Auton mode next year¿
 

What did you think of auton mode do you think we should have it next year¿ why¿

Autonomous mode is cool. We should have it every year. It gives us programmers a job that shows our mad skills in a more obvious way.

It is awesome to see the robot move and know you got it up there faster than a human could.

What's with the upside down question marks?

mmmmmmmmmmm.....Autonomous mode
very cool but need more stuff to do it with. like how's the robots go at it "accidentally".

upside down question marks are fun.
I definately like autonomous mode. It gives us programmers and electronics people something to do.

I love auton mode. Granted we screwed it up a few times, but it added a completely different spin on the game. It was also more fun to watch, and it made life a bit more nerve-wracking for our drivers.

Auton mode also made for interesting control panels and bots. It not only affected the way you planned to attack the game, but it actually played a part in the design features and layout of your bot.

Bottom line: let's keep auton mode.

Besides, if it doesn't come back next year, I'm taking computer programming I for nothing.

I believe that the auto mode is great. It really does make the game a lot more exciting It also better defines what we do as robotics and makes us apply more skill to what we do. Definantly a keeper.

I loved auto mode! It had a whole new twist to the game and added a whole new strategy to it. I def think they should have it next year. I think they will have it just they are going to step it up a notch

I'm not sure... Cause this year the majority(no offense) is horrible with auto mode... I htink 5 teams at BAE had a some what good auto mode... I think they should have it so we can get better at it...

I'm definitely pro-auton mode for next year. I do have one reservation about it, though. I think that next year the autonomous mode should not be the deciding factor in the match is it seems to be this year. But it certainly adds another dimension to the game.

Good point. I agree. Keep the autonomous mode and make it important, but not quite so vital as it is this year.

Also it would be good to have some sample code for new teams and some workshops on the subject.

I have a feeling that autonomous is going to be with us from here on out. After all, robots in the future will be more and more autonomous, so we might as well learn how to handle them.

Auto mode was the best thing that happened to this year's game. FIRST was always giving us more sensors but never giving us good reasons to use them until now. Although it is only 15 sec it can have as much weight in determining the winner as the next 1 min 45 sec. Since it is so important it encourages people to try it, just as more people would stack if KOH was worth 15 per bot.

In a year where most bots operate like "box" bots with very little unique functionality separating bot form bot, an autonomous program can become the bot's identity. Certainly everyone knows of the amazing feats of WildStang and their positional coordinate system. Keep autonomous and the whole of teams will get better at it as the years pass. Plus the Lego League kids already have experience in this area.

Auto mode is good :D We have a good autonomous program with optical sensors to track wheel rotation and lift arm position. Our auton program was one of the best in the Canadian Regional (Team 48 was very good). Our gearbox screwed up in the end though (sorry Team CRT :(... we could have won... d... bevel gears :))

I got to say i am Pro-Auton.

Our auton programming this year was a large source of stress and aggravation. Of course, all aimed at me because im the programmer, and the programmer is always first to take the blame, right fellow programmers? hehe. But in the end, there was just a perfect sense of relief, success, and awe when it was all tweaked and worked right.

There is something amazing when your bot is doing something and no one hands are moving it, but its also amazing when the drivers are driving.

Plus as it has been said, robots in the future all nearly likely to be autonomous and run by some form of AI, and FIRST is dedicated to leading the way into the future.

I am all for autonomous mode, because it presents unique challenges to the game. However, I do NOT believe autonomous mode should be more than 15 seconds ever... otherwise the game might get a little wee bit too hard for anyone to plan for.

autonomous mode is incredibly cool....it gives people a chance to show off the versatility of their programming skills. I think it really broadens FIRST b/c in years past programming has not been such a big deal(at least on our team) and it gives those people who are in depth programmers a reason to do FIRST.

Next year it would be cool if they made even more sensors and perhaps the ability to create a sort of artificial intelligence for the robot(extremely limited probably). Thats probably not realistic for next year but if sometime in the future they could make robots which could sense where practically anything on the field is and act accordingly. Of course, once it hits this point, programming will probably be equal in importance as engineering. Oh well, I really enjoyed this years game partly because of the autonomous.

I like auto mode, but it was a big reason for our two losses, which came when we decided we wanted a better auto mode and the changes we made didnt exactly work, we got up to the ramp first, but our robot went in reverse too fast and no boxes were knocked over... those boxes eventually got knocked on the other side, and that was the difference we lost by.... so, auto mode is a very BIG factor this year, which is cool b/c ours worked most of the time, but i think it will be in the competition next year, and many years to come, until they come up w/ something more complex than it

I really like auton mode, but it sure makes the programming a lot harder. Especially when you're on a team like mine, where the robot is finished either a few hours before shipping or at the competition itself. I had to program the entire autonomous mode in the pitts, having no idea what it would do (it made the robot flip itself on the bar). Other than that though, it really adds a lot to the competition.

With regards to programming, I only finally figured out a few days ago while fiddling around how to drive the robot and make it repeat everything exactly in auton mode. We sure could have used this sooner.

The main problem with auto mode this year is that, well, it was its first year. Now that teams have some experience with it, it will definately be better next year for all teams. We only perfected it during the Chesapeke Regional, and realized from the beginning that because we were so new to it dead reckoning was the only way to make it work, because it was so simple. No-one had enough experience with autonomous mode this year to use sensors a great deal, and the folly of most teams was that they kept at it. One of our programmers is playing with autonomous mode during the summer to figure out how to make more complex programs work.

I like the auton mode- even though in the end it turned out to be a factor against us- and for that matter anyone else who had a white tape auton mode. I can't belive that they used the wrong tape(/censors?)(It didn't work right with that tape...). Our robot was good at folowing the tape up the ramp and fast as well. Oh well we have new programs that are being worked out. Preperation for the future! LoL. To bad we wont get to test any in another competition this year.

Good luck in your regionals and Nats. Sorry we can't join you.

I agree that auton mode shouldn't get much longer than 15 seconds. Any more time and it'll be too difficult to plan a good auton activity for the bot. With 15 seconds, you can pretty much accomplish one thing and that's it.

Yeah it is a good thing to have i mean on an educational level cause you have know how it works before you play.

I think autonomous really adds to the game. It's been pretty much distinguishing how well a team does, and gives the programmers something to do. I'm all for keeping it next year, and it really tells you how good a team is at the game as a whole, and not just mechanically at building a robot. Having good autonomous is probably the most important thing this year, and hope they don't take it away for next year.

I've been thinking about it, and I believe there definitely will be an autonomous mode next year. If you remember, on the game submission thing it asked what sensors you would like the game to highlight.

Hehe, I really will have a job again next year!

I definitely liked the 15 seconds of autonomous. It made the game a lot more interesting. A cool, new twist for next year might be to put the 15 seconds at the end of the match... that would definitely be challenging!

that would def. make sensors important

KEEP IT.

I'd love to see it only run for ~10 seconds though.

The problem I find with the last 10 seconds for an autonomous mode is that the game would lack a "home zone" which has been there forawhile now. I like the idea of a homezone, be it where you started or even on top of a giant ramp. It highlights the ability for a team to push, take punishment, and simply move well with a drivetrain.
Though if the autonomous mode is only 10 seconds, this I wouldn't mind either. Just no more than 15!!!

As for new sensors, what do YOU think we should have? We have optical and rotation sensors, a gyroscope... What new sensors can the FIRST kit provide that may be useful for a new autonmous mode?

on the topic of a homezone, why can you do that in auto? that way you would have some sort of idea of what to program, instead of just random driving around like it would be w/o a homezone. But it would def. be foolish to get rid of the idea... unless they find something cooler of course

Perhaps it wouldn't be so hard if the homezone was covered in reflective tape. It'd FINALLY catch on!

Get Auton before it gets you...
 

I vote against autonomous mode.

Basically, it is as a killer on 2 levels: It is a huge increase in time and energy (and pressure) for the coders. It all but requires teams to do dangerous things in and around the pits.

It IS cool, but it is also such a huge advantage if you can pull it off that teams that want to be in the hunt push themselves that much harder to make it happen. For our team that resulted in us doing what we have NEVER done before: complete a practice robot. It has also ment 4 or 5 times the effrot from the coding team to get the best our of the auton code. Encouraging this level of extra effort is not in the long-term best interest of FIRST.

As to safety, I have never seen as many near misses in the pits as I have this year. My own team is no exception, we try to be as safe as we can but we are not always successful -- my apologies to the HOT team and the Killer Bees, our pit neighbors in Ypsilanti :-0 It is down-right dangerous out there due to people trying out the latest changes/tweaks to their autonomous code.

If FIRST keeps autonomous next year, I believe they will have to address these two issues: burning out coders and hurting someone in and around the pits.

JOe J.

Keep Autonomous Mode! It's awesome... although it is hard for the code people I'm sure, it is also hard for the scouters. Autonomous mode has added a whole new factor for us scouters, but it makes the game much more interesting, and it's one of the easiest times to make an impact on another team (such as messing up their auto. mode :laughs evily: ;) ).

Anyways, keep the auto. mode!

I must say I disagree with you Joe. Making code work for controlling motors is maybe a one to two hour job at most. Where is the experience in that? And before this year teams made only one program, I'm guessing. This year we have 9. I say auton gives programmers good experience more in line with what would occur in the real world. In the real world, programmers make robots act like- well, robots. They take inputs from their environment and respond accordingly.

On burning out:
I did practically all the programming for my team, and though it exhausted me at times, I loved it! I was important! Anyway, aside from a slight caffeine addiction that sprang up during my programming sessions, I was fine.

The autonomous mode this year is a big thrill but also can be a big advantage for teams that do it well. I would like to see it stay but with some tweaks to help it level the playing field a little. Although, anyone who has been watching the regionals will tell you that teams still make it to the finals without full auto because there is still 00:01:45:00 of driver stick time before the end of the match.
I must agree with Joe on the safety issue in the pits. Auto isn't the only driving factor though. Teams need to be much more careful in the pits and we need to stress safety.(both in testing and in working on the robot. Stressing safety glasses in the pit is the first on the list.) Above all, teams need to remember to run tethered in the pit. We know that several teams tested in their pit without tether at each of the regionals we have attended. For the most part it was difficult to tell whether this caused any of the control errors seen on practice day or not. It is just a bad habit to get into.