New Blog Pit Assignments at the FIRST Championship

[IndySam]

Pit Assignments at the FIRST Championship (http://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc/blog/pit-assignments-at-championship-and-more)

Pit Assignments at the FIRST Championship New this year!

We are assigning each FIRST Robotics Competition team pit with an alpha-numeric address. To find out your Pit Address, simply click on the Teams link in the Championship App, choose FRC Teams, then find your Team Number. Under your Team Number, you will see the Pit Address for your Team.

For example, S19, means Aisle S, Pit Number 19. The pits closest to the Dome entrance start with A, and the pits closest to the practice fields are letter V. When you load-in on Wednesday, be sure you know your Pit Address, so you can quickly find your location.

Don’t worry, Teams are still laid out by Subdivision and roughly in numerical order.


Bag and Tag Inspection at Championship Good news!

In an effort to save time through the Inspection Process, we will not be checking your Bag & Tag forms! Once you arrive in your pit, feel free to get your robot out of its crate and bag and get into the Inspection Process as soon as possible!

Innovation Faire and Scholarship Row

Visit the FIRST Innovation Faire located at the The Marriott Grand Hotel. Join us for a Maker Faire-inspired area featuring FIRST Sponsors, Alliances, Suppliers, Scholarship Providers, and other Special Guests. All FIRSTChampionship attendees are encouraged to participate in the FIRST Innovation Faire, where attendees can receive exciting giveaways, witness new technology demonstrations, and participate in fun, hands-on activities for all ages. Scholarship Row at the 2016 FIRST Championship Innovation Faire is a place for Participants, Parents, and Mentors to talk with representatives from some of the colleges, universities, and organizations that make available FIRST Scholarships.

This is an ideal opportunity for sophomores and juniors who are planning for college to talk first-hand to college representatives. Seniors can find out about scholarships that are still available for the coming fall, and for freshman, it's never too early to start thinking about college! Wednesday, April 27: 11am – 5pm (Scholarship Row closed on Wednesday) Thursday, April 28: 10am – 5:30pm Friday, April 29: 10am – 4:30pm Saturday, April 30: 8am – 12pm (Saturday Scholarship Providers indicated with *)

FedEx Innovation Challenge

FedEx Innovation Challenge is a social media-based competition consisting of math and science problems, scavenger hunt activities, trivia and more. All teams competing at the 2016 Championship in the FIRST Robotics Competition and the FIRST Tech Challenge can participate for a chance to win! Get more details here.

Registering Spectators Great job to those teams who have pre-registered for the FIRST Championship through the Experient website! Please note that pre-registration is NOT open to spectators. All spectators will be expected to register on-site! - See more at: http://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc/blog/pit-assignments-at-championship-and-more#sthash.L5wMU5sr.dpuf

[notmattlythgoe]

This pit map stuff is dumb.

#thingslythgoewouldsay

[Ty Tremblay]

This pit map stuff is dumb.

#thingslythgoewouldsay

What map? All I see is a bunch of numbers and letters.

[orangemoore]

What map? All I see is a bunch of numbers and letters.

What numbers and letters?
All I see is pixels zoomed in and indistinguishable words zoomed out.

[notmattlythgoe]

What map? All I see is a bunch of numbers and letters.

https://49.media.tumblr.com/32bbb2ab04343918b0aae6bb344478fe/tumblr_mheqdq2juT1rnqwsco1_500.gif

[Chris is me]

When you hover over a pit block to find out what team is on it, it doesn't even tell you the team's number, so you don't even know if you're close to the right part of your division to find your team. There's no way at a glance to figure out roughly where your team or any particular team number is. I don't think whomever designed this app has ever had to navigate an FRC pit before.

[wilsonmw04]

the resolution on the map is awful.

[AdamHeard]

Is there any way to view this info without the app?

[Libby K]

At the bottom of the blog post:
Registering Spectators Great job to those teams who have pre-registered for the FIRST Championship through the Experient website! Please note that pre-registration is NOT open to spectators. All spectators will be expected to register on-site!

That seems like a great way to bring people in from "outside the tent"... :yikes:

"Hey, come in there's this awesome thing happening! Just kidding, wait in an hour-long line to get a badge first..."

I'm not sure if that's more concerning than the phrase 'roughly in numeric order'. Roughly?! What does that even mean?

[notmattlythgoe]

At the bottom of the blog post:


That seems like a great way to bring people in from "outside the tent"... :yikes:

"Hey, come in there's this awesome thing happening! Just kidding, wait in an hour-long line to get a badge first..."

I'm not sure if that's more concerning than the phrase 'roughly in numeric order'. Roughly?! What does that even mean?

This...just...why...they...do?

http://imoviequotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/201-Dumb-and-Dumber-quotes.gif

[Carolyn_Grace]

=
"Hey, come in there's this awesome thing happening! Just kidding, wait in an hour-long line to get a badge first..."


I hate this too. I know of a few people who struggled with this last year with their families. That said, is there any reason why spectators from the outside HAVE to register? Are they going to be stopped from entering pits and stands?

[Dan Petrovic]

At the bottom of the blog post:


That seems like a great way to bring people in from "outside the tent"... :yikes:

"Hey, come in there's this awesome thing happening! Just kidding, wait in an hour-long line to get a badge first..."

I'm not sure if that's more concerning than the phrase 'roughly in numeric order'. Roughly?! What does that even mean?

Maybe I'm paranoid, but I think the safety of the people in attendance is way more important than the convenience of people not affiliated with teams.

[Nuttyman54]

Is there any way to view this info without the app?

Yeah this is an issue. Yes smartphones are common, but it seems like a HUGE oversight to have it ONLY available via App. I mean seriously?

I haven't downloaded it yet. I hope the app is a one-time download with all information or syncs to a local copy, because not everyone has good cell signal in and around the Americas Center and Dome.

[RufflesRidge]

There's no way at a glance to figure out roughly where your team or any particular team number is. I don't think whomever designed this app has ever had to navigate an FRC pit before.

Go to Teams. Click on the team you want to locate. Click the Pit address. The map pops up with a pin over their pit.

[Carolyn_Grace]

Maybe I'm paranoid, but I think the safety of the people in attendance is way more important than the convenience of people not affiliated with teams.

How does it keep people safe?

[SteveB2977]

If spectators are required to register, that HAS to be available ahead of time.

[PayneTrain]

Is there any way to view this info without the app?

Yeah this is an issue. Yes smartphones are common, but it seems like a HUGE oversight to have it ONLY available via App. I mean seriously?

I haven't downloaded it yet. I hope the app is a one-time download with all information or syncs to a local copy, because not everyone has good cell signal in and around the Americas Center and Dome.

https://guidebook.com/guide/53130/

As far as I can tell the app does get updates pushed to it but a consistent connection is not needed to navigate the app.

It may be prudent for the link above to be on the FIRST Championship website if it's not there already, but I'm not a cop and can't tell them what to do.

[Ty Tremblay]

Let's make our own pit map with Google Drive and crowdsourcing. I'm mobile, edit coming soon with a link.

Edit: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_lZ3yUooj_LOFWTk7WDZ7xWU2JAI0hb4Du7MmSewQ0/edit?usp=docslist_api

Use the column and row labels for now. We'll make it pretty later.

[IndySam]

This isn't about safety. This is data collection, plain and simple.

[Jon Stratis]

I'm not sure if that's more concerning than the phrase 'roughly in numeric order'. Roughly?! What does that even mean?

I've only gone through Galileo, but in that division there is only 1 team that is not in numeric order. I know at the MN regionals teams are laid out in an alternating numeric order, with exceptions made by request- there are some teams that have special connections (a veteran that heavily mentored a rookie, sister teams from the same school, etc) and always get placed next to each other. I would guess the same thing is true here.

[Eugene Fang]

Let's make our own pit map with Google Drive and crowdsourcing. I'm mobile, edit coming soon with a link.

+1, I'm down.

Until FIRST comes along and says "please don't rehost data."

[ctt956]

Go to Teams. Click on the team you want to locate. Click the Pit address. The map pops up with a pin over their pit.

Yes. After finding a team, you can then click the other pits on the map and it will tell you who's going to be there. But due to the size of those unreadable blocks, it can be hard to accurately click them on a phone. There appears to be a to-do list in the Championship app as well...

[JesseK]

Does anyone know where to find a higher-res picture of how the pits/divisions are laid out? I'd like to print the picture and write-in team numbers to plan visits/meet-n-greets/photos/research/etc.

[rich2202]

Is there any way to view this info without the app?

https://guidebook.com/guide/53130/

If you click on Teams, you can search for your Team's name (I have no idea why they don't put your team's number there too). When you click on the Team's name, the page shows the pit number.

Under Maps, the FLL/FRC Overview Map shows the general area and aisles. You can make a pretty close to where the pit is. I have no idea why they didn't post a higher res graphic.

[Nate Laverdure]

Does anyone know where to find a higher-res picture of how the pits/divisions are laid out? I'd like to print the picture and write-in team numbers to plan visits/meet-n-greets/photos/research/etc.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.guidebook.com/upload/2uQXHPhmthoRYBxcBlr2y42c5I6BhUTT7FIkPemZ/OWG4zxXOqtI3IW1P3XRa7968ie7Tp6VvxRma.png
is the best I could find.

[Libby K]

Maybe I'm paranoid, but I think the safety of the people in attendance is way more important than the convenience of people not affiliated with teams.

In my head, spectator registration is okay (sorta), but making everyone register day-of is awful. Why not leave it open ahead of time and speed the process along for badge pickup?

[Ryan Dognaux]

This isn't about safety. This is data collection, plain and simple.

Agree 100%. This has nothing to do with safety and it's a huge inconvenience for all attendees.

Does my 9 month old child need a badge too? He's a pretty huge security threat.

Why would any FIRST outsider stand in line for an hour to get a badge? And I'm not exaggerating, people stood in line last year for over an hour.

Not happy that badges are back again this year. Not one bit.

[orangemoore]

Maybe I'm paranoid, but I think the safety of the people in attendance is way more important than the convenience of people not affiliated with teams.

I'm pretty sure if someone wanted to hurt people at the event, registration wouldn't stop them.

[notmattlythgoe]

Let's make it loud, but in a quiet orderly fashion and everyone has to register to participate.

[Jon Stratis]

Does anyone know where to find a higher-res picture of how the pits/divisions are laid out? I'd like to print the picture and write-in team numbers to plan visits/meet-n-greets/photos/research/etc.

I don't have it hosted anywhere, but I pulled some decent res pictures out into a word doc - 2 divisions per page, that can be printed off. I did it so I could mark all my local teams (using colored text boxes before printing!). It worked out pretty well, and anyone that wants it can PM me their email address.

[Dan Petrovic]

This isn't about safety. This is data collection, plain and simple.

You may be right, but if something were to happen, knowing who is in attendance can be valuable.

In my head, spectator registration is okay (sorta), but making everyone register day-of is awful. Why not leave it open ahead of time and speed the process along for badge pickup?

I didn't think about that. Pre-registration should definitely be available to spectators.

[notmattlythgoe]

Let's make our own pit map with Google Drive and crowdsourcing. I'm mobile, edit coming soon with a link.

Edit: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_lZ3yUooj_LOFWTk7WDZ7xWU2JAI0hb4Du7MmSewQ0/edit?usp=docslist_api

Use the column and row labels for now. We'll make it pretty later.

https://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/68075062.jpg

[BandChick]

Let's make our own pit map with Google Drive and crowdsourcing. I'm mobile, edit coming soon with a link.

Edit: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-_lZ3yUooj_LOFWTk7WDZ7xWU2JAI0hb4Du7MmSewQ0/edit?usp=docslist_api

Use the column and row labels for now. We'll make it pretty later.

Offering to make the pretty one in illustrator. =)

[Jon Stratis]

Emailing isn't working so hot over LTE, so I went ahead and uploaded mine to Google docs for people to get: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByVcJwadD0rnM0ctUHJQT3B3Rjg/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msword

What's really interesting about all the maps... What's in my doc was pulled as screen shots from my iPhone over the weekend then stitched back together on my computer, and turned out readable (actually, it looks fairly good!) when printed... Try to grab identical screen shots now, and it's a lot more blurry!

[jspatz1]

Under TEAMS you click on a team, then click their pit number field, and your looking at a map with a pointer showing exactly where they are. What could be better than that? Seems like a really nice feature that will make it very easy to find teams when you are there on foot. I would guess this pit numbering system made it possible to create this mappping capability before all the attending teams were known, then assign teams to pit numbers at the last minute.

[orangemoore]

Emailing isn't working so hot over LTE, so I went ahead and uploaded mine to Google docs for people to get: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByVcJwadD0rnM0ctUHJQT3B3Rjg/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msword

What's really interesting about all the maps... What's in my doc was pulled as screen shots from my iPhone over the weekend then stitched back together on my computer, and turned out readable (actually, it looks fairly good!) when printed... Try to grab identical screen shots now, and it's a lot more blurry!
I noticed that change as well.

I think that the map they related teams location on was a lower resolution than the one they initially uploaded.

[mjc49]

I noticed that change as well.

I think that the map they related teams location on was a lower resolution than the one they initially uploaded.

+1

I had the clear version on my phone and when I opened the app I saw the clear version momentarily before it reloaded (without prompting) to the new version which is what the world looks like with out my cheaters on.:)

[Andrew Schreiber]

Offering to make the pretty one in illustrator. =)

Can the pretty one actually have the team numbers instead of these stupid pit addresses?

[Jon Stratis]

Under TEAMS you click on a team, then click their pit number field, and your looking at a map with a pointer showing exactly where they are. What could be better than that? Seems like a really nice feature that will make it very easy to find teams when you are there on foot. I would guess this pit numbering system made it possible to create this mappping capability before all the attending teams were known, then assign teams to pit numbers at the last minute.

I seem to recall the same (or similar) capabilities in last year's app - I could "favorite" a team and get their pit highlighted or a star on it or something.

What this will do, I assume, is make it easier for spectators on site - if your looking for a team, you can look at a big master list posted somewhere, find them on the list (especially if the entire list is ordered by team number, it would make it easy to find them!), Then get their pit "address". Hopefully, each row is then clearly labeled "isle A", "isle B", etc. Nice and simple. Before you had to look at a pit map and find the team number in what had to seem unorganized chaos to the uninitiated. And hopefully you knew which division to look at to start with!

What it doesn't do is help much with planning ahead of time, scouting within your division (where, I would assume, you need to know all 75 teams locations!), And printing out aids before you get there. It seems like we need to push towards a more hybrid approach that addresses the needs of both groups.

[Rachel Lim]

I added team numbers onto the existing map for Curie (left the pit addresses there in case anyone wants them). The blank spots are intentional--there are 78 pits and 75 teams. Hopefully this helps someone. I'll try to do the other divisions in a bit.

http://i.imgur.com/SRqwbJr.png

[JesseK]

The speed at which this thread went from whining to solution with finished product is impressive, IMO. Well done. Keep it up :D

[Jared Russell]

I added team numbers onto the existing map for Curie (left the pit addresses there in case anyone wants them). The blank spots are intentional--there are 78 pits and 75 teams. Hopefully this helps someone. I'll try to do the other divisions in a bit.

http://i.imgur.com/qxvUl6q.png

Feel like making 7 more of these? I'll can offer you some of that sweet, sweet rep in return.

[EmileH]

Feel like making 7 more of these? I'll can offer you some of that sweet, sweet rep in return.

Count me in for Newton & Hopper. ETA 1/2 hr each.

[Rachel Lim]

Feel like making 7 more of these? I'll can offer you some of that sweet, sweet rep in return.

Here's Newton. I'm doing Carson next--anyone have a preference on what I do after that?

http://i.imgur.com/n8C7EBo.png

[TheJoe]

Here's Newton. I'm doing Carson next--anyone have a preference on what I do after that?



All of them ;)

I would love to get Galileo when you get a chance

[Chief Hedgehog]

Carver Please!

[Kpchem]

I added team numbers onto the existing map for Curie (left the pit addresses there in case anyone wants them). The blank spots are intentional--there are 78 pits and 75 teams. Hopefully this helps someone. I'll try to do the other divisions in a bit.

http://i.imgur.com/qxvUl6q.png

2557 through 2980 seem to be duplicated on this map, are there teams without pits in the image?

[Rachel Lim]

2557 through 2980 seem to be duplicated on this map, are there teams without pits in the image?

Yep, I messed up. Thanks for catching that.

If anyone spots other errors please let me know.

[JR0405]

Here's Newton. I'm doing Carson next--anyone have a preference on what I do after that?

http://i.imgur.com/n8C7EBo.png

Thanks for making these they are very helpful

[BandChick]

Can the pretty one actually have the team numbers instead of these stupid pit addresses?

That's the plan. I'm working on it now. I was able to find a high-res PDF of the floor plan from the America's Center website, so I've overlayed the pit map we were given to match up the rooms. Then I'm going to take it and assign team numbers (as well as their letter-number assignments, like Rachel is doing), and we should have a super awesome high res version indefinitely. =)


Here's the progress so far.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bye4p3vAsyw8T0lrcnVER1VGVTQ/view?usp=sharing

[EmileH]

Hopper is just about done here (https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1r2eMwcKiivRJOBuLo0K2jHEnzuoJNclyhQ2JtR-ayhQ/edit), and will do Galileo next (since Rachel took care of Newton).

[Rachel Lim]

Carson:

http://i.imgur.com/NHs1Wgy.png

[Andrew Schreiber]

That's the plan. I'm working on it now. I was able to find a high-res PDF of the floor plan from the America's Center website, so I've overlayed the pit map we were given to match up the rooms. Then I'm going to take it and assign team numbers (as well as their letter-number assignments, like Rachel is doing), and we should have a super awesome high res version indefinitely. =)


Here's the progress so far.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bye4p3vAsyw8T0lrcnVER1VGVTQ/view?usp=sharing

Yay. Pdf plz?

[BandChick]

Yay. Pdf plz?

You got it! Once it's ready I will link the PDF here, so you can pinch and zoom to your heart's content. =)

[Banderoonies]

Their way of forcing folks to download the app?

[BenB]

Here are some PDFs with the team numbers on the pits

2016 FRC Pit Map 1 PDF (https://www.dropbox.com/s/dpxc1gq76m7weul/2016%20FRC%20Pit%20Map%201.pdf?dl=0)
2016 FRC Pit Map 2 PDF (https://www.dropbox.com/s/dzarleq0rq7komd/2016%20FRC%20Pit%20Map%202.pdf?dl=0)

Here is the native excel file it was made from if you want to format it differently, or just output your field.

2016 FRC Pit Map (https://www.dropbox.com/s/7vr092zc95pi3be/2016%20FRC%20Pit%20Map.xlsx?dl=0)

[EmileH]

Hopper and Galileo are done with Pit Codes.

http://imgh.us/HopperGalileo.png (http://imgh.us/HopperGalileo.png)

[SoftwareBug2.0]

Here's a team address book (CSV format)

[KosmicKhaos]

Must have been an update to the pit map on the app as far as I can see. The one big blurry image has been split into two separate maps. Also you can now tap on each pit code on the map and a pin pops up with the team name.

[nathanwalters]

Coming soon to an app near you...

http://i.imgur.com/gyiC9T1l.png

[plnyyanks]

Coming soon to an app near you...

Now I expect robot pictures to be submitted for all teams at champs, since "I couldn't find their pit" is no longer a valid excuse :D

[Hallry]

Coming soon to an app near you...

Another reason to <3 TBA