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Unread 20-04-2010, 08:51
Unsung FIRST Hero
Al Skierkiewicz Al Skierkiewicz is offline
Broadcast Eng/Chief Robot Inspector
AKA: Big Al WFFA 2005
FRC #0111 (WildStang)
Team Role: Engineer
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Rookie Year: 1996
Location: Wheeling, IL
Posts: 10,798
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Re: 2010 Lesson Learned: The Negative

I like the direct responses from this thread and am keeping certain ideas on a list so we can make some improvements for next year. I have to add a few comments that might give you some understanding...

Ball inflation. I received several complaints that balls were not inflated properly or that something must be different with the texture. I can tell you that balls were checked daily by the FTA but i think this was the problem in Atlanta. The fields were placed over the plastic squares used to cover the grass. These squares had a distinct dip in the middle and rise at the perimeter. For certain ball control designs, this was a variable that was not/could not be accounted for in design. It appeared to be a ball diameter issue when in fact I think it was a field substrate issue. I think that this also accounted for lower scores from robots that rolled balls. I know it was an issue in placing balls for auto periods.
Frame perimeter. I agree, it gave inspectors a pain all season. There is nothing worse for an inspector to have to tell a team everything is good except... and that exception will make their beautiful and functional robot ugly just to fix it.
Inspections. We are trying desperately to make inspections consistent and sometimes that means taking a hard stance. Pity passes should not be taking place but we will need a lot of team help in order to get a team compliant. We want everyone to play. In regionals, some inspectors are new or do not work on a team. If you see something, please point it out to the LRI. You are helping everyone when you do that. However, there is no penalties that can be assessed in these year's game for robot rules missed during inspections except safety. Items added by teams after inspection can be in violation and that is why all changes must be reinspected. Failures in robot structure and design that cause field damage are also subject to this review. It has become common for LRI's to now perform spot checks in queue and observe robots from the scorer's area to keep these issues to a minimum.
I would like to start a thread for inspection issues but I want to be sure it doesn't turn into something nasty. Please watch for it.
Al
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Good Luck All. Learn something new, everyday!
Al
WB9UVJ
www.wildstang.org
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Storming the Tower since 1996.
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