requires no extra overhead. We manage the server, you manage the app. Simply fetch your data from the database using your team number and the FIRST event code.
Security: Backups are made in the form of text files on every device so, in case something goes wrong, data can be recovered easily.
Comprehensive: Tracking of qualitative and quantitative scouting data, so evaluations of teams can be well-rounded and comprehensive.
Reputation: Two teams on Einstein last season used our scouting app, and many other reputable teams found great success with GearScout throughout the season.
Versatility: GearScout data can be easily imported to Excel, Access, Tableau, and any data management software that supports text file imports or PHP requests. We are developing a Java applet that will communicate directly with the server, take the data you've requested, and spit out an easily-manageable text file with only the data you've requested. We are also experimenting with the addition of ODBC support, which will make live data connections even easier. If you decide to use the backup files saved on the phones, instead, we also include a Windows batch file which will quickly combine all the files together, once they're copied to the same folder on your system.

[btcshields6]

Google Forms worked well for us last year, and we're already building a new set of forms for this year.

[Robomom457]

How did you use Google Forms offline? Or I guess how did you use it period? thanks

[maxnz]

I'm making a scouting webapp to compile numerical data on team performance during qualification rounds. It's a bit limited in that it needs a computer or a tablet with wired internet (because Wifi is disallowed). Like I said, it's only for match scouting, and we'll probably use a separate mobile app or paper for pit scouting.
As stated here (http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=142104&page=2), pit scouting is likely much less valuable than actual match scouting. If people are interested, I might publish the code.

Totally interested in seeing how you made this. Also, this does seem like something my team could use. With your permission, I'd like to change the code (locally) slightly to optimize it for my team.

[CindiCC]

Our team is trying out the survey program Harvest Your Data. Holds the data on the device until later syncing. Will get us through the first day of a District event, we might shift to paper the 2nd day but at least 60 percent of our data will already be entered.

[maxnz]

Our team is trying out the survey program Harvest Your Data. Holds the data on the device until later syncing. Will get us through the first day of a District event, we might shift to paper the 2nd day but at least 60 percent of our data will already be entered.

Are you utilizing the free trial or have you made an agreement with the company? Or do you pay the $89 for the service?

[catmanjake]

I am reading quite a bit on apps on these threads. However, how us everyone getting all data to one source? I am seeing where people are stating downloading time servers, etc. We thought we had a solution until we came across the following rule.

T4 Teams may not set up their own 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4GHz or 5GHz) wireless communication (e.g. $@#access points or ad-hoc networks) in the venue.

A wireless hot spot created by a cellular device is considered an access point.

[CindiCC]

Are you utilizing the free trial or have you made an agreement with the company? Or do you pay the $89 for the service?
We set up a one time survey with a longer "expiration" time than one month.

[Jcarbon]

I'm pretty surprised by all the hate for paper scouting. We're interested in an electronic system, but paper has worked out really well for us in the past, albeit with a lot of thought and organization going into the system. Especially if you want robust scouting but can't afford devices for electronic scouting, I recommend paper scouting.

This is how our system works: Each team at the event has a sheet, with lines for each match. We have at least 6 people in the stands scouting at all times, each scouting one team. Then, they pass the sheets to someone who enters the data into an Excel sheet. Before each match, we print off a sheet with information for the drive team about the teams in the match. The whole time, we have some experienced people scouting qualitatively.

Here are some of the things that I think make it go smoothly:

Training scouts in advance
Planning how to organize the sheets
Having a printer to print sheets
Having a good database to analyze the data (ask Basel A if you have questions about that)

If you have any questions or want to see the sheets, feel free to message me.