Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Got an idea. How about a competition this summer with the roles of mentors and students reversed. The mentors will drive and be human players and the students will coach and do all repairs. This would give the student coach a chance to yell and scream directions at us, and we would have to listen with no arguments to the student. Mentors would not be allowed to do repairs, only give input. What you all think, I think that would be pretty fun. Maybe just one match each team after a real event or something. :ahh:

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

You mean your students don't repair the robot? :D

I will say that putting some of our more uppity mentors behind the wheel for a few tense matches might give them an appreciation of how difficult and stressful driving really is.

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Role reversal, great idea!

Does this mean that the mentors get to connive ways to sneak out of their hotel rooms in the middle of the night without the students catching us? And that the students actually have to know the deadlines of the projects that are due? And that they will e-mail all the mentors and their families on a regular basis so that details are communicated, and we, as mentors can choose not to bother to read those e-mails? And the students will make all the travel arrangements and call the hotels and bus companies and restaurants, all while trying to not get caught since the calls have to be made during normal working hours? And that they'll make sure the bills are paid and the school boards are satisfied and the t-shirts are ordered and that hair dye in the team colors is brought to competitions, and make us all goodie bags for our rooms, too? And provide the mentors with tattoos and customized disposable cameras... and solicit area business for food for the tailgating party and not only work at it, but clean up after it so the mentors can go inside and be interviewed for the morning news???

This sounds like fun! :p

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

1257 must really be all mixed up, seems to me like we've got students coaching drive teams, doing the majority of repairs, managing nearly all financial matters, soliciting sponsors, and preparing all non essential items for the competition like t shirts and hair dye and such. Well then i guess our team should be following this thread, 'cept our mentors don't have to spend all day in school...

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

LOL, I work at a college, our Programming mentor is a professor, our Team Leader is a high school teacher and two other mentors also teach. So we ARE spending all day in school! :yikes:

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Actually I love that idea... We do it every year at one of our offseason competitions... Either meyhem on the merrimack, tyngsboro, battlecry or river rage... i forget which one but we do it every year... It is soooo funny... Its only for one match though and I think it should be for more...

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

I'm a student and if I switched I wouldn't have a darned thing to do.

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought "what, you get six weeks to take apart a robot or something??"

But I like your idea a lot better. :p

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

i dunno. If we let our mentors get anywhere near those joysticks there would be pieces of our robot all over the field.

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

oh how true it is... It might look like battle bots then...

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Put a joystick in my hand again, with a robot on the other end, and I will definitely... heh, nvm :).

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

...kill someone??? hahaha It would be scarey to see any mentor with a robot...

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

are you sure about that? for some reason i remember a certain (now) mentor winning the 2002 championship...

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Meh that is true... I did forget that he use to be a driver... But now he is considered old... So he probably would go on a reckless abandon... hehehe

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Some of the reply's are great, your right........us mentors probably would end up destroying the robot. Then we could just blame it on the coach. :)

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Seriously, this is the FIRST robotics competition- for high school students. it's kinda sad how this thread is supposed to have students- in a reverse role- 'fix' the robot. I mean, why must teams be high-school sponsored if kids don't fix the robot? Next year there's gonna be a team consisting of my dad and his drinking buddies, yeah.

I don't mean to offend or insult anyone... and this is entirely my own opinion.. so please dont take anything against 341 because of what I said.

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Ohhh just wait my friend... just wait.

I've got something in store for YOU next year. ;)

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

I am against the role reversal idea. I find it hard to make up as many excuses as I hear for not showing up or being late or not finishing a job or stopping what I was doing because I took so long I forgot what I was doing or ...........

Besides I would get bored sitting and gossiping instead of working. I like to keep busy but not by trying not to do work. I enjoy seeing things accomplished but would they ever get done.

I love being a mentor, PLEASE no role reversals !!!!!!! PLEASE !!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Role reversal sounds great!!! I would LOVE to see some of our mentors doing the role of working the pit [our students do repairs not the mentors, tho they do help sometimes] and driving... Wherley did seem to want to try out being our human player... lol I think it could be great and also a learning experience for both students and mentors [that whole walk a mile in their shoes thing]. As for the whole slacking and making excuses, our mentors could easily do that... I mean come on... we've got Dave. :p :D

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

In case my post was seen as student bashing IT WAS NOT. I enjoy picking on the kids and having fun. The problem with threads is that you can't see my face (lucky you) or hear my tone of voice. However I do love being a mentor.

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Does this mean i get to be my dad? And I get to skip half the build season to send things to Mars? And he has to become team scout and do a ton of chairmans award work? He already helps on mobility, so that wouldnt be a huge change, except now, he gets to do the grunt work, and I oversee and do occaisionally mill and lathe work....
And that the mentors have to do homework and projects during build season, and that they have to study and take tests? And they have to room 4 to a room in the hotels? Well, I think both sides think they'll be getting an easier job. And what kind of wierd team has mentors do repairs?

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

The students on my team already do the repairs and the mentors just give us suggestions

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

hey people lets not turn this into a "kids on my team do ALL the work" thread...

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

My post was merely meant in fun. Yes, I get angry when I work really hard for the team and it doesn't appear to be appreciated (who wouldn't?). But then I watch a freshman come onto the team in September, and look at how (s)he is doing now, some 7 months later, and then I get a Thank You card from the Chairman's Award committee that I mentored, or a hug from our team captain, or get challenged to a race with the studnets on the stairs at the Congress Center, and all that anger melts away. I LOVE working with the students, good or bad.

"Listen to the adults, you can learn a lot.
Listent to the STUDENTS, you can learn a lot."
-- form All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in FIRST

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

i would hope that if we reversed roles, the only difference would be that the mentors would get a chance to drive and be human players...
It seems like the students and mentors do things together and learn together and that we are just a bunch of members of the team, so we would still be doing all the same stuff during the build together, but the mentors would get the chance to drive which many of them deserve, because they work just as hard to build the robot!

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Well said!

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Only reason I suggested "reverse robots" is I though it would be fun for the students to watch the mentors not be able to with the robot what they told the kids was easy all year. :) :)

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Better yet, have drive teams switch robots!

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

That would be cool! But it would feel very weird...

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

I know, and I think it's a great idea. :)

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

dude, i like my robot, i don't want to kill it!!! (;) jk, i love my adults)
I know that this would be CRAZY, espcially if the adults did what some of our kids did :rolleyes: I don't think i'd be able to do it, but it sure would be fun to try!!
Plus it might wake up some of the kids on our team UP to everything the mentors do!!

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

I love the idea of driving with Joel again.

You know Joel and I could do a better job than you can dream of. :D


But the Joelster is on 229 now :rolleyes:, I suppose he would drive 229.

I'd love to drive a/any robot again (especially 45's huge arm from this year).
Is there a proposed place to do this, or is it just hypothetical?

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

How about team 25's robot? They have that sick operator thing where it is a mini model of there arm and they move it around to control it... Its sick! I have only seen it from a distance but I heard that it is unbelievable...

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

I'm wary of anyone playing with that arm without significant practice. I broke it twice, and I'm the one who programmed the thing. :eek:

(Actually, I merely happened to be the one touching the controls when the arm motor mount gave way during build season, so that one shouldn't count against me. Much. The broken chain at Nationals, however, I take full responsibility for.)

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Joel i have no doubt, would be awesome, how could he not be? You on the other hand....jk :p
Although i was talking about some of the more "mature" adults (age-wise, i'm still not sure if they're matured emotionally, jk!!:p )
THOSE are the ones i'm not sure if i'd let drive the robot lol
the engineers duh, because they know its limits (kinda...:rolleyes: ) but some of those other crazy adults.....i'm not so sure

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

He could hit something by mistake.....like say the cameraman.... ;)


I still believe in the power of Joel though :D

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

our team would be so crazy with reversed roles. But then all I would need to do is scream at the mentors, "what did you do to the program!!!!??" when nothing is wrong, and we would actually change the hardware instead of the program, and it would be much less stressful (even if I had to make all the travel arrangements

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

oh man.. I'm telling ya, I saw the CD name, I saw the quote, and I knew immidiately thats what you were going to say.

I still say I planned that :) .. j/k.

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Don't you know? There is no such thing as a hardware problem! When something isnt working, it is automatically the program's/programmer's fault! :ahh:

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

That is a utoopian thought

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

Planned or not, the fact the cameraman didn't even flinch until the robot was touching the camera... oh man that made me laugh so hard.. you're my hero

Re: Reverse Robotics !!!!!!!!!!
 

I would like to see Mr. Shen try his hand at driving it. But most repairs are student-done on my team, so that means we would have to let our mentors do all our repairs. Which is bad, because when we need to get to our next match pronto, our mentors can't skip the whole design process. Example: We broke a weld in a corner. A friend and I cut a peice of L-bracket, clamped it in place, drilled the holes and added the bolts in about 5 minutes. Our mentors would have talked and thought too much, and we would have been late.

You could do "mentor matches" as kind of a fun bonus to a competition, though, where your mentors drove and were human players. It would be great.