SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

SuperScouter for FRC
SuperScouter has been released! It is currently available on the Play Store and the App Store (pending review). Download the server from http://jkoritzinsky.github.io/SuperScouter4FRC and start your scouting plan today!

What is SuperScouter?

SuperScouter is a scouting platform that supports iOS, Android, and (in the future) Windows Phone. The server component currently is Windows only.

What makes SuperScouter "Super"?
Unlike every other scouting app, SuperScouter was designed from the ground up to support "customizable schemas". That means that each team can create a "schema" using the Schema Designer on the server application that defines what data to collect. This makes SuperScouter unique in that it does not require a brand new app each year. This allows development to focus on adding new features instead of re-creating the same thing each year.

How do the apps communicate with the server?
Schema Downloading
Schema downloading is only supported over HTTP. The application has a built in HTTP server that you can start with the "Start HTTP Server" button. It will be available on all IP addresses the server computer has. In the app, go to "Manage Schemas > Add New" or "Manage Schemas > +" and type in the IP address of the computer as given on the server app. Your schemas should show up. Tap one and tap the download button to download it. You will now be able to enter data with this schema.
Sending Data
Sending data to the server is supported over HTTP and QR codes.

What types of data are supported?

• Numbers (Integers)
• Text boxes
• Sliders (Integers between Min and Max values)
• Yes/No switches
• Multiple Choice (Multi or Single select)

More (such as images support) will come in future versions.

Technical Aspects
This platform is developed entirely in C#. I am utilizing Xamarin Forms to develop my UI for all three mobile platforms simultaneously. Communication is done with Protocol Buffers since they are compact and have a simple way to support inheritance within the serialization (because of shared code). Additionally, it allows me to program the deserialization just so that it matches contract.

I have a question.
Awesome! Just reply here and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I see it!

General Roadmap

• Image data items
• Auto-syncing with FMS API (if connectivity permits)
• Cross-Platform Server Application

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

How do I create a schema?
Open the server application. Click on "Open Schema Editor". From there you can create a schema. Save it, and then deploy your devices to collect data!

How is the data exported?
The server exports data as a zip file containing CSV files (which can be imported into both Excel and Tableau, among others).

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

This is a cool design! I went to the website and clicked on the App Store button. A pop up message said that it wasn't available in the US. Do you know when it will be?

I suppose it does depend on what apple decides to do...

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

It all depends on when Apple approves it. I'm in that time period where I'm just waiting for review and can't do anything.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Any possibility of transmitting schemas over QR codes? This would allow the system to work in a completely "off the grid" envoirnment.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

I'll put that on the feature backlog. The reason it isn't in there now is because that's not totally required to make this meet competition rules since schemas should be designed and deployed before competition.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Is it open source?
I would be up to do a Mac/Unix port. I don't have/use Windows personally anymore.

How are you doing the networking between tablets and server?
I understand that Wifi isn't an option at competition. Is it bluetooth?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

I just downloaded the app. I am the scout for our team and we used an app in other years but unfortunately or mentor who created it had to leave so i may be using this one. If so ill give you a big shout out.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

I helped with the beta testing for this program, so I can try to answer these questions as well.

At this time, it is not open source.

When you are at competition, there are a few ways that you can transport data. 1) You can use the QR Code function. I did not test apple or windows phone versions, but with the android version, there is a tab in the app that says "Send Data." If you go to that tab and after you have saved data, you can transfer the data by selecting QR Code. It will then display a QR code that you can scan using the QR Code scanner on the server application.

2) You could use ethernet. You can set up a router at competition as long as wireless is turned off. You can still use the ethernet portion of it. There are adapters out there that you can use to bring an ethernet port to a device with micro-usb or lightning cables. Though they can be kind of spendy, it is possible.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

As Adam said, it is not open source. However, I may publish the Protocol Buffer file specs as well as other design documents that would be required to make a cross-platform server work at some point in the future. Right now I'm going to hold off so I know that any bug reports I get are because of my code, not someone else's. It just makes support a lot easier.

For the networking, the only time networking is required is for schema deployment, which as I stated earlier should be finalized before competition (since determining the data to collect is a vital part of any scouting plan). Other than that, networking is not required, but it is enabled for teams that are wishy-washy about those rules. Bluetooth is possible for the future, but will probably not exist on iOS because of the OS's implementation of Bluetooth (non-standard and undocumented).

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Apple has now approved it! Use the link on the the SuperScouter website (or search for it) to download it from the App Store!

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

I'm new to the scouting business, is there a chance you could maybe post a guide to using your software. for the life of me i cant figure out how to start the sever.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Sure! I've been meaning to get that written for a while. I'm super busy until middle of next week. But I'll write up a guide (and possibly push out an update that's slightly more user friendly).

For your specific problem, try putting something into the Regional text box and then click out of it. You should be able to start the HTTP server. If you mean the actual server application, it is the SuperScouter.LocalServer.exe file in the zip downloaded from the website.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

When you are recording match data how are you meant to distinguish matches/teams for that piece of data? Do you just need to include it in the data you collect?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Yep. In the current version you need to include those data entries manually.

Tables?
 

I was just wondering if you could create tables using you app?

Re: Tables?
 

You cannot create tables that will show up on the mobile devices. If you mean outputting tables, the server outputs a zip with csv files that can be imported into any database.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

This is pretty awesome. Suggesting it to the scouting team for evaluation.

To make data entry quicker, could there be a data entry method that is a simple count up or count down toggle? This way I only have to tap a + button when someone scores a boulder for example, rather than moving a slider or manually typing it in.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

I was thinking about that. I'll put it in the feature backlog.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

this is not my wheelhouse. i created schemas got them onto my phone but am unable to send data from my phone back to the computer. tried using the same http as when i sent it to phone . what am i doing wrong??

thanks

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Is the HTTP Server still on? What is the specific error that you get when sending?

Have you tried using the QR scanner instead and seeing if that works?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Got it to upload back to computer. How do I import to excel? Thanks

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Select the Export Data from Regional on the home screen. That will download a zip folder with CSV files with your uploaded data in it. Just open that in Excel

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

when i create a scheme it does not let me save it CTRL+S does not work and both save buttons that i could find in the interface were not working either.
how do i save my scheme or am i missing a step that i must do before i can save?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

What I've found (Jeremy correct me if I'm wrong), if an option within a schema doesn't have an ID, it won't let you save the schema. (This might be nice to have a warning about)

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

You are correct. I will add that to the documentation that I am currently working on. I'm pretty busy right now with the start of the semester, but hopefully I'll be able to get it out soon.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Hello,

I was thinking of making my own scouting app and wanted to know if people liked SuperScouter. If people like it then it might just be worth stuck with it.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

This is awesome! Last year even though I wasn't on my team I helped with scouting (I'm a sibling of a senior team member and attended every single competition), and it definitely isn't the funnest thing on the planet, so I'm really glad to see this coming out. It looks really cool!

A quick question: do you know when the app will be available for download on the App Store?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

This seems like a really great system. The only thing is that the app keeps crashing on all of my devices (tried on a Galaxy S6, Nexus 4, Nexus 5, and Nexus 7). I made a schema and downloaded it to my device but when I tap 'Enter Data' and select the schema, the app crashes.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Do you have any specific plans/roadmap for when newer types of Schema will be added?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

It is available now. For some reason Chief Delphi won't let me edit the original post any more...

Ok, that's weird. It shouldn't be crashing at all at that point. I have multiple safeguards to make sure it doesn't crash there and shows an error message instead. Did you try creating a new schema and testing with that?

New data types probably won't come until after the season so as to avoid bugs in version incompatibilities during the initial season. Also because I'm back in school and this semester is looking to be pretty (read: really) difficult in comparison to last semester.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Thanks for all the hard work you've put in. The customization and QR functionality make this great.

It took me a while to figure out the system but now it will be a lot easier to present to students and see what they think. Paper scouting has always been close to worthless due to time required to sort through everything.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Not a problem! If you have any suggestions on how to make it easier to use, please let me know. This is my first publicly released project so I'm still getting the whole user communication and UX thing down.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Thanks for all your hard work and all the information. I would love to test however I'm unclear on to how to "Start HTTP Server" I've downloaded the server and got a couple of schemas created but the "Start HTTP Server" button remains inactive (grayed out). How does that button become active? I am running the server from a laptop that has Windows 7 as the OS. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated, or please point me to documentation/white papers for reading, if available. Thank you!

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

You need to enter a "Regional" name. Then exit that field.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Some documentation is now available at http://github.com/jkoritzinsky/SuperScouter4FRC/wiki. I'd put this in the first post, but CD won't let me edit it any more.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Thank you for making this system. I love how easy it is to customize to my team's personal needs - I feel like a lot of apps aren't very flexible and I'm very picky with what I want on my scouting sheets. My team is using this for competitions this year!

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

That is the whole reason I made this app. I wanted it to be customizable because that makes both me and teams happy. I'm happy because now I get to work on new features each year instead of rebuilding from effectively scratch, and teams are happy because they get to collect the data that they want!

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Hi, I was wondering if there are any plans to make it so you can pull all sent data from the server from a phone with the app. I am hosting a server over the internet and I just realized that the only option I see to get an export of all data entered is through the server, which is an issue if you are not hosting locally. If the feature is there please guide me to it, if not I would love to see it added, without it it is more or less useless to me, because QR codes have no advantage over paper, and you can't host your own wireless network at a competition.
Thanks,
Mat
Aztechs 157

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Currently there is no way to pull data back to the phone since on most devices there is not a unified location to export the data to. Why do you think that QR codes have no advantage over paper? Sure you still have to scan them, but you don't need to manually enter the data into the spreadsheet. Other than the scanning process, it is the exact same as the HTTP transfer method.

I'll add the feature to the backlog though.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

You can use Bluetooth to connect to competition.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Unfortunately, this app does not support Bluetooth at this time.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

As Adam said, BT isn't supported right now. BT APIs are a pain to deal with, especially on iOS (BT will probably be Android only when it does come).

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

I am having trouble with the server. I'm running on Mac so I got it set up in a VM.


I got the server to run and I *think* I have it successfully ported out. However when I try navigating to it I see HTML but it is essentially blank.


I have a couple schema files in the Roaming folder and I'm assuming they should be listed here, right? Why might they not be?

Also tried on the Android app, no schemas there.

Any pointers? If you wanna release the code I could take a look :D

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Are there any schema's available for download or any templates to follow for the schema creation? Please send me a direct message if possible

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Well, I've now done a small test schema, and I'm pretty impressed. The major functions work and I could see using this.

One piece I couldn't get to work however was the QR code data collection. When I brought up the data collection on the Windows Server it didn't show any image -- I was hoping it would display what the web cam saw. Without any feedback I'm afraid I wasn't able to align the QR code displayed on my tablet with the Windows server's webcam.

I assume you just didn't get a chance to implement a display of the webcam image, but it seems to me that would be pretty essential for reliable data collection in the stands. http data collection just seems logistically implausible.

Finally, I would urge you to open the source. I have students who could likely help polish some of the rougher parts of the program, and I may be able to find time to work on this myself. Particularly the Windows Server part, as I used to be a developer at Microsoft.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Worked for me. Did you select your webcam from the drop down menu?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Since you're running in a VM, you might need to put an exception into the Mac firewall for the port to allow incoming connections. You do have it successfully ported out though. The HTML is supposed to be essentially blank, there's nothing programmed to be there, except for it to load. This will be one of the UX changes that comes in the next version.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

SenorZ has it right. You need to pick the webcam from the drop down. That feature was rushed into the final version, so the UX isn't the best on it. UX changes are some of the largest upcoming features in the next version. The QR scanner actually only scans on the camera that is showing on the reader (as selected in the drop down).

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Having trouble viewing the data after sending it to my laptop/ not sure if it send. Got this error: "Unexpected end-group in source data; this usually means source data is corrupt." Any ideas?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Where did this error show up? On the app, or the server?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

On the server upon trying to scan the QR Code

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Hi my team is new to this whole app and server relay for scouting data and I was wondering if you could post a guide as how to set it up.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Hi! While I did select my webcam from the drop down menu, my laptop still isn't scanning the QR code, no matter how I hold it. Are there webcam requirements for scanning codes, or is there another issue here?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Interesting... Not quite sure why that's happening. Any chance you can screenshot the QR code and send me that image and a copy of your schema file?

There is a setup/usage guide at http://github.com/jkoritzinsky/SuperScouter4FRC/wiki

There aren't any set requirements, but I have noticed that some webcams do sometimes have problems with the scanning, probably because they don't have high enough resolution.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Do you need to send data after every match or can you collect data all day and then send it after the day is over?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

While you can send data at the end of the day, I would recommend doing it as often as you can. That way if any data were to be lost from the phones, you would not lose as much.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Upon trying to replicate the error today, I didn't have any luck, but I'll send it to you if I ever get the error again.

On a slightly different note, this may be a stupid question, but how do I view the data sent to the server?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

You can export the data with the button in the bottom left corner. It will allow you to save a zip file that contains csv files that have all of the data.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Hi,
Thank you very much for making this app.
I have a question about transmitting data. I tried to use QR codes and scan them into my computer. This worked 2 weeks ago but is no longer working. The QR reader just says Scanning... and doesn't do anything. We also tried http over wifi (I know that the competition does not have wifi, this was just for testing) and it gave us a huge error.
Can you please help us?
Thank you very much.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Can you send me a screenshot of the error?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Thanks for letting me know hopefully I can get it up and running for Buckeye Regional

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

This app is great!

One thing I have a question about is when I create the server I can only connect on my local network. It is using my local ip address instead of my router's public address for the server. Is it possible to use my public address?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

You'd have to set up port forwarding for port 5001 on your router. In theory I don't see why it wouldn't work but in practice i can't promise anything.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

It worked perfectly! Obviously the server application still displayed my internal ip, but I could connect using my external one.

One suggestion that I would like to make is this: Is there any possible way you could make it so the server application exports data automatically? That way I could have the server running at home on my PC and it exports data automatically to a folder (and I can have the folder on a cloud drive that I could access remotely either on my phone or on another PC while at competition)

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Does anyone have any examples of their schemas? I am not well-versed on the creating part haha

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

I tried this software out today by setting up a basic schema. I was able to successfully upload and export data, but after designing a more complex schema it stopped working. Whenever I go to export data on the server, it crashes after I select where to save it. What could cause this?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

That'll take some work to get right, so I'll add that to the feature backlog for the next version.

Can you send me the schema and data files in the situations mentioned? If you have a GitHub account, you can open an issue on https://github.com/jkoritzinsky/SuperScouter4FRC with the files attached and I'll look at getting that fixed.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

I did some more testing and it appears to be a problem with using two different schemas with the same regional. (Causes it to crash while exporting)

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

That is supposed to be supported. I'll test that out and try to fix the bug.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

My team used this scouting system at the Standish District and really enjoyed using it. It is much better than the paper system that we have used in the past. Thank you for making this. We have discovered a bit of an issue with the iOS app. We have created our schema and use both Android and iOS to scout. When we are scrolling in our schema on iOS the labels of our multiple choice fields change as well as what we have selected. I believe on the back end. the data is still there but on the front end the labels change and we loss what we selected. When we scroll the multiple choice options all shift over one spot to the left and eventually we are left with the same option across the row. Any Ideas on this?
Thanks for your help.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Can you send me the schema? If you can open an issue at https://GitHub.com/jkoritzinsky/SuperScouter4FRC and attach the schema I'll take a look.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

I have noticed a critical bug that occurs for us. If you take a look at the match data, the first 2 columns are moved over. That will not work so well, unless we want to edit the csv before analyzing. I have not noticed that with the pit data at all.

I have also noticed that when adding a multiple choice question, it says text box id, instead of something like multiple choice.

Something else that I noticed, is that when exporting the data, the way that data is put into the csv is that in between multiple choice options with the allow multiple checked, all checked options are just squished together - as opposed to having a space between them. They are also not always in the same order. They are in the order that they are clicked. That could cause some issues with analyzation for some. Those are just what I remember.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Thanks for the bug report with the .zip. I'll look into it!

Any chance you can send me your schema as well?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Here is my schema. I had to zip it to allow for CD to take the file.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

A bug report and a couple feature requests:

Bug: Sliders present on schemas allow for non-integer inputs. I'm not sure if this was by design, but I've found it incredibly inconvenient when I export the data to Excel. While the App tells me I only have an integer selected on the slider, the Excel spreadsheet gives me a number with two decimal points. Additionally, the sliders in the app will not jump to integer values.

Feature request: Add the ability to export data as it is collected. That way, teams can easily take the data and visualize it using software such as Tableau.

Feature request: Create more contrast between multiple choice selections that are selected and those that are deselected. Also, perhaps add the ability to choose a different color layout.

Other than that, I've found this to be a really useful scouting app! :) My team hopes to use it at our next regional event.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

I'm working on the bug now. Feature 1: Already in progress. Feature 2: Noted! I'll try to get that working.


Also, I have an announcement: I'm at the Wisconsin regional so if anyone needs any help you can come find me! I'm acting as a programming mentor for Nicolet FEAR.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

Just thought I'd mention this, we scouted all 6 teams through practice rounds (to get the scouters informed of how it works) and then a large majority of the quals of our week 6 event, and when I went to export, the program crashed. couldn't get the data out of the ssfrc file extension. just simply wouldn't export. not entirely your fault, Jeremy, as we had a lot of data in our schema, and a lot of recorded data off that schema, but a lot of people on our team were disappointed in me, being head of Scouting.

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

That's not good... I'll try to figure out why that happened. Any chance you can send me the ssfrcexport file so I can try to figure out what happened?

Re: SuperScouter For FRC -- A Multiplatform, Extensible Scouting System
 

yeah I'll have to wait until I'm at school to get on the computer.