Quote:
Originally Posted by BenjiSG
We made the decision this year to just stick with paper scouting. Electronic scouting is nifty and all, but the inconveniences of trying to get reliable WiFi and access to power are too much to make it actually worth it for us. Plus, lost paper is far preferable to lost electronics, and we don't see a great deal to gain from going digital.
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I'll make 2 points. The first is more basic--you can use Bluetooth and cellphone data to transmit which avoids WiFi. See our scouting whitepaper. And we use tablets which can get through an entire day of scouting-you only need to charge at night. Plus the system is fairly reliable--at least as much as paper when those can get scattered. The final one is that it is much easier to communicate with the drive team in real time with an electronic system. (Scouting is about much more than draft lists.)
My second point is about philosophy. The point of FRC is not competition and winning; it's about education and training (which is fun in a sports setting). Having your students create an electronic scouting system is another educational opportunity. We have many students programming apps, servers and other devices. They learn about math and statistics. This has been one of the best educational opportunities for our team.