Following the extremely beneficial addition of a dedicated scouting mentor last year, we have converted 99% of our scouting process to electronic collection, compiling, and analysis.
We use 6 Windows Surface tablets for collecting solely objective data in a program created using Access. This data includes:
- Autonomous capabilities (where they start, what they pick up, where they put it, etc.)
- Teleop capabilities (where they pick up, what they pick up, where they stack, how they stack, etc.)
- Other data that I can't remember despite being a lead scout
The tablets are also used for pit scouting prior to the start of matches. We're looking at drive bases extensively this year, for reasons that should be somewhat obvious, but we still collect many other pieces of information about every robot at the competition.
As for rotating out scouters, we have a larger than average team this year, so we're planning to have objective scouting shifts running about an hour each, depending on the team's attendance at each competition.
In order to collect subjective data, something that's used extensively during pick list meetings, we use a different scouting program (still created in Access) that's designed to specifically record the scouter's opinion of each robot in each match. Subjective data is exclusively tracked from laptops, and includes categories such as agility, willingness to work with teammates, and a general comments section for anything that doesn't fit into the pre-made categories (which is usually a lot).
All of the data collected from the tablets and laptops is synced via USB and compiled into one Access program, created specifically for analysis. In order to streamline the process of data analysis, we split our scouting team into several smaller subteams, each with their own specific task: the level I's collect objective data, the level II's collect subjective data, the analyzers sort through all the data during competitions to plan for future matches, and the strategists work with the analyzers to plan for future matches, as well as creating a pick list. We're hoping to utilize Tableau (more than we did last year) to analyze the data and recognize possible trends.
We realized a large barrier we had last year was effective communication between the scouters and our drive team. In order to combat this, we plan on installing a monitor in our pit that will show a condensed and easy-to-read version of the data collected throughout the day. Additionally, our lead strategy mentor has his own Surface which will also constantly be updated with the data collected, meaning he'll be able to view info about upcoming matches from wherever he's gone off to in the arena. Hopefully, the pit TV will allow the drive team easy access to any data regarding future matches they wish to see.
Since you're from 3525, OP, you'll be able to see our CyberScouter system in action at Waterbury! Any questions, please feel free to ask.