6054: What we learned this year
 

Lessons Learned:
1.Ordering parts is hard. Getting a system in place at the school to decide you need a part, and get it sooner than 3 weeks requires some outside the box methods of procurement for a school district.
2.The Kitbot is really good. It was simple yet flexible enough to allow us to modify it. The time we saved was crucial to writing code, and practicing driving.
3.Having FRC teams to rely on is awesome. We were lucky enough to be part of the NEOFRA, and going to kick off with those teams, and seeing their robots from previous years was awesome. New teams should definitely find nearby teams to work with.
4.The control system setup walkthrough needs special attention to detail. A slight omission on step 4 of 30 will have you banging your head against the wall for days trying to get it sorted out.
5.Metal shavings are very bad for electrical components.
6.The stress on the drive team is hard to simulate outside competition.
7.As a new team try to pick a few things to well in the game. If you have time to add in new functionality after mastering that…. Nah, you won’t have time.
8.Getting sponsors is difficult. The average manager at a car dealership isn’t as excited about robotics as a high school student. You need to have a few kids that are able to sell your team, your vision, and FIRST in general.
9.It’s really important to keep track of dates like when FIRSTchoice opens, and when registration is due, and all the things that are on deadlines.
10.Retired mentors make great mentors. They have more free time, and a lifetime of experience.

Student Quotes:
“Robot’s are so cool. It would be cooler if it worked right though.”
”This is the best thing I have done in high school.”

Re: 6054: What we learned this year
 

11. Scissor lifts break hearts

If there's anything you need to know, it's scissor lifts break hearts
You'll have to find another way if you wish your bot to not fall apart
So take up the gauntlet, inspire a spark
And build a climber with some better parts
After all, you'll want a robot in one piece when it returns to your cart


On a side note, all things on that list are good to know. I'm sure other people will share what they learned as well (and I hope they too share a poem).

Re: 6054: What we learned this year
 

That's a great list that every rookie team should see before their first build season. Glad to see you guys learned a lot and had fun.

Re: 6054: What we learned this year
 

FTFY:

This list is greater than it seems
And so I think every rookie team
Ought to see it before Dean
Announces the game of 2017

That being said, I'm glad you learned a lot
And had fun too, when crafting your robot

Re: 6054: What we learned this year
 

For item #1 (difficulty ordering parts through school bureaucracy), I suggest forming a booster club. We based ours on the band/sports booster club model. The idea is to form a corporation (preferably 501 (c) (3)) which can accept many of the donations to the team and spend the money without so much external oversight. As I understand, about 1/2 to 2/3 of our funding goes through Slidell Tiger Robotics Booster Club, and 1/3 to 1/2 through the school account. We list team sponsors based on donations to either the official school account or the booster club. It's also a great way for parents and other adults who would like to help but don't have the skills or time to be technical mentors to provide real contributions to the team.

Re: 6054: What we learned this year
 

Second this. Our Booster Club (founded a little over a year ago) offers us a lot of flexibility for purchasing items and registration deadlines. Our affiliated school is notoriously slow in processing requisitions.

Re: 6054: What we learned this year
 

I would say this is really only true if something critical breaks on your bot, and then it's more stressful for whoever has to repair it. The more time your drive team spends with the bot the less stressed they will be at competition. Big players like 118 will spend 8+ hours a week driving on a field that is as close to competition standard as possible. They also play in just about every other practice match at competition since they get inspected so fast.

Those are just a few observations I made from the past 2 years. It all boils down to how much time you spend on practicing and how close to standard your practices are.

P.S. It's great to see that rookie teams are practicing before competition, that's something we didn't figure out until we went to St. Louis last year.