Robotics and Calculus?! Oh nos!

[Al Skierkiewicz]

I don't know how to really word this so if it sounds weird, sorry. It is not always the best robot (insert any noun here) that wins but it usually the one who has performed their homework, eeked out the slight edge or practiced, practiced, practiced. 5-10% better is huge when it only takes one more point to win. As to testing vs. calculating, we must always be testing ourselves. Make the calculation and run the test, if they are close then proceed. If they are far apart check the calculation again then test again. Something has to be wrong and you need to find out why. Many teams last year asked for our assistance to find problems with their robot. In some cases we encountered teams who had made the calculations and tested and were still blowing breakers. They had all the data that something was wrong they just couldn't find it. These cases were usually two motor drives where one of the motors had failed or was accidentally wired wrong when replaced.

BTW, We are always glad to help if we can. If you are having a problem let us know. Especially if we are at the same event, come and get one of us to help. If you came to play, I want to help you make that happen.