[Alan Anderson]

I'll gladly add my name to the list.

My biggest objection to the practice of yelling "ROBOT" is that it is so often done by someone who isn't where the robot is. Twice last year I was talking with people in their team's pit when suddenly they yelled "ROBOT!" in my face. My immediate reaction to that sort of thing is to jump backwards out of their way. If the robot had actually been nearby, I'd probably have collided with it. The first time, the robot had already safely passed, and the person shouting was echoing someone trailing it. The second time, the robot wasn't even in the same pit row as the person who startled me. I was more prepared for it after that and didn't jump again, but still the call of "ROBOT!" by a person not actually with the robot actively takes attention away from the moving robot itself.

My second-biggest objection to it is that even when it's done by someone accompanying the robot, it's usually done by someone pushing the robot. The alarm is being sounded from behind, where there is no longer a need to warn anyone. It is so much more effective to have a vanguard walking a few meters ahead to clear a path.

It seems that the common practice is to treat the robot like a mother duck and have the rest of the drive team trail after it. That's fine for the people using the robot to make room for them to walk, but it's rude to everyone else along the way.



For those who argue that saying "excuse me" to the crowd doesn't work, you're missing the point. You don't broadcast it to "the crowd". You say it to the specific people who are in the way.