Karthik: Effective FIRST Strategies 2011

[Karthik]

With the Championships in St. Louis rapidly approaching, I'd like to remind teams of the FIRST Robotics Conference which will be taking place. At 4:00 PM on Wednesday evening, I will once again be delivering my seminar on Effective FIRST Strategies. Here are the threads discussing the last two editions of this seminar:

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=76778
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=84958

And the abstract:

This presentation focuses on three major areas, Strategic Design, Match Planning/Execution, and Scouting. Rather than spending time on equations and detailed calculations, the Strategic Design gives a more high-level overview of how to design an FRC robot. This portion of the presentation includes sections on such often neglected strategic design areas such as Game Analysis, Chokehold Strategies, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Task Prioritization, and Tradeoffs using a case studies from past games. The Match Planning/Execution section of the presentation discusses effective habits and strategies that will help lead a team to victory. This is a must for those who enjoy the strategic aspects of FIRST. The Scouting section deals with effective techniques to collect information on your partners/opponents, and how to make the most of this data. Advanced statistical metrics analgous to "Sabremetrics" in baseball will also be discussed. The presentation is filled with entertaining and insightful historical FIRST anecdotes from the past 13 years. With the information in this presentation, you can turn your team from a mere competitor to a perennial powerhouse!

If there are any topics you'd like to discussed in detail, or questions you'd like answered, post them here and I'll be happy to address them during the presentation.

If you're really into FIRST strategy, looking to improve your team, curious what it means to be "fresh to death", or just looking for some good FIRST related laughs, this is a presentation you won't want to miss.

For information on how to register please visit the following link:

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr....aspx?id=19359

[XaulZan11]

Is the presentation on Wednesday or Friday. The schedule here says Wednesday at 4:00pm: http://usfirst.org/uploadedFiles/Rob...e_Schedule.pdf I hope its Friday, because I could then attend.

[Lil' Lavery]

Hey, Mr. Kanagasabapathy, it's 2011.

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

Hey, Mr. Kanagasabapathy, it's 2011.

Yup, my bad.

Originally Posted by XaulZan11

Is the presentation on Wednesday or Friday. The schedule here says Wednesday at 4:00pm: http://usfirst.org/uploadedFiles/Rob...e_Schedule.pdf I hope its Friday, because I could then attend.

Yup, my bad x2. The presentation is Wednesday afternoon. Friday at 4:00 pm we should all be busy watching matches and planning our upcoming strategies!

[IKE]

I went to this one last year, and highly recommend it for all teams.
If you are a read the rules and start building, this will be a real eye opener.
If you think you know strategy, but find yourselves not making it out of the quarter finals... Pay close attention to all the details.

After attending this seminar, we began looking at the gaps in our team, and it has paid dividends. Thanks again for doing this.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by XaulZan11

Is the presentation on Wednesday or Friday. The schedule here says Wednesday at 4:00pm: http://usfirst.org/uploadedFiles/Rob...e_Schedule.pdf

Originally Posted by Karthik

... Yup, my bad x2. The presentation is Wednesday afternoon. Friday at 4:00 pm we should all be busy watching matches and planning our upcoming strategies!

Wednesday at 4:00 is perfect for me -- this is the ONLY workshop I will be able to attend, because volunteer duties conflict with the rest of them. After many years of missing them, I might finally get to attend one of Karthik's presentations!

[Karthik]

Some topics that I'm going to discuss this year that I haven't covered in detail in the past:

- Alliance selection strategy
- Should you have a "Do Not Pick List"
- Showcasing your robot versus playing to win
- What advanced stats can tell you, and what they can't?
- The secret behind the accomplishments of the great teams

I just did a walk through of the presentation, I think everyone who attends is going to have a great time. See you all Wednesday afternoon.

[Waffles]

I attended this presentation last year, and it was pretty awesome.

1511 loves your contributions to FIRST, Karthik!

We'll send some kids your way!

[Libby K]

Originally Posted by Karthik

Some topics that I'm going to discuss this year that I haven't covered in detail in the past:

- Alliance selection strategy
- Should you have a "Do Not Pick List"
- Showcasing your robot versus playing to win
- What advanced stats can tell you, and what they can't?
- The secret behind the accomplishments of the great teams

I just did a walk through of the presentation, I think everyone who attends is going to have a great time. See you all Wednesday afternoon.

Also included that was covered in detail in the 2009 seminar:
A discussion on Parisian architecture and/or landmarks.

[Cyberphil]

I really wish I could make this. Our team will not let us take a step out of our group, especially on Wednesday, when we will be un-crating and getting the bot ready for inspection. I would do anything to attend this.

[LShank]

How long will the seminar last? I know that our team would really love to attend, especially our mentors. We are a very small 100% Rookie team that could truly benefit from your presentation. Just not sure how it's possible because they will un-crating the robot and working in the pit area.

Our team was chosen to be in an alliance with #1114 in Pittsburgh. It was an amazing experience to work with your team. Being a rookie team, with zero experience or exposure to FIRST until this year, we admired and were in awe of your team from day 1 in Pittsburgh. Then, to be chosen to be in alliance with them and 1503 was a huge surprise to us. We are very thankful for the experience and something we will never forget from our Rookie year. Thank You!

[Vikesrock]

Originally Posted by LShank

How long will the seminar last? I know that our team would really love to attend, especially our mentors. We are a very small 100% Rookie team that could truly benefit from your presentation. Just not sure how it's possible because they will un-crating the robot and working in the pit area.

It's an hour long from 4:00-5:00, which is before the pits open.

[LShank]

Originally Posted by Vikesrock

It's an hour long from 4:00-5:00, which is before the pits open.

Thank you! I'm make sure to pass the info on to our team.

With everything being new to us, I have another question. When can we enter the dome area? I'm sure the mentors probably know, but our family is coming to St. Louis on Tues.

[AlexD744]

This is right up my ally as far as what I really love to do, and I've wanted to go to this seminar since my first year in FIRST, but the past two years my team has arrived in Atlanta too late, and this year we aren't attending. It would be such an awesome experience to gain tips from the best. Next year for sure.

[JesseK]

Originally Posted by Karthik

Some topics that I'm going to discuss this year that I haven't covered in detail in the past:

- Alliance selection strategy
- Should you have a "Do Not Pick List"
- Showcasing your robot versus playing to win
- What advanced stats can tell you, and what they can't?
- The secret behind the accomplishments of the great teams

I just did a walk through of the presentation, I think everyone who attends is going to have a great time. See you all Wednesday afternoon.

Looks like I'm going to have to manage some time in to see this presentation again! Oy, time is tight...