From what I've looked at in the competition, there are tons of variables!! If you knew exactly what each robot could do and how it did it, you still wouldn't know who the winner is going to be. That's why FIRST is much different than survivor or anything else. I believe it is beneficial for the rookie teams to be able to look at veteran teams' point of view. This may spark new ideas for people to come up with something totally original. I'm not saying that you should tell everything about your robot, but I don't think It'll hurt (too much :)) you in the long run. It will also help the competition be more competitive. You don't want the rookie teams to have major problems just because they weren't informed of certain tips and tricks. I understand team #384's argument, but I still think the sharing of ideas is beneficial for an overall teamwork of learning and sharing. After all, isn't that the purpose of FIRST.

On behalf of Team #016 (Baxter Bomb Squad)
P.S. - For those of you worried about "Bomb Squad" being on our shirts, you don't have to worry anymore. We had meeting to change the back logo to a big "BBS." (I think that's what it'll be)

just another thought...
 

I agree. The winning alliance in any given match cannot be determined just by the robots on the field. With some exception, most matches will be won or lost by the expertise of the operators, human players and strategists. Yes, I know that well designed robots are incomprehensively important to your competition perormance. However, an alliance of God-like robots with a terrible strategic capacity will often lose to an alliance with mediocre (but still functional) robots and excellent strategists. Any alliance can win a match if they play their cards right.

On a note pertaining to the thread, teams should not be so paranoid towards the secrecy of their robot type or even parts of their design at this stage of the game. Sharing concepts with other teams is mutually beneficial as long as you don't reveal any sensitive strategic information. Even if a team 'steals' your unique design, the team that implements it best in competition will be the victor.

But that's just my opinion...

~Hubicki~

Plans? And whats this 'strategy' everyone keeps talking about?
All we have is some strategery.
:)