What really counts??

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Posted by andre at 1/10/2001 8:55 PM EST


Student on team #49, Delphi Knights, from buena vista high and Delphi/Dow.



A good alliance will have all the qualities to win. But what really matters? Who will you pick to have a good team? Will it be the strongest, fastest, the scorer of big balls/ small balls, or even the bridge keeper?

Please reply. I would like to hear other teams thoughts.

GO DELPHI KNIGHTS TEAM #49

[archiver]

Posted by Joe Johnson at 1/10/2001 10:45 PM EST


Engineer on team #47, Chief Delphi, from Pontiac Central High School and Delphi Automotive Systems.


In Reply to: What really counts??
Posted by andre on 1/10/2001 8:55 PM EST:



This is a very ticklish subject.

I WANT to answer... ...I really do.

But... ...I am conflicted.

To some extent, a team's ability to do rare but useful
skills is the key to getting noticed in the Draft at
the Nationals.

In my opinion, this is where teams should spend a lot
of their time brainstorming, not just how to score a
lot of points but how to make themselves useful to
potential drafting teams.

This is what I mean by the rare and useful skill.
Figuring what that rare and useful skill is is a major
part of this years game.

As a result, I suggest that we all keep our cards
pretty close to our chests at this point in the process.

We shall all know what we all can and can't do soon
enough. Until then, we shall all have to make our best
guesses and commit to a path before we know exactly
were the path leads.

Good luck to us all!

Joe J.

[archiver]

Posted by Raul at 1/10/2001 11:26 PM EST


Engineer on team #111, Wildstang, from Rolling Meadows & Wheeling HS and Motorola.


In Reply to: The RARE & USEFUL skill wins out...
Posted by Joe Johnson on 1/10/2001 10:45 PM EST:



We can all agree on a single most important thing or we can all agree on what every robot should be able to do. But what really matters is how you choose to implement that function. Just look a last year. Many of us agreed that it was important to score a lot of balls. Yet we had many different interpretations of the best way to do it.

What I am really concerned about is if a robot specializes and is really good in doing something, they will refuse to do anything else. They will always want to show off their specialty. Let's be careful out there.

Raul


: This is a very ticklish subject.

: I WANT to answer... ...I really do.

: But... ...I am conflicted.

: To some extent, a team's ability to do rare but useful
: skills is the key to getting noticed in the Draft at
: the Nationals.

: In my opinion, this is where teams should spend a lot
: of their time brainstorming, not just how to score a
: lot of points but how to make themselves useful to
: potential drafting teams.

: This is what I mean by the rare and useful skill.
: Figuring what that rare and useful skill is is a major
: part of this years game.

: As a result, I suggest that we all keep our cards
: pretty close to our chests at this point in the process.

: We shall all know what we all can and can't do soon
: enough. Until then, we shall all have to make our best
: guesses and commit to a path before we know exactly
: were the path leads.

: Good luck to us all!

: Joe J.

[archiver]

Posted by Ken Leung at 1/11/2001 3:20 AM EST


Student on team #192, Gunn Robotics Team, from Henry M. Gunn Senior High School.


In Reply to: Rare Implementation - could hurt
Posted by Raul on 1/10/2001 11:26 PM EST:



I agree with Raul. Teams should not get all hot-headed and try to do really special things. In the finals, since there will be 4 team for each alliance on the field, those 4 team will need to have really diverse functions, and each of them will have to do it really well, too. So, some of the robot will have to do special function, but one other robot will also have to do general things really really well, just like consistently push the goal to certail place, or push balls to alliance so they will score balls faster, stuff like that.

So yeah, special function can get you picked all right, but also, a reliable, versatile robot will be able to be in the finals or get picked as well. There will be lots of amazing combination in the finals...

[archiver]

Posted by rebecca at 1/10/2001 11:13 PM EST


Student on team #192, gunn robotics team, from gunn high school.


In Reply to: What really counts??
Posted by andre on 1/10/2001 8:55 PM EST:



what counts? useful mechanisms that are reliable. That is, do something well, do it EVERY TIME. also make it EASY ON YOUR DRIVERS. I cannot stress that enough. You would not beleive how many teams had to do a little back and forth dance below the bar before they latched on. this year, in some cases the robot will be forty feet away and the bridge will block the drivers view. do not count on driver accuracy!

so no matter what your robot does...do it well!

: A good alliance will have all the qualities to win. But what really matters? Who will you pick to have a good team? Will it be the strongest, fastest, the scorer of big balls/ small balls, or even the bridge keeper?

: Please reply. I would like to hear other teams thoughts.

: GO DELPHI KNIGHTS TEAM #49