Possible solution to Einstein problems.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by ratdude747

1. Better quality wiring inspections. A few of wiring errors mentioned in the report, be the cause of the problem or not, should have been easily spotted. I am not sure whether using the regulated port for the radio is in the rules or not (I'll check later), but that error in particular sounds like it could have been spotted during an inspection just by a glance at the PD board and what, if anything was connected to the regulated port.

See <R42.B>. Also see the fourth item under "Electrical" in the 2012 FRC Inspection Checklist.

Most important, see the Team Compliance Statement just above the signature lines at the end of the checklist: (emphasis added)

We, the Team Mentor and Team Captain, attest by our signing below, that our team’s robot was built after the 2012 Kickoff on January7, 2012 and in accordance with all of the 2012 FRC rules, including all Fabrication Schedule rules. We have conducted our own inspection and determined that our robot satisfies all of the 2012 FRC rules for robot design.

So yes, better quality wiring inspection. By the team, for the team.

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by shawnz

Well, the system "worked fine" except for the firmware bug introduced in Week 4.

Really? Because in the report, six communications failures were laid out that were not tied to the FCA issue that was created by that firmware update. And I seem to remember plenty of communications issues through-out the entire season, not just on Einstein.

[pfreivald]

Surround the field in a chain-link fence (or other Faraday cage). It's at the very least a good start.

[Greg McKaskle]

As in the other thread, could we be more precise than "six communications failures".

Three of those were caused by a loose sensor signal wire and code that spun when the value was out of range. The code loop was in auto code and didn't happen in tele mode. Thus tests in the heat of competition failed to repeat the issue.

One was a failed ethernet cable -- not sure if it was purchased or shop-made.

One involved wiring the radio to the unprotected 12V circuit rather than the dedicated and protected 12V.

The radio reboot due to wiring had to do with a suspended crimp connection whose movement weakened and broke the copper wire after repeated vibration and impact -- at least this is my understanding as to why the crimp failed.

Another issue mentioned in the report, but not in the root cause section was a faulty main breaker installed between Quals and Einstein.

Communications failure might be how someone would describe the symptom, but it is not how I'd describe most of these root causes when wearing my CSA hat.

I think it is highly valuable to discuss how to improve the system and identify the issues that are too difficult to debug, etc. Vague terminology and statistics based on small sample size will not help matters.

Greg McKaskle

[Lil' Lavery]

Greg, I was talking about the end result (symptom) rather than the root cause. Perhaps it was foolish of me not to go into further detail on the issue, assuming people had actually read the report themselves. But I stand by the assertion I made in the other thread that any system where the best of the best teams can have a 12.5% failure rate at the end of their season is a system that has significant flaws.

[shawnz]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

Greg, I was talking about the end result (symptom) rather than the root cause. Perhaps it was foolish of me not to go into further detail on the issue, assuming people had actually read the report themselves. But I stand by the assertion I made in the other thread that any system where the best of the best teams can have a 12.5% failure rate at the end of their season is a system that has significant flaws.

Fair enough, but what I was specifically quoting (BornaE's 1st and 2nd suggestions) would not mitigate anything except an attack on the wifi networks. MAC filtering is not going to cause people to wire their robot better. Besides that, the report clearly outlines the need for more substantial documentation, and that's *always* a good thing.

[Greg McKaskle]

I agree with much of what you are saying. It was highly disturbing to watch Einstein unfold. I watched three of the Division tournaments almost in their entirety and the energy and competition was phenomenal. It was quality IRST. Then a few hours later some of the same teams were involved in something entirely different. As the report shows, a number of factors were involved, and I expect measure will be taken to lessen the chances and severity of each of them. Additionally, items having nothing to do with Einstein were already being investigated and addressed, and due to the Einstein investigation, new items were discovered such as the SmartDashboard memory corruption.

I believe there are a number of other factors that contributed to the perception of what was taking place, but unfortunately my kids are wiggly and I don't have the time to write a coherent explanation. Maybe I'll get a chance later.

Greg McKaskle

[Ether]

Originally Posted by Greg McKaskle

unfortunately my kids are wiggly and I don't have the time to write a coherent explanation

Enjoy them while they're wiggly.

They grow up much too fast.