Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris is me
You can produce a good driver without a practice robot.
You do have 10 months between seasons where you could drive the old robot in order to train people.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Matteson
Shhhhh.
Don't give away the secret of driver training with old robots! Now teams are going to know that practicing with anything you have available is the best way to make you drivers better.
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Yes, I know this. But even if anyone could become a great driver just by practicing with an old robot, you're still assuming no teams dismantle their old robots, or that teams even have a place to meet during most of the off season (since my old team was moved within my high school this season, I'm not entirely sure how this will limit their time within the robotics lab). And yes, even if teams dismantle old robots they have the ability to recycle old parts in order to build practice bots. However, that does not mean they have the ability to create something that's entirely appropriate for that year's competition, particularly because not all teams can build a second robot before their first competition.
And yes, and I agree any practice at all no matter what you use is good stuff, but teams that are capable of producing a practice bot with an appropriate drive train and arm effectors have a clear advantage over teams that don't. Our team, for example, did not have a swerve drive to practice with until we built one in our second year, and even if we wanted to build another robot with a swerve drive next year, we
still wouldn't have a swerve drive to practice with since my team had to dismantle it. And I know this thread isn't about how well a team can control their arm effectors, but if teams don't have the time to practice and tune those either, it's hard to say how effective they will be in competition.
I'm not saying that teams that aren't as great as 111, 16, etc. can't have capable drivers. I know many teams, including my own, have time to train their drivers using practice bots. However, there is no substitute for practicing with the actual competiton bot, or a bot with similar capabilities. And I'm sure the powerhouses can agree that there is no better way to practice than in the actual competitions. Many teams, including the best ones, improve between competitions, and I think it's partly because drivers are better suited for that year's competition after they have actually competed in one. Since many of the powerhouses compete in multiple regionals, their drivers have experience many teams could not have.
To answer the OP, I guess if you really want to see what good driving looks like, look at powerhouse teams, especially those that are competing in their 2nd or 3rd regional. Look out for 148 when they compete again, along with the other teams suggested in this thread. 148 had one of the smoothest and most polished robots I've ever seen, and their drivers make using it look easy.