Quote:
Originally Posted by Maffalfa
Hello,
This year I was the operator and for the next two years I'm going to be the driver. I plan to do some driving practice over the summer and next year. What are some things that I should practice? Any tips?
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Congrats! Driving is very challenging and very rewarding. Good driving takes good robots and makes them amazing. We have our drivers learn how the robot works, practice scoring with it, and also do drills.
Figure out what you are having trouble with, and practice that. For example, drivers were struggling to line up with our new hanger efficiently, so I had them line up 50+ times from various places after shooting a ball. This drill was to simulate the end of the match where they needed to hang efficiently and quickly. They got a lot better at it by the time they were done.
I also like to make sure our drivers practice listening to each other and to their coach. There should be no confusion between the two of them. Sometimes they try to not communicate and guess what the other person is doing, and while that works sometimes, it doesn't always work. Occasionally, I will switch things up on them, telling them to do a defense that doesn't make the most sense, or something different. In the heat of the battle, the coach will be monitoring the larger situation that the drivers may be missing while controlling the robot, and may see something larger. They need to be ready to take commands, and the coach needs to have built up trust with the drivers so they will not question the command and will trust that the coach is right.
After each "match" while practicing, step back and try to figure out what is and isn't working, and how to do better. Have your coach watch you, and watch how you and your manipulator are interacting. We will also do "split" times for ball scoring, and collect other metrics to figure out what is and isn't working. Practicing is also a time to try different strategies, and see how they work. Goofing off while practicing is fun, but won't have nearly the benefits as focused practice.
Grab a second robot and have people play D on you. It takes a lot of practice to figure out what to do under defense, and is very hard to figure out in a match. It also turns out that people love to play D, so this is a great experience for others as well.