This will be our 8th year competing in FTC. Below are some ideas of what you might see.
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[*]There are many ways to contribute points in this new game, and FRC logic would dictate that a single robot won't do every aspect of the game perfectly. Is it better to focus on one or two game elements, or to be a jack of all trades?
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Most teams will focus on a part of the game. Once you get into the higher levels, you will start to see bot, like ours, that can complete every task, but may or may not to one or two tasks better than the others. The nice thing about the season, is the fact that you can continue to improve your robot, from competition to competition.
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[*]Are there any materials or parts that don't come in the kit that are considered essential to a good robot? (i.e. a certain type of wheels, tubing, etc.)
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Our teams use to use the tetrix platform, before the rules started to relax a bit. You can definatly build a compeititon worthy robot out of the Kit of Parts, but if you have the money, invest in Andymark NeveRest Motors, and any of the Andymark/Vex Wheels. You will see most of advance teams with wheels from Andymark or Vex. (Keep in mind AM-2256 (HiGrip) is illegal in FTC)
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[*]Similar to the above question, just how far can the bare-bones TETRIX kit get you? Is it enough to succeed at a high level?
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We have been to Worlds 5 times, and as the years go on, we are starting to see more and more "custom" built robots. You can definitely succeed with a Tetrix bot, but if you FTC budget has the money, invest in some good parts. Andymark, for us, ends up being cheaper for motors and wheels, compared to the Tetrix version, as well as them lasting longer. (We only blew one motor last year, out of two FTC teams)
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[*]Is it safe to assume most FTC teams CAD their robots? If so, how much detail do they put into the design?
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We CAD ours. Most teams in our state don't. It depends on what we are working on for detail (i.e. screws, nuts, etc)
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[*]Is scouting popular in FTC? If so, what is the most popular method?
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In the qualifiers, at least in AZ in the early season, we don't really scout. As the season progresses, we definitely scout. For some teams, its hard to scout, as many have a lack of members compared to a FRC team. At least for us, we have 10-12 kids a team as well. We just have a system, where we have 1 paper sheet per team. Each match is then entered onto the sheet, and we have a basis for what they are able to do. There is a little bit of pre-scouting in there, but we have found that FTC teams are horrible in stretching the truth on what they can really do. An Electronic system, like you would see in FRC, is just a bit much in an FTC setting.
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Originally Posted by safiq10
Now this is from my 3 years experience in FTC. I'm sure one of the past world champions can chime in and give a better opinion.
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Sure thing!.... But better opinion, well I dont know about that.
