Go to Post Last year we saved a ton of money by using a good bit of square tubing for the frame of our robot, square tubing is a lot cheaper then C channel. We get to use so much raw material that the cost should go down in certain places. - Derrick Maust [more]
Home
Go Back   Chief Delphi > Competition > Rules/Strategy
CD-Media   CD-Spy  
portal register members calendar search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read FAQ rules

 
Closed Thread
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #1   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 25-09-2012, 22:38
CalTran's Avatar
CalTran CalTran is offline
MST Rolla Senior
FRC #2410 (BV CAPS Metal Mustang Robotics)
Team Role: College Student
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Rookie Year: 2010
Location: Overland Park, Kansas
Posts: 2,419
CalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond repute
Driving drills and practice

Having read the threads:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...Driving+drills
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...Driving+drills
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...Driving+drills
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...Driving+drills

I wanted to know not just year specific driving practice techniques, but also techniques in general for improved driving. This year our team has a 4 wheel tank drivetrain, so for the next few months that's what I'll be practicing with. We also have an operational mecanum robot. I'd like to know what sorts of driving sets teams do from year to year to keep their drivers in top condition.

EDIT: No, we usually don't keep the same driver year-to-year. A few years ago it transitioned into a sort of Captain's Privilege thing.
__________________
Team 2410 thinks KISSing is amazing! Keep It Super Safe!
  • "You know you've been in robotics too long when you start talking to your tools." "Well, you've been in robotics CLEARLY too long when they start talking back"
  • Theory is when you know everything but nothing works. Practice is when everything works but you don't know why. On our team, theory and practice comes together - nothing works and nobody knows why.
MMR 2410 Student (2010 - 2013) | MMR 2410 Mentor (2013 - Present)
FTC Game Announcer / EmCee (2014 - Present) | FRC EmCee (2015 - Present) | FRC Referee (2016) | FTC Referee (2017)
Academic Student (Forever)

Last edited by CalTran : 25-09-2012 at 22:51.
  #2   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 25-09-2012, 22:48
MARS_James's Avatar
MARS_James MARS_James is offline
Always Scouting
AKA: James Comstock
FRC #0179 (The Children of The Swamp)
Team Role: Tactician
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Rookie Year: 2006
Location: Jupiter, Florida
Posts: 1,968
MARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond repute
Send a message via AIM to MARS_James
Re: Driving drills and practice

Before I can really give a response my question to you is do you have the same driver every year (which I know is popular in FIRST) or do you have tryouts every year (which is what we do)?
  #3   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 25-09-2012, 22:52
CalTran's Avatar
CalTran CalTran is offline
MST Rolla Senior
FRC #2410 (BV CAPS Metal Mustang Robotics)
Team Role: College Student
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Rookie Year: 2010
Location: Overland Park, Kansas
Posts: 2,419
CalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond reputeCalTran has a reputation beyond repute
Re: Driving drills and practice

To answer that, and I also placed my answer in the original, we don't keep the same driver year to year. It's usually the Captain, or a highly regarded veteran on the team. They'll have off season, ie April-December, including one off season event, for practice on old robots, then whatever time we can manage during season.
__________________
Team 2410 thinks KISSing is amazing! Keep It Super Safe!
  • "You know you've been in robotics too long when you start talking to your tools." "Well, you've been in robotics CLEARLY too long when they start talking back"
  • Theory is when you know everything but nothing works. Practice is when everything works but you don't know why. On our team, theory and practice comes together - nothing works and nobody knows why.
MMR 2410 Student (2010 - 2013) | MMR 2410 Mentor (2013 - Present)
FTC Game Announcer / EmCee (2014 - Present) | FRC EmCee (2015 - Present) | FRC Referee (2016) | FTC Referee (2017)
Academic Student (Forever)
  #4   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 25-09-2012, 22:57
Ankit S.'s Avatar
Ankit S. Ankit S. is offline
Registered User
FRC #2489 (The Insomniacs)
Team Role: College Student
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Rookie Year: 2011
Location: Fremont, CA
Posts: 205
Ankit S. has a spectacular aura aboutAnkit S. has a spectacular aura about
Re: Driving drills and practice

While probably not the ideal solution, having your drivers play First Person Shooter games can drastically increase their reflexes, and it can possibly help with dealing with pressure.

This translates into a person that can probably adapt to the robot easily.
__________________
FRC 2489 - The Insomniacs
Alumnus

2489, 3189, & 701 - The Green Alliance - 2013 Sacramento Regional #6 Alliance Captain and Champions!!!
971, 254, & 2489 - 2011 CalGames Champions. Thanks 254 and 971!!!

  #5   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 25-09-2012, 23:25
MARS_James's Avatar
MARS_James MARS_James is offline
Always Scouting
AKA: James Comstock
FRC #0179 (The Children of The Swamp)
Team Role: Tactician
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Rookie Year: 2006
Location: Jupiter, Florida
Posts: 1,968
MARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond reputeMARS_James has a reputation beyond repute
Send a message via AIM to MARS_James
Re: Driving drills and practice

Besides what you have already stated, any outreach or new member recruitment is great for new drivers to drive at since usually there is a crowd and people who they don't know watching them so it is good to help them deal with stage fright, or performance anxiety.

Other than that you can't do more than your driving drills and off season events with previous year robots.

That being said once the game is announced, and that years robot starts having a final design (at least for drive train) there are several things that need to happen rather quickly in preparing your drivers:
1. If your drive train is different than the previous year get the driver on an old robot or a mock drive train to practice with so they can get down how it moves.
2. Any unique field elements need to be built for them to interact with (Bridge this year, bumps in 2010 etc). I can not stress how much it helped our driver this year to have a bridge for 5 weeks of build to practice on
3. Believe it or not over the years we have learned that letting the driver interact with game pieces themselves not with the robot can help them a lot (it seems like common sense but every year I get a weird look when I bring this up)
4. Anything the driver has to do other than move the robot (this year they were in charge of the ball pick up for us) they have to train at doing at the same time as learning to drive
5. Get them a fully functioning robot as quickly as possible, and let them practice on the competition bot if two robots are made. Every robot moves and feels different even with the same drive train.
6. The co-driver/arm operator (or as ours so lovingly called it this year button monkey) needs to work with the driver so make the selection quickly. Though it should be obvious make sure the main driver is involved with the selection.

These are the best ways I think to prepare a driver for being the best possible
  #6   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 26-09-2012, 11:42
Nick Lawrence's Avatar
Nick Lawrence Nick Lawrence is offline
Commander Canada
FRC #3940 (CyberTooth, AndyMark)
Team Role: Mentor
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Rookie Year: 2005
Location: Kokomo, IN
Posts: 714
Nick Lawrence has a reputation beyond reputeNick Lawrence has a reputation beyond reputeNick Lawrence has a reputation beyond reputeNick Lawrence has a reputation beyond reputeNick Lawrence has a reputation beyond reputeNick Lawrence has a reputation beyond reputeNick Lawrence has a reputation beyond reputeNick Lawrence has a reputation beyond reputeNick Lawrence has a reputation beyond reputeNick Lawrence has a reputation beyond reputeNick Lawrence has a reputation beyond repute
Re: Driving drills and practice

I would recommend some basic maneuverability drills with both drivetrains. Drills like slaloming around chairs, etc.

One of my favorite drils is to set up a chair around 40 feet away from the driver directly in front of their line of sight. Charge full throttle at the chair and attempt to stop as close to the chair in the shortest amount of time. This helps them gauge their depth perception.

Another is to use the same layout, but instead of stopping in front of the chair, turn away from it as close to it as possible without striking it.

I would also read 2168's "Drive Like A Falcon" handbook, which you can find here.

This is what I can come up with off the top of my head. I drove for 4 years with a rigorous practice schedule so I'm sure I'll come up with more soon.

-Nick
__________________


Alumnus of 1503 Spartonics
Founding Mentor of 5406 Celt-X
Mechanical Design Mentor of 3940 CyberTooth
Emceeing events since 2013 - come say hi!

Success doesn't always equate to match wins. It's about the wins off the field.
  #7   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 26-09-2012, 11:56
Jon Stratis's Avatar
Jon Stratis Jon Stratis is offline
Mentor, LRI, MN RPC
FRC #2177 (The Robettes)
Team Role: Mentor
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Rookie Year: 2006
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 3,835
Jon Stratis has a reputation beyond reputeJon Stratis has a reputation beyond reputeJon Stratis has a reputation beyond reputeJon Stratis has a reputation beyond reputeJon Stratis has a reputation beyond reputeJon Stratis has a reputation beyond reputeJon Stratis has a reputation beyond reputeJon Stratis has a reputation beyond reputeJon Stratis has a reputation beyond reputeJon Stratis has a reputation beyond reputeJon Stratis has a reputation beyond repute
Re: Driving drills and practice

One of my favorite drills is to take two robots, two drivers, and pit them against each other. One plays offense, the other plays defense. Play the actual game your "offensive" robot was designed for, with maybe some small modifications to account for the fact that you're on half a field with only 2 robots. This will help you learn how to deal with pushing matches, how to navigate around a defender, and what sort of limitations your robot has that you might want to avoid next year.

Otherwise, obstacle courses are great, as are game-specific drills (for example, pick up 3 balls, shoot them, them balance on the bridge).

Just keep in mind that it's not all just about being able to drive - you have to be able to interact with the game pieces, field elements, and other robots as well!
__________________
2007 - Present: Mentor, 2177 The Robettes
LRI: North Star 2012-2016; Lake Superior 2013-2014; MN State Tournament 2013-2014, 2016; Galileo 2016; Iowa 2017
2015: North Star Regional Volunteer of the Year
2016: Lake Superior WFFA
Closed Thread


Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:37.

The Chief Delphi Forums are sponsored by Innovation First International, Inc.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © Chief Delphi