Robotics Question of the Day!

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Siri

Ok, I get the object vs piece distinction, but how can you indicate that #n is acquisition and #m is delivery? Are you referring to chronological steps in general (how do you deliver a bridge)?

[...]Given that Ryan's looking for ways to get kids minds going and inspire them to want to try it, such an open-ended "what's a good structure for determining the top priorities of a FIRST robot" question is actually a pretty valuable discussion of the day.

It's chronological in general, or in order of priority. For example, many teams may have thought that the order this year would have been delivery of the basketballs, acquisition of said basketballs, and being able to tip the bridge (because they could go over the barrier, and chances are someone else can tip the bridge). Actually, acquisition and being able to level the bridge took precedence--witness the number of stingers that mysteriously appeared on many robots as the competition season progressed, and the wide variety of over-the-bumper collectors. (Delivery of the basketballs was a pretty close second to acquisition wherever that ended up.)

I would agree that a "what's a good structure for determining priorities of a FRC robot" is a pretty good discussion of the day. I would, in the days and weeks after using that one, go even farther: I would pick a random FRC game (ideally one well before the time of the students on the team), slim it down to be easily understood, and ask the question, "How do we win this game?" The open-ended discussion there will eventually lead to an answer, right or "wrong", but it can be compared to the actual winning robots that year.