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Re: Pit Scouting
Pit scouting can serve several purposes:
1. Understand what a team MAY do in the match with/against you.
Its always best to "prepare for the worst". Just because a team didnt have an auto mode or minibot in the last 3 matches, doesnt mean they aren't working on it and will come out strong against you. Know what they are working on/plan to do.
2. Compare what they "say they can do" to what they "really do"
You can gauge how honest a team is by what they "say" they can do, versus what you actually observe in matches. This helps you know in general how much to "trust" them when you are paired up with them in a match. Granted, you have to give a little relief for that the person in the pit answering your questions may not be the most knowledgeable person, or might be overly optimistic, but it can be a good gauge.
3. Get your students familiar with other designs!!
Our pit scouting often involves questions about drivetrains and speed of arms, types of wheels, etc. Its good to get some of your newer kids out there reviewing and understanding other team's robot designs.
4. Understanding their Drive Team
We havent done much of this in the past, but this year, with the flip-flop role of the Feeder/Analyst and the fact that some teams will be relying on this person to communicate with the Feeders, its worth a quick question or two to know what your potential partners will need/expect.
And there are others, but I agree with several of the posts here... match scouting is THE most important data point, but pit scouting can have a lot of value in the sense of the items I have listed above. If you have the personnel resources, definitely go for it. There will be several teams that dont make it to practice on Thursday, so its worth at least knowing what they "might" do if you have to strategize with/against them.
Pit scouting does have very little bearing on our alliance selection. By the time we get to that, we have enough match data to make most of our decisions. Occasionally if we cannot see it in a picture, we will refer to our pit sheets to see what kind of drivetrain or other details. We also often compare their "honesty" with their match performance, and may need some of the drive team data to know if we "could" work well with them.
For those of you that think pit scouters are wasting your time... I really wonder whether you "get it", especially in regards to my point #3. This can be a chance to share your design with other teams & students, teams with less experience, or teams that may not have "thought of that". You'd be surprised how much Inspiration can come from the pits...
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