Re: Give me your best scouting tip.
 

Don't judge robots by their rank but how they play the game. Possibly have a rating system of how well a robot performs the task it is specialized to do.

Re: Give me your best scouting tip.
 

Scouting isnt just a tool to learn about other robots, its also a very useful tool for tell other teams about your robot, selling your robot as a valid competitor, increases your chances of being watched, which will help you get picked in the finals if you do not make it into the ranks

Re: Give me your best scouting tip.
 

Spend Thursay taking pictures of all the robots and talk to the other teams drivers and scouts. Ask questions that are important to the sucess of an alliancem, it isn't really necessary to ask what gear ratios a team's robot has. Make sure to find out what each team does in autonomous, I found this to be very important in elimnations (For example our alliance in Atlanta had a completed row in auto., and was very vital to our sucess)

Friday have a scouting team to watch every match. On 108 we would give each scout a group of teams and a schedule so they didn't have to be stuck in the stands for everymatch. Then Firday night have a meeting with the drive team and the head scout, and use SOAP (quick plug) to show the strenght and weaknesses of each team. Make a list of the top 32 teams.

Spend Saturday make changes to the list as necessary. Teams can make changes at the end of friday and jump up on your list (Team 65 jumped over 10 spots on out list when we were in Chicago last year).

Re: Give me your best scouting tip.
 

Haha, thank you Brandon. And I know, I just wanted a more general spot of main scouting tips. And new ones from the past year! [I am working on a team scouting guide for my team :)]

Re: Give me your best scouting tip.
 

Keep it simple. Last year, for us, it was how many tetras, and where did they get them? Use tally marks to fill in. The year before, it was a number system, 0-3. 0 meant that a team could not do a function at all (e.g. had no hanging mechanism). 1 meant that a team had a function, but it didn't work. 2 meant that a team had a function and it worked (and 2 was the most common rating). If someone got a 3, they were extremely good at something, and I know I did not give out 3s lightly (maybe one or two over three competitions. That about says it.)

Have no more than one robot on each scout's list to watch, if possible. I watched two at a time two years ago. Virtually impossible says it all.

Choose a good position in the stands. If you can't see a key portion of the field, find another location if possible.

Actions speak louder than words. If a team says they can stack 9 tetras per match, watch them. If they can, everyone will want to know. If they can't, well, you decide what to do.

Scout each robot several times. If a robot caps 12 tetras in one round and 3 the next two rounds, but you only scout the first round, how do you know that that was just a fluke?

Godd luck putting together a scouting handbook. I think this whole thread covers most of it, but then again, someone might have something else to add...