Scouting on Thursday?
 

Hello people... anyway, I'm 840's main scout, and I'm wondering whether coming to our regional (SVR, by the way) would be useful. I think that it could provide a good "head start" on basic robot functionality and appearance, but some others on my team say the robots usually change so much it's not worth it. What do you think?

Re: Scouting on Thursday?
 

The more you can see the better off you will be

WC

Re: Scouting on Thursday?
 

The purpose of scouting is to gather data about other robots and analyze it to death, then pick a strategy to win/partner for eliminations.

That said, you want as much data as possible. Thursday is often used to pit scout; match scouting is primarily done on Friday and Saturday, but can be started on Thursday.

It's worth it to go.

Re: Scouting on Thursday?
 

It is absolutely worth it getting started with a system of orginazation, and taking notes on how well designed each robot is. Decorative stuff will probably change the most, if anything, which would only affect any photos you take.

Thursday is practace, and that is no exception to scouting, it is your day to get organized and get going.

Re: Scouting on Thursday?
 

Thursday scouting, for us, involves doing the pit scouting, taking pictures of the robots, and doing the prelim match scouting. My prelim match scouting consists of a running narrative of each team that puts a robot out on the floor for the prelims. Who can shoot, who seems fast, who tends to flip over, etc... On Friday morning, for the first qualifying match, I like to have some idea of who we are aligned with, and who we are facing. Even if the robots do change, it least you have a good start. It is better than walking into those first couple of matches totally blind!

Best regards,

Steve

Re: Scouting on Thursday?
 

Scouting on Thursday isn't always important as far as collecting data, Thursdays rarely show a teams power and most teams don't make it out.

HOWEVER, as said above it is necessary to get the kinks out of the system, so you know what will happen on Friday.

Re: Scouting on Thursday?
 

You can also find out which teams are having problems for scouting purposes and also to help them out. Practice day would be a good time to do some pit scouting as well.

Re: Scouting on Thursday?
 

As wierd as this may sound, the best team to scout on Thursday may just be your own. Imagine that you were on another team; what would you think of your robot? What pros/cons can you see in strategy or design? What types of robots do they work best with? etc.

Also, Thursday is the best time to see any potential problems in your design or strategy and be able to possible alter them before the actual competition begins.

Re: Scouting on Thursday?
 

You bring up a good point. ALWAYS scout yourself. This can help you figure out if your scouting program is accurate.

Re: Scouting on Thursday?
 

And, in the case of match scouting, help you make an accurate strategy choice. Realistically, every team thinks their robot performed better than it did. It's not like there is anything particularly wrong with that (as long as it is not an exaggerated effect), but it makes for a tough time planning strategy. If you have numbers/info on everyone in a match, including yourself, you can make very good strategy decisions. If you only have info on 83% of the teams in your match, then you are unnecessarily handicapping yourself. The only team you play with every match is your own* - it's best to know what you really can do, not what you think you can do.


*unless you are stuck in 2007 with that awful match randomizing algorithm.

Re: Scouting on Thursday?
 

I'm basically emphasizing what everybody said above. Yes, coming to the regional on Thursday is worth it. Very worth it. The best thing to do on practice day is pit scouting, especially at the end of the day when teams have figured out for themselves what their strengths and weaknesses are. Match scouting is not absolutely important but it does give you a good chance to practice your system and iron the kinks out.

Re: Scouting on Thursday?
 

Thanks for the help everyone... our team hasn't made the decision yet, but I definitely have some of the best help avaliable to help bolster my position :)

Re: Scouting on Thursday?
 

yeah like the others said, scout yourself the most on thursday. being a scout you can have a vantage point over the whole match, the best thing to do is if you have a video camera, have it running. that way the drivers can be watching what they did worng or didnt do, but most importantly what they did right. i have found by being a scout for a number of different racing events (everything from go karting of hydoplane racing) that positives help the driver(s) more than negatives. they feed off the stuff. the more that you can show ur team doing right, the better....

just a thought...

Re: Scouting on Thursday?
 

And remember, teams are getting their match lists for Friday and Saturday on Thursday afternoon this year, not Friday morning.

So the more of a head start you have, the better.

Re: Scouting on Thursday?
 

Thursday scouting at the NJ regional this year was extremely useful. We scouted every single team that practiced that day. The night before we were having doubts as to its usefulness because of no shows but it turned out to be very useful because of the filler line. My final alliance picks for our team were mainly based on scouting the Thursday matches.

I disagree that pit scouting is more important on Thursday because nothing beats seeing a robot in action on any day.