How does your team do scouting?

[Alexa Stott]

Originally Posted by DonRotolo

We use laptops feeding a custom database instead of paper, but otherwise we likely use very similar methods. I disagree that our method has any more effort than yours; indeed I believe that we exert far less effort to collect our data.

The only paper we ultimately generate is what the student takes on the field when selecting our alliance

This is very similar to what we do.

In the past, we have used custom-written programs to enter code. This year, we are simply using excel and a python script (written by Kristian Calhoun, who you may have seen around here on CD). We don't do anything really whacky with the data, it just helps us compile all the numbers into a format that's more easily readable. We don't have any sort of complex equations that tell us who the #1 robot is. It simply provides us with an easier way of pulling up a robot's overall stats for the event. We can view results by match or by team.

For example, if I wanted to see what 1676 did at Mt. Olive, I could get all that information in a few keystrokes. I could tell you how many balls they score in auto and teleop and if they balance on the bridges, etc. There are usually also people like me and Kristian who simply sit in the stands and watch matches and make observations. We take note on who we think is really standing out and use that to aid our decisions as well. We don't just use the numbers. We might notice that a really good robot did poorly in one match. In that case, we find the scout who was watching them and ask what happened so we know whether it's a serious problem (i.e. they made changes to their robot or code that affected their performance) or if it was just an off match for them (maybe they had connectivity issues or something).

We have done paper scouting and it's a bit, well, clumsy given the type of technology we have available to us now. Combine this with your observations and you can usually end up with pretty good results.

As for compiling a pick list, we make a list numbered 1-23 on Saturday/Friday night (Saturday for districts, Friday for other events). Usually the top 3-4 spots are easy picks. The rest is where we need to do a lot more legwork. This involves using our collected data, our observations, as well as match video. It's also good to have pictures of robots to jog your memory.