Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneYoung
Another couple of naive questions:
If something breaks on the loaner practice 'bot during the competition or in the hands of the team that is borrowing it - what happens?
Does the team who owns the robot, help with mentoring/repairing/replacing? Does GP work like it would normally, and anyone who can help, helps? If something is broken and can not be repaired or replaced, does the loaner team basically suck it up? No hard feelings because they know what can result from loaning the practice 'bot out?
Jane
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228's Practice robots has been used different ways.
At Bash at the Beach in the fall it has been used by pre-rookie teams to get excited for their upcoming rookie season. Our team's students have acted as pit crew, and drive coach in the matches. We handle repairs, maintenance between matches, and other issues with the pre-rookie students to get them used to the routine at a competition including the occasional emergency repair between matches.
At Where Is Wolcott Invitational which we co-host with our sister team 1071 Max, we have also loaned out in the early years to pre-rookie teams, but now that the event is reaching full capacity regularly that probably will not happen much. Pre-rookie drive teams would probably just be rotated in with our own students. This year, our practice robot will be taking over the role usually filled by team 230's practice robot, that of being team 666 "The Tormentors". This fictitious team has been used as a fill in or placebo robot for no-show teams and driven by volunteer mentors, but this year we hope to use it during the lunch break as a fundraiser for CT FLL programs. Mentors from teams can pay a fee to compete against their own students and their robot for bragging rights. This should be fun!
Also, the last unexpected sighting of 228's practice robot this year may be at Battlecry filling in for team 195's still AWOL robot, if Fedex can't get their robot home by this Friday. I'm sure our friends would much rather compete with their own machine, but not competing isn't an option. I still think Fedex will come through.
Yes, if Gus is loaning out their practice robot, we try to always help with repairs and upkeep. Afterall, we willingly loaned it out. Why would we expect a pre-rookie or other team to repair our robot? We usually have spare parts and plenty of COTS parts to keep it running for this type of off-season use.
Yes, GP still flourishes at the off-season events we have attended. Other teams are usually more than willing to help with repairs or spare parts if the practice robot needs help. Especially where pre-rookie teams are involved. It's great for them to experience an emergency repair, but it won't leave them excited to compete, if their first taste of competition is to just sit there because we can't keep them in the game.
There are certainly useful and helpful ways to employ a practice robot at off-season events. Just use some GP!