Rookie Team, Any Advice?
 

Hi everyone! This is our school's first year with FIRST and I just wanted to see if anyone had some advice for a rookie team? Any help is appreciated, thanks!

Re: Rookie Team, Any Advice?
 

Who's your nearest veteran team, and are they mentoring you? If they aren't, they should be...


Also, I would use the kit drivetrain as a starting point.

One other important item: The rules were released one week ago. There have already been two updates, and some questions about the rules. Updates are released on Tuesdays and Fridays, and yes you will want to stay on top of any changes.

Re: Rookie Team, Any Advice?
 

Split your team up into sub-groups (build team, electrical team, programming team, etc), but make sure that the sub-groups have a full understanding of what's going on before they do their thing. If they just go off on their own, the subsystems that they create might not work nicely with one another.

Make sure that everyone's happy. If there's some conflict between two members of the team, try your best to resolve the conflicts fairly. A team can only really work well if everybody is happy with, and respects, one another.

I would recommend taking the Kit of Parts chassis and getting it to work. Put it together exactly like the instructions say, stick an electrical board on there and get some experience driving it around. While you're building the KoP chassis, talk about a mechanism that you can use to do your desired thing. This mechanism should be simple, should work well, and should not break any rules (be sure that you look at the FRC manual before starting the production process).

Have a program that allows you to move during autonomous. This is often something that new teams don't do, but it is the simplest way to net points. There is no reason why you shouldn't get this done well before bag 'n' tag day.

Above all, have as much fun as you possibly can, and be sure to remind yourself as much as possible that what you are doing is really cool.

Hope this helps -

Re: Rookie Team, Any Advice?
 

I advise your team to look for people that have experience in engineering or specifically FIRST. The most helpful thing to do would be to ask a veteran team near you for help: learn about their team and how they function. On our team, we mentor rookie teams, help them engage in events, and teach them the different aspects that will contribute to an efficient team. We showed them how our team runs, specifically the organization of our programming, electrical, mechanical, and business team. Recently, we let a rookie team borrow our practice robot for competition. While doing so, we explained the specific functions and purpose of each feature to show them the different factors that must be considered to build a robot.

On the other hand, be sure to network with people around you because it is a great way to get sponsors and mentors - to establish a stable team.

Re: Rookie Team, Any Advice?
 

For your first year, design wise, I suggest you go for simplicity with something that you know will work, and work on maximizing its efficiency. If you don't think you can compete with top teams, build a robot that can assist these top teams, thus making you a great alliance pick if your robot compliments theirs.

Re: Rookie Team, Any Advice?
 

There's lots of resources online, especially at the FIRST website. See

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...ources-library

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...ical-resources

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...hind-the-lines

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...am-fundraising

Check out the various white papers on CD too.

Re: Rookie Team, Any Advice?
 

• Reach out to your local teams! They can often help you through any problems you encounter. Also reach out to your community.
• Find out the easiest and most efficient way to play the game, and then build your plan around that.
• Don't think your robot needs all these bells and whistles to be a good robot. It doesn't have to be fancy, it just has to get the job done.
• Be a Generalist. It's better to be able to do more when other robots can't provide.
• Take advantage of online resources such as Robot In 3 Days, Build Blitz, FRC Designs, The Blue Alliance, and (obviously) Chief Delphi. Look at past competitions and see if you can draw inspiration from it.
• Keep in touch with your sponsors; keep them updated so they know they've put their support to good use!
• Make a flag.
• Show spirit! Make signs, come up with a cheer, get your team pumped up at your competitions!

As Dean Kamen said, FIRST is more than just robots. It's about good sportsmanship. It's about the bond you make with your team. It's about getting up at 7 AM to go to a build meeting and working past noon. It's about cheering as your robot plays on the field for the first time. It's about making friends with members of other teams that you'll keep for a lifetime.

So have fun with your first year. It'll be a learning process, but you'll make it through!

Good luck from The Gems!

Re: Rookie Team, Any Advice?
 

Welcome to FIRST!

I would recommend someone on your team reading The New Cool, by Neal Bascomb. It is a fantastic read that details many aspects of FRC.

Definitely find your nearest Veteran Team and ask them to mentor you, if they are not already.

Star with a simple working drive train. Once that works start building the mechanism. Just remember you don't want to be stuck with no robot. Worse comes to worst you can make a noodle bulldozer I'm sure other teams would be happy

Re: Rookie Team, Any Advice?
 

When designing don't reinvent the wheel

Re: Rookie Team, Any Advice?
 

Three steps to success for new teams and/or teams with a small budget/few resources:

1) DO NOT OVER-COMPLICATE THE DESIGN!!! My team can currently play this game well (6-tote stack & recycle bin) with 1 motor and 1 pneumatic piston (excluding drive train). If your design calls for much more than that, you're going to have a bad time.

2) It is better to do 1 thing awesome than 5 things crappy. No one wants to pick a mediocre robot for their alliance. Excel at 1 function.

3) Try to finish 1-2 weeks early so you have time to trouble shoot, and so you don't have to rush at the end.

Have fun and enjoy the process.

Re: Rookie Team, Any Advice?
 

Additional Notes:

- Everyone in the vicinity of the robot/power tool/sharp object should be wearing safety glasses.
- BE SAFE!!!
- Don't pick up the battery by the cables.
- Measure multiple times before you cut/drill; swiss-cheesing is bad.
- Use the KOP frame. It's actually really good.
- Ask for help. Don't struggle silently.
- Don't "wing it". Make a plan. Establish a schedule so you know if you're behind that schedule.
- Use your parent resources! They want their kid's team to succeed just as much as you do. And parents are great for food, carpooling, etc. Just ask.
- Make sure you have minimum 4 batteries and 4 chargers for competition. You're going to need every last one.
- Competitions are free. Bring as many friends/family to cheer as you can.

This is just off the top of my head. There are countless more things.

Re: Rookie Team, Any Advice?
 

Heres a little list of mistakes I see teams make.
1. Bring safety glasses to your competition. I know its a long way away but please do this, you wont be allowed into the pit without a pair and its better then wearing the ones that are provided (no disrespect yo). As someone with prescription glasses I had a few years where the provided safety glasses were a bit wonky.
2. Ask for help. Seriously do it and your cool we all are here to learn and we are all willing to help each other out.
3. KEEP UP WITH THE GAME UPDATES. Yeah I know the rules came out but they change as time goes on cause some cheeky students/mentors find loop holes in the game.
4. Network: Get to know your local teams, most of em don't bite. The ones that do are usually vegetarians so they wont bite you anyway.
8. While FRC holds a special spot in a lot of peoples hearts on here (coincidence I think) do not neglect school work.
97. While technically no questions are stupid questions, make sure you use the right lines of communication when asking things. If you asked this on the Q&A system it would be kind of silly but utilizing the network of resources you have is key to doing well.


Your rookie year you shouldn't be building a robot as much as you should build a team so have fun!
So have fun!


P.S Have fun!

Re: Rookie Team, Any Advice?
 

This is what I recommend. Don't even bother about what the game is until you have a robot that can drive around.

Re: Rookie Team, Any Advice?
 

Start with kit drive. Divide and conquer tasks. Read some of the stuff on organizing teams that is everywhere on the web. Make sure you can move. A moving robot, even in this game, can be very useful; you can push around noodles and get totes to your teammates.