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Drivers can always use a little help...
Posted by Nate Smith.
Other on team #66, GM Powertrain/Willow Run HS, from Eastern Michigan University and GM Powertrain.
Posted on 9/13/2000 9:44 PM MST
In Reply to: Yes, drivers should compensate posted by Lora Knepper on 9/13/2000 1:20 AM MST:
: : Drive time trumps all. Give your drivers time with the machine and they can undo all sorts of nasty nonlinearities and asymmetries.
: Joe,
: As a driver for 3 years, I agree with you! As long as your drivers are given ample time with the machine, they should be able to compensate (I know I got yelled at more than once for complaining that the motors were running differently! 'Compensate then! That's your problem!'). The key is to work out the big bugs, and let the drivers get used to the unique 'personality' of the machine...and keep in mind that time with the drive train is not enough...the CG and behavoir of the machine changes with eveything else added on.
While I agree that to some point, driver compensation will be necessary, no matter what your design(I know it still was for us,) I'm still an advocate of minimizing the need for compensation as much as possible. As much as we try, the majority of teams that I've talked to at some point during my time with the competition still admit that they wish they had been able to get more driver practice time, and some teams make design changes right up until it goes into the box, so there may be changes that effect the performance of the system. Also, as much as they practice in the comfort of their own school, driving at an actual event, in front of who knows how many people, is a completely different experience. I saw my first matches from the field as a volunteer at Great Lakes last year, and being that close to the action puts you into an entirely different mindset than being in the stands. Watching teams as they were setting up to compete, I could tell that some of the drivers were still nervous, even during practice matches. With all this running through their head, it is almost too easy to forget that you have to push the stick slightly to the left and forward if you want the machine to go straight. So, any help that can be given, be it through creative software(in PBASIC? Yes, it is possible...) or a compensation built into the machine itself, will do nothing but help you in the long run....
Nate
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