Timid Drivers

[fox46]

This reminds me of a quote by P.J. O'Rouke -

"There's a lot of debate on this subject - about what kind of car handles best. Some say a a front-engined car, some say a rear-engined car. I say a rented car. Nothing handles better than a rented car. You can go faster, turn corners sharper, and put the transmission into reverse while going forward at a higher rate of speed in a rented car than in any other kind."

I find a driver who is less in-touch with the mechanics of the machine is usually much more aggressive than one who knows about the aluminum sprockets, the half link between axle #3 and #4, the 7075 aluminum output shafts and other points of weakness. At the same time, a driver who knows of these weaknesses and is aware that the robot will still drive with 8/10 drive wheels, 7075 aluminum is nearly as strong as steel and the fact that we have a pile of replacement parts that can be swapped in a few minutes will likely do even better than the "disconnected" driver. The "informed" driver will also have an idea of how to keep the machine running in "limp" mode and has a more intimate knowledge of the design's capabilities and limitations.

In the end though it cannot be deduced to one characteristic - different individuals are better at driving than others.

[ChristopherSD]

I'm having difficulty understanding why anyone wouldn't "show what they can do with the controls".

[JamesCH95]

Originally Posted by ChristopherSD

I'm having difficulty understanding why anyone wouldn't "show what they can do with the controls".

There aren't a plethora of Type-A personalities in FIRST, at least that's what I've noticed over the decade of my involvement.

[wireties]

Our teams "drives it like they stole it" but our software guys limit the kinds of things that destroy transmissions and motors and appendages (and hopefully tipping over).

It is helpful for the drivers to feel like they can try anything.

[JamesCH95]

Originally Posted by wireties

Our teams "drives it like they stole it" but our software guys limit the kinds of things that destroy transmissions and motors and appendages (and hopefully tipping over).

It is helpful for the drivers to feel like they can try anything.

This is huge. Software lockouts and limitations that keep drivers from damaging anything are a huge confidence booster. This is part of the reason why F1 banned assists like ABS and Traction Control, drivers were being very aggressive and taking huge risks knowing that electronic assists would help keep them from losing control.

[DominickC]

Originally Posted by JamesCH95

This is huge. Software lockouts and limitations that keep drivers from damaging anything are a huge confidence booster. This is part of the reason why F1 banned assists like ABS and Traction Control, drivers were being very aggressive and taking huge risks knowing that electronic assists would help keep them from losing control.

Instead, they introduced KERS to help them recover speed

[JamesCH95]

Originally Posted by DominickC

Instead, they introduced KERS to help them recover speed

KERS should actually make things a little safer, believe it or not. The 'push-to-pass' function of KERS lets drivers have a real attempt at passing on straights and in more controlled conditions, rather than driving like a maniac to pass. Counter-intuitive I know...

/thread derail

[davidthefat]

Originally Posted by ChristopherSD

I'm having difficulty understanding why anyone wouldn't "show what they can do with the controls".

Many people are afraid of failure. I have talked to a lot of team mates that I have urged to try driving, I got a lot of the "I don't want the pressure" or the "I don't want to mess up" response. Driving a robot is always fun, but for some people, the official competition scares them. It just seems as if we were told from birth to never mess up and be perfect. Sometimes, you just have to let go and just enjoy it.

[ChristopherSD]

How exactly do drive try-outs work on your teams?

[kjohnson]

Originally Posted by ChristopherSD

How exactly do drive try-outs work on your teams?

After getting a feel for the robot and controls, we set up anyone interested in driving with a 2:15 drill to simulate match time. Drivers rotate through the drill until we can determine 1 or 2 who are better suited as a drivers.

The key to this setup is to give each driver the same scenario. We accomplished that by pre-loading 2 balls (autonomous), placing 2 balls on the field near the key, and 2 more balls on the bridge. If the driver didn't attempt to gather balls from the bridge in the first 10-15 seconds those balls were removed from play. How each driver candidate handles each scenario factors into our decision on who will be the primary driver.

[Alan Anderson]

She and her fiance are TechnoKats alumni.

Hmm, what's that? Timid? Oh, that's very different.

Never mind.

[Jon Stratis]

Originally Posted by ChristopherSD

How exactly do drive try-outs work on your teams?

We come up with 1 or two drills, and have the drivers go through them multiple times each. This year, it was to gather 3 balls, shoot them, and balance on the bridge. A good combined time for all 3 tasks was somewhere around a minute. We had some drivers that had trouble with each portion - some couldn't gather as quickly as others, some couldn't line up to shoot as accurately, and some had more difficulty with the bridge than others. Each section (and overall) was timed, and plotted accordingly along with standard statistical analysis. In the end, it was very clear who the best option was for the team.

[DampRobot]

Originally Posted by davidthefat

Many people are afraid of failure. I have talked to a lot of team mates that I have urged to try driving, I got a lot of the "I don't want the pressure" or the "I don't want to mess up" response. Driving a robot is always fun, but for some people, the official competition scares them. It just seems as if we were told from birth to never mess up and be perfect. Sometimes, you just have to let go and just enjoy it.

This is me. I definitely feel intimidated by the thought of all the effort we put into designing a building the bot being made or broken by every little action I could make driving. I guess driving can be fun, but I'm not very good at it anyway. I have sort of unofficially decided to steer clear of driving (ha!).

[Pun-isher]

Many good points in this thread that I either agree with or even follow to the dot.

To me, being a driver means being the apex predator. A good driver's confidence and competence should shine through their other activities, whether it be school work, fantastic presentation skills, exercising habits or being on a school team (other than robotics). Of course, there are far more factors than that, but quite frankly, the driver has to be the aggressor on the field, whether on offense or defense. Social skills and getting along with older/younger folk are also big pluses. For example, let's say that you are in an alliance with one competent robot around your skill level and an Einstein Vet. Assuming that you would take a secondary role (passing, etc), it is important that the driver is not overcome with jealousy but is rather motivated to show what their robot can do and to become a powerful alliance. The same can also happen if your fellow teammates have a stigma of being the smartest or the most successful in your school. A good driver should not feel as if they will let this person down but see this as a means of furthering your own goals; now, I can drive even more aggressively, as I can count on my teammates to spot anything I didn't spot.

If anything, character is one of the best highlights for a driver, and should be the first bracket for determining a drive team, before moving on to cone drills. From my own views, it is fairly easily to pick up driving, but the best driver is something that must be deep rooted in the individual and then developed through practice and conversation.

[Garrett.d.w]

I am part of the design/ build team, and my job is to build something that I can't break while driving .

On a more serious note, we have found it helpful in the past to know how hard you can push the robot before competition starts. This is often reassuring to our drive team. Fortunately, we haven't had the problem of timid driving. Our driver for the past four years has learned how hard to push the robot to get the most out of each match.

When he coaches drivers, he always gives them a step by step plan to each match. This step by step plan calms down the entire drive team (both timid and aggressive) and leads to more successful matches.

If you have a timid driver, I would recommend building a practice drive chassis early in the season and have them drive it into the ground. Also, have a written outline tailored to each match, it lets everyone know whats going on and leaves less things to "heat of the moment" decision making.