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Isn't robotics about taking human interaction out of the loop?
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I agree this year's Autonomous was of dubious value - although in high-scoring matches like the Waterloo Regional just concluded, the 'keeper' did have some importance.
Making Autonomous work though, requires a good machine,
and excellent/innovative programming - it stretches the minds and creativity of the entire team. It engages the minds, not just the arm controlling the joystick!
While Easy/C makes it possible to have a one-liner Operator Control program -
TankDrive(..,..,..,..) - Autonomous demands the programmers and the team add hardware (encoders and do a lot more work).
I hope, next year, the "rewards" for doing Autonomous well are once again "worth it" - as they were in the 2006 competition. Even this year, had the keeper ring been worth extra (20 points? 10 points?) it would have been more worthwhile.