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Unread 25-03-2004, 22:12
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Re: Pressure on Drive Team

Quote:
Originally Posted by hay4man
Sorry...but i absolutely disagree with you.

Driving a Ford or GM race car is an actual sport, a physical activity that requires strength and fitness. Driving a robot requires that you can move your arms and fingers.

Furthermore, if builders put the control of the robot into the hands of drivers who haven't even touched the thing, and if the drivers break it, resentment can build up much more easily.

If a driver feels no real attachment to the robot, then they should not be driving. Drivers need to have some part in the actual construction of the robot. They need to be immersed in the inner workings of the robot. They need to know how to turn it on and off, how to select programs, how to tether...in some cases.

And what does this have to do with chairman's award?
I think that the people on a drive team should be those that have skill, but can also handle the pressure and communicate well with the other members. Respect is also a necessary characteristic to possess. I'm not sure if limiting the drive team to those who worked on the robot is a good thing because you may be disregarding people that may not have worked on the robot, but could be a better fit for the drive team.

Also, what I think Ken was saying is that by excluding people who haven't worked on the robot from even trying out for the drive team, you're not showing gracious professionalism. That could be what he was trying to say about the chairman's award. In order to win, it seems like your team needs to embody the idea of gracious professionalism.

I think that everybody deserves a chance. Just because someone didn't build the robot doesn't mean that they don't have an attachment to it. Also, if you're worried about someone breaking something on the robot, use an old or practice robot for tryouts. I believe that teams need to have a sense of unity, and by restricting a drive team to only those who build the robot divides the team.
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