Petition to end the shouting of ROBOT

[gabrielau23]

I feel like at the larger regionals it's sometimes necessary. Sometimes two students will walk in front of the cart and ask, but if they just can't hear, we resort to Robot coming through! However, I've never heard anyone on our team abuse it unless it was a jest in the stands, in which case it was clearly joking. I mean, sometimes I feel like it's--necessary. I don't know, but at 64 team regionals, there are a LOT of people in the lanes not just because they have too many people in the pits but just from the sheer amount of teams there.

[Alan Anderson]

I'll gladly add my name to the list.

My biggest objection to the practice of yelling "ROBOT" is that it is so often done by someone who isn't where the robot is. Twice last year I was talking with people in their team's pit when suddenly they yelled "ROBOT!" in my face. My immediate reaction to that sort of thing is to jump backwards out of their way. If the robot had actually been nearby, I'd probably have collided with it. The first time, the robot had already safely passed, and the person shouting was echoing someone trailing it. The second time, the robot wasn't even in the same pit row as the person who startled me. I was more prepared for it after that and didn't jump again, but still the call of "ROBOT!" by a person not actually with the robot actively takes attention away from the moving robot itself.

My second-biggest objection to it is that even when it's done by someone accompanying the robot, it's usually done by someone pushing the robot. The alarm is being sounded from behind, where there is no longer a need to warn anyone. It is so much more effective to have a vanguard walking a few meters ahead to clear a path.

It seems that the common practice is to treat the robot like a mother duck and have the rest of the drive team trail after it. That's fine for the people using the robot to make room for them to walk, but it's rude to everyone else along the way.



For those who argue that saying "excuse me" to the crowd doesn't work, you're missing the point. You don't broadcast it to "the crowd". You say it to the specific people who are in the way.

[Camren]

Here is why I enjoy the yelling of robot
-Creative
-Spirited
- If done correctly parts a sea of bystanders in one shout

The reasons I don't see why this is an issue
-The pit is a loud place you should be suspecting louder than a shout "robot"
- It is a loud vocal warning sign of precious cargo going through

all in all yelling "robot" has come as a tradition for my teams drive team. We are creative with how we word it, we are always polite and we part seas of bystanders.
I propose the alternative route of placing signs that say. "In case of robot shout clear path way". Also if you are complaining about the noise well why not complain about the guy next to you ripping plexi-glass with a circular saw or the gal across the isle beating on a piece of metal with a hammer. The jist is if you don't loud noises why not wear recommended ear protection

[Bill_B]

Reading with interest and general approval, I submit that the phrase used should be "excuse, us, please." And directed to individuals seems like it would be the best tactic. Please put people before the robot, both in the procession and downstream of the path. I've got enough trouble with bumper rules already. Let's not risk their requirement on our carts!

[dcarr]

Originally Posted by Camren

Here is why I enjoy the yelling of robot

This post contains numerous logical fallacies that have already been enumerated in this thread.

Signed.

An alternate approach could be setting up a 30 inch wide strip in the middle of the aisles for movement only - as in, if you are not going somewhere get out of the aisle.

There's already a rule about wearing safety glasses, adding an aisle seems reasonable.

Making the aisles one-way for robots and the other way for people would also be good. If robot traffic comes from only one direction and people are facing it (and wrong way robot draggers called on it) traffic should move along.

Or perhaps we can start yelling HUMAN!

Dave S.

[Mark Sheridan]

Originally Posted by three_d_dave

Signed.

An alternate approach could be setting up a 30 inch wide strip in the middle of the aisles for movement only - as in, if you are not going somewhere get out of the aisle.

There's already a rule about wearing safety glasses, adding an aisle seems reasonable.

Making the aisles one-way for robots and the other way for people would also be good. If robot traffic comes from only one direction and people are facing it (and wrong way robot draggers called on it) traffic should move along.

Or perhaps we can start yelling HUMAN!

Dave S.

That would make life easier for everyone. I like it!

[Mk.32]

Totally agreed.

At Inland Empire we were also asked to shout "Robot". And we still don't.... "Excuse mes" and "thanks" work great. And usually the way is clear enough.

[sanddrag]

Today, I saw a few teams loudly yell Robot! to the general crowd then proceed to nearly mow down pedestrians with it. One team even placed their hands on members of another and pushed them out of the way. And this was on a return trip to the pits!
It's the sense of entitlement to immediate robot right of way that is the core of the issue here, compounded by the yelling.

[AdamHeard]

The culture of yelling robot came about the same time teams started actively pursuing the safety award.

It's unnecessary and highly annoying.

[Kyle A]

Consider me signed too! When I started robotics in 2004 no one yelled robot, maybe every once in awhile with a large group but you never heard it. My senior year in 2007 is when I heard teams starting to use it. It was new and kind of got on peoples nerves but we just let it happen. Now a days I know for we I hear it yelled so often I kind of just tune it out. I agree with what everyone else has said that it is not needed and asking politely, with someone in front of the car saying it, to move is the way to go.

[lorem3k]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

The culture of yelling robot came about the same time teams started actively pursuing the safety award.

I don't get why there's a safety award. I think that the other rewards for being safe (such as finger/limb retention) should be sufficient motivators.

Safety is not a competition.

[Johnny_5]

Originally Posted by three_d_dave

An alternate approach could be setting up a 30 inch wide strip in the middle of the aisles for movement only - as in, if you are not going somewhere get out of the aisle.

Not to be "that guy" or anything, but I do believe you defined the concept of an aisle. They're there to provide a clear pathway to where you want to go.


As far as the whole yelling "robot" thing goes, I pretty much told everyone on our team to not do it. It just contributes to the overall noise and chaos, and with 4 other people from every direction, it causes unnecessary confusion. "Excuse me" and "Pardon me" have been around for generations, and they have shown to be quite effective. A slight tap on the shoulder and some manners go a long way, we don't want to scare away people from FIRST. Being polite to a total stranger can go a long way, and wouldn't it be neat to overhear a conversation between event sponsors leaving the building that went something like, "Wow, with how busy these students are and how stressful competition is, they are really polite."

Another thing, at the regional I attended, late Thursday afternoon the "robot crossing guards" began to develop. It consisted of a group of 3 or 4 students on each side of a door way (one that could have easily accommodated 2 robots and foot traffic). These students had reflective vests and light batons and proceeded in an attempt to direct traffic. They would only let certain people through at a time, robots had the right of way, and they were consistently stopping traffic from one direction to allow the other to go through. This created a bottleneck and we we almost missed a match because they wouldn't let us through. While this works great in theory, it doesn't work in practice. And honestly, I was surprised that they weren't asked to cease this practice by event volunteers.

I'll sign the petition, but I don't think we need a rule against it, some just need a reminder of what gracious professionalism is.

[vhcook]

The non-yelling method works, and it reduces the odds you upset or injure a guest in the pits. Think about the cub scouts and brownie troops following the student ambassadors around like ducklings, the proud grandparents who might not be terribly quick on their feet anymore, the random elected officials, and the school administrators someone is trying to convince to allow a new team to form at their school. Think about the mentor in the wheelchair that you're about to run down because you can't see them from behind your robot and cart, and consider the team members with sports injuries that are trying to get to their pits on crutches. They've all got every right to be there, and we are expected to be demonstrating gracious professionalism toward them.

And having brought up gracious professionalism, it's time for the grandma test. If your hypothetical grandmother was visiting the competition, and came to the pits to get a close look at your work, how would she feel if she got driven out of the aisle by screaming students half a dozen times? How would she react if she saw you doing that to someone else? Mine would have been appalled and not terribly happy with me. Consequently, I will not be yelling ROBOT and I will continue to encourage my students to use gentle path-clearing methods.

[Zebra_Fact_Man]

I cannot believe I am actually reading a thread dedicated to this. This is by far one of the most ridiculous proposals I have ever heard, and to top that off, I can't believe that so many people are in favor of it!

Maybe it's just a Michigan thing, but the pits seem to be kind of a hang out area for almost 50% of the teams here in my area, and it would be IMPOSSIBLE to get from point A to point B in a timely matter without this practice. Heck, I have difficulty navigating the pits as an individual!

But lets go over and examine the proposed reasons for the heck of it:
1) It's not necessary - To be determined.
2) It's arrogant - This is a competition, isn't it? Although, I'd use the words "confident" or "certain" before "arrogant".
3) It's obnoxious - Is yelling "fire" or "rape" or "I surrender" obnoxious? It get's the job done, which is what its supposed to do.
4) It's rude - not really. it is THE MOST efficient way to tell all people within ear's range that there is a robot headed their way and to get out of the way.
5) It creates excessive noise. - Music in the grand stands is excessive noise. Pit announcements are sometimes excessive noise. Yelling robot is useful noise.
6) It startles bystanders - maybe if the bystanders are elementary school children who've never been to a robotics competition before.
7) It turns off the general public - how? EVERY group of people that has visited my team in the pits, when hearing "robot", immediately knows how to respond. I have NEVER heard a visitor comment negatively toward this practice.
8) It starts a chain reaction of other teams yelling for no apparent reason - this statement assumes "for no apparent reason", which has yet to be proven. And if useful, this chain reaction is a good thing.
9) With repetition, it becomes white noise and loses all meaning - no it doesn't. If I yell robot, then get out of the way; here comes a robot! If robotless people yelled robot, THEN it would lose its meaning.
10) It does little to make anyone safer in any way, and may even create a hazard - this is simply false. It informs everyone within ear's reach, as stated before, that a robot's a coming. Prevents people from getting hit by a robot.
11) It gives teams a false sense of entitlement that others will drop everything to move out of their way - well they should. GP? We got a match and need to get somewhere and you don't. If you need to get somewhere with your robot, then we shouldn't be in you way either.
It's safety theater - I suppose. Oops. Oh well.

In short, if no one was in the way, you wouldn't need to yell robot. But it's simply not the case, and yelling robot gets the job done more efficiently and effectively than any other method.

TLDR; yelling robot tells everyone around you that you and your robot is coming and they need to get out of the way ASAP. Exactly what it's supposed to do, in the most efficient manner possible.