What to know?

[D.Allred]

Originally Posted by tsf

Thanks! We're in South Florida and we have 12 students and 2 mentors at the moment.

What I was wondering is that what fundamentals should we have nailed down before we meet with our mentoring team? What are we expected to know, or what should we be able to do before we have our mentoring session, as a team?

Welcome to FIRST! I'm glad to hear you have another team to mentor you during the season. That will be critical to your success since you appear to have no previous robotics or FIRST exposure.

Here's what I suggest you do before meeting with your mentoring team.
- Read the 2014 Administrative Manual and develop a list of questions. Logistics of an FRC team can be complicated.
- List ALL of your basic assets. Your mentoring team can help you prioritize gaps. Your basic assets would include money, space, materials, and mentor / parent skills.

Here's the key asset questions I would ask if we were helping your team.
- What is your source of funds and budget for regional entry fees, robot parts & materials, and team travel?
- Where is your build and team meeting space?
- What tools are available for building the robot?
- What are the skills and background of the mentors?
- What is your schedule and team meeting times for the build season?

My robot advice is the same for all new teams.
- Build the drive base in the kit of parts first before you build anything else. Get it wired, programmed and driving immediately.

Good luck!
David

[SenorZ]

Welcome to FIRST!

What you should know:
1. This is supposed to be fun. If you, or the students, are not having fun, stop and rethink what you're working on.
2. Almost nothing works the way you want it to, the way your think it should, or the way it REALLY should the first time around. Learn as you go and remember #1.

[lynca]

I've found this Recommended Reading page by Spectrum to be particularly useful for new, old and forgetful people.

http://www.spectrum3847.org/recommendedreading

[Seth Mallory]

Originally Posted by lynca

I've found this Recommended Reading page by Spectrum to be particularly useful for new, old and forgetful people.

http://www.spectrum3847.org/recommendedreading

I have found that Spectrum is one of the great resources for new teams. I have found none better. Being a new team that has help others gives them a different way of looking at problems then older teams have. What works for our team with a program that has been building on years of experience and training will not work for a new team. That is why I recommend Spectrum.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Seth Mallory

I have found that Spectrum is one of the great resources for new teams. I have found none better. Being a new team that has help others gives them a different way of looking at problems then older teams have.

Have you taken a look at Team-in-a-Box (341, now no longer updated) or MOE-mentum (365)? I haven't used them, mind you, but I understand that they're pretty good as well, for a veteran (HoF teams') perspective.

[Jacob Bendicksen]

I'd say just keep it simple and have fun. As previous posters have said, even veteran teams can get tripped up shooting for the moon but ending up burning up on reentry. (sorry for the space simile). If you can pick one task to do and do it really well, that'll make you look good. Some teams that I saw this year didn't even drive -- they just climbed. That might be an extreme example, but the idea behind it is sound: make your robot as break-proof and as idiot-proof as possible.

Also (I have to say this as a Chairman's guy)-- do community outreach. It's the right thing to do, as well as looking great on your submission a few years down the road.

If you're interested, we have all sorts of resources on our website.

Best of luck!

[Randaline]

I'd definitely agree with some of the previous posters. Building a simple robot that works well is a lot easier/better than trying to go the hard route and ending up disappointed. Your team has plenty more years ahead of itself to try harder robots out.
Also, don't forget the things not directly related to the robot, such as outreach, team identity, or administration/ logistics (ex. budget, available resources). It's easy to get so caught up in finishing before the deadline that other things fall through the cracks-- and teams don't operate well without handling all of its aspects.
Third, know where to find the information you need. If it's parts, know the popular websites that will have the part you need. If it's advice, work with neighboring teams. Check out previous games and know what kinds of awards and resources available on the FIRST website. Other than that, your team will pick up a lot through the mentoring process and through experience

[geomapguy]

Originally Posted by Seth Mallory

I have found that Spectrum is one of the great resources for new teams. I have found none better. Being a new team that has help others gives them a different way of looking at problems then older teams have. What works for our team with a program that has been building on years of experience and training will not work for a new team. That is why I recommend Spectrum.

Spectrum is perhaps the most impressive team that is >4 years old. It's also worthy to note that they do all of this with only one mentor - Allen. Many second-year teams should also work hard on Chairman's. Spectrum is a good example as how they can win a chairman's early on. I think it's easy to say that Spectrum will win many awards in the future.