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Unread 12-29-2016, 06:09 PM
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Skyehawk Skyehawk is offline
Nuts N' Bolts
AKA: Skye Leake
FRC #0876 (Thunder Robotics)
Team Role: Mentor
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Rookie Year: 2011
Location: Northwood, ND
Posts: 198
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Re: The Great Move to Electronic Scouting [Poll]

I am actually working on an overview video that addresses this among other similar questions, I should finish it soon. The quickest answers to your questions though:

Quote:
Originally Posted by BenjiSG View Post
Biggest concerns with electronic scouting I have had in the past have mainly been fixed around the issues of battery life and connectivity. Given the constraints that being at competition puts on things (aka rarely access to outlets and typically very bad data/WiFi), what are your basic solutions to making sure devices don't die and can actually connect to your system?
Answer: Portable power banks (or a old robot battery w/a power inverter in the stands) seems to work well. Connectivity is solved with a USB flash-drive to sync data. We use WildRank as our scouting app, this allows for high data redundancy (7-8 copies of data between syncs) therefore it's not a huge deal if a tablet goes dead for a match.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BenjiSG View Post
I also have concerns around losing expensive tablets, but I guess the realistic solution to that problem is to just bug people to remember to bring them back...
Answer: We rock the cheapest tablets we can, as long as they can utilize USB OTG. Then it isn't a big if one gets lost or broken. Having a spare in case a battery dies or one gets lost is a good Idea, however we do keep pretty tight reigns on them.
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My time in FIRST has made me a better person, frankly I don't know where I'd be without it.



2011 Lake Superior Regional Champs
2015 Central Illinois Regional Engineering Inspiration Award recipients
2016 Central Illinois Regional Champs
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