Robot Tips For Rookie Teams

[yash101]

I wanted to create a thread of tips for rookie teams to think about to improve on their robots. Build season is rapidly approaching and I haven't seen a single thread about tips and tricks to help teams. Some examples of things that would be worth mentioning would be like:
-Low Center of Gravity
-Don't overcomplicate things
-Ectetera...Whatever y'all think would be worth mentioning!

[rwkling1]

Like you said, don't overcomplicate things, that would be my biggest tip. The problems we've had in the past is that we've tried to do things that just weren't realistic for how old our team was. Also, prototyping is a very important stage, make sure that it's decently consistent before moving on to the final.

[geomapguy]

1. Good Bumpers!!!!!! Actually use the material FIRST recommends (I think it's condura or something like that)

2. Make sure you learn to download your code correctly

3. Have a good pit designed before going to your first event

[EricH]

Whatever the size FIRST gives for the robot, build 1" under. Not design, build. Somehow, the robot will gain that inch back.


Ditto for weight: build 10# under (accomplished by designing 15# under). That way, you'll come out right at maximum--though having to grab a block of steel might be necessary.


Aim for the simpler tasks. Particularly if you don't have a lot of expertise. Sometimes, a lockdown robot that can score lots of 1-pointers can be worth more than a high-point robot that only works half the time.

[rsisk]

Ask questions before it is too late

[TheMadCADer]

A lot of teams start their brainstorming on Day 1 diving headfirst into how they might make various components on a robot. You might make a bunch of excellent robot parts, but without a well thought out strategy that robot will inevitably be playing inefficiently.

A good guideline is to leave robot part discussion off the table for at least the first day or two. Use this time to have every single team member read every line of the rules. Then, discuss how to play the game. Keep track of every idea (sticky notes and whiteboards are great for this) because even ideas that don't work can cause someone to think of something brilliant. No side conversations for the same reason.

You should be discussing how the robot is scoring points, what you think other robots will do, and how to fit yourself into an alliance (always remember that you can't do everything yourself). Look for choke-hold strategies, though there often may not be one. Once you know what the robot needs to do, you can figure out what parts are needed to achieve that.

Also, my pet peeve: don't worry about pushing matches. If you're on offense, pushing against a defender is exactly what they want you to do. If you push, you waste your time. Time is points, so instead try to avoid or evade defenders. If you're on defense, your wheels should be perpendicular to the path of your opponent, so there should be no need to push.

[Rosiebotboss]

Originally Posted by rsisk

Ask questions before it is too late

When is it too late?


Seriously, Rick, IndySam, Al Skierkiewicz, (I spelled that from memory, did I get it right?), EricH and many others on this thread have done this thing called FIRST for a very long time. (13 years for me). There is some VERY GOOD advice stated here. Follow it.

If there is one thing that I want to emphasize and that is RTFM, cover to cover and back again. Many of the question you may have during build season and many tips on building a successful robot can and will be found in the Manual. Start now with the Administrative Manual just released.

Rookies--RTFM = Read The FIRST Manual.

[Chris is me]

Andrew and I did a webcast about designing simple robots within the constraints of a limited resource team. Rookies would maybe find it useful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiImNNu32qI

[rsisk]

Originally Posted by Rosiebotboss

When is it too late?


...

The day after the competition?

Senior Mentor contacts
http://www.usfirst.org/community/vol...mentor-program

Regional Director contacts
http://www.usfirst.org/regional-contacts

And if all else fails contact:
frcteams@usfirst.org

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by EricH

Whatever the size FIRST gives for the robot, build 1" under. Not design, build. Somehow, the robot will gain that inch back.


Ditto for weight: build 10# under (accomplished by designing 15# under). That way, you'll come out right at maximum--though having to grab a block of steel might be necessary.


Aim for the simpler tasks. Particularly if you don't have a lot of expertise. Sometimes, a lockdown robot that can score lots of 1-pointers can be worth more than a high-point robot that only works half the time.

With the new perimeter rules the 1" under issues is much less severe.

[chmorroni]

Pick one thing, and do it well.

Last year, our failing point was trying to design a robot that could do everything. We wanted it to have a 50-point climb and a full-court shooter. We didn't have our final climber built until the day of bag-and-tag. 3 hours before the deadline, in our first test of the mechanism, the cables broke, and we realized that the design wouldn't work. Our shooter, designed to be on top of a robot with a low CoG, did not work as a FCS because we had to turn the robot around after loading 3 disks, to fire the shooter.

Also, know the rules by heart before the second day. The night of kickoff, the game rules are your only companion until you know them backwards and forwards. This goes for every member of the team. That said, always have a copy of the rule book handy for rule checks and other references, especially during the design process. Before you even start designing and prototyping an idea, make sure it is within the rules.

It is also best if you make diagrams and drawings of some of the rules for the robot (size, weight, wire gauges, etc.) for quick reference during the designing and building of the robot.

Also, leaders and older members, delegate, delegate, delegate. You should never have idle hands/minds at meetings. There is always something that needs to be done, so, if there is someone standing around, either you need to take a step back and let someone else do what you are doing, or you need to find something for them to do. Have a list of random jobs going into a meeting, so you can assign them to idle people.

Teach new and young members, and have them work on the robot a lot! If you have a lot of seniors that do everything, there will be no one next year that know what they are doing. On top of that, what is the point of joining a robotics team if you don't get to do anything. It is a learning experience for everyone, so let it be just that.

[IndySam]

#1 Read the manual, cover to cover.

#2 Read the manual, cover to cover.

#3 Read the manual, cover to cover.

[chmorroni]

Originally Posted by IndySam

#1 Read the manual, cover to cover.

#2 Read the manual, cover to cover.

#3 Read the manual, cover to cover.

#4 Repeat steps 1-3

[efoote868]

Originally Posted by chmorroni

Pick one thing, and do it well.

I'd like to emphasize this, and expand/rephrase it slightly.

There are usually several elements to a FIRST Robotics Competition game. There are three* robots on an alliance. If you can identify one thing in the game that is value added to the alliance, and you can do that one thing better than anybody else, you will be selected and you will make the elimination rounds.

Understanding the rules and ways to score, as well as predicting what other teams will do is hugely important. There will be many teams that try to accomplish every objective in the game. There will be several teams that accomplish every objective in the game. There will be few teams that accomplish every objective in the game well. To do well in the FRC game, you don't need to accomplish every objective in it!

If the value added game objectives are XYZ, and you are the absolute best at X, you will be the perfect match for robots that are exceptional at Y and Z but weak in X.


*as far as I can tell at this point


Also, FIRST as an organization is more than a robotics competition, and while we put forth tons of time, effort, and money towards the game, the most important award a team can win has nothing to do with the game at all. So have fun competing, but always remember that FIRST is For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.

[AZDevilRobot]

Hey Everyone! AZDevilRobot here from team 4111 Peace Love Robots.

My team is only 3 years old and while we may not be technically rookies, our team just received a new advisor (our old one left our school) and thus are making several changes based off experience.

Here are the changes we are making and ones we (and most teams) should have been doing since our inagural year:

1. Inventory!
We could not find anything in a crowded closet and even if we did find something, we couldn't find it again. We also bought several items multiple times because we thought we did not have it. Teams need to keep track of what they have and use.

2. Sponsors!
Our first year we had lots of money from a NASA rookie grant which covered us for our first two years. However, that and JCPenney were are only sponsors for the first two years. This year, we barely covered registration with remaining money. Luckily, we are still looking for sponsors. Teams need money or can't compete.

3. Structure!
Teams can't function with everyone doing whatever they want. Our past two years we had no agenda, deadlines or game plan. Everyone came in and either did too much work or not enough. This year, we have teams assigned to sections of the robot and leaders of the teams that meet to make sure the various parts connect. Everybody will be doing something at all times.

In closing, if you do these three things and the other tips in this forum from day one, you will be successful. Good luck and to anybody from Arizona in this forum, we'll see you at the regionals!