Universal Spy Hand Signals

[MikLast]

Originally Posted by NShep98

My idea for this would be to have three colored cards. Red = team 1, white = team 2, blue = team 3. With one hand, hold the corresponding card, with the other some sort of signal.

Teams are going to have to do a lot of communicating with partners on what signals should be used.

This may be a bad idea because:

Refs use the red card and this may confuse the field techs and the refs.

[hectorcastillo]

I was just planning on making my HP learn flag semaphore.

[NShep98]

Originally Posted by MikLast

This may be a bad idea because:

Refs use the red card and this may confuse the field techs and the refs.

That is a valid point. In that case I would either use a different color, or use a card/board that is unmistakably larger than that of the referees.

[SteveDeonarine0]

Originally Posted by MikLast

This may be a bad idea because:

Refs use the red card and this may confuse the field techs and the refs.

True, it could get really confusing and ref might disqualify you

[tindleroot]

Originally Posted by MattOz

Is the hand signals really that important since almost every robot has a camera or cameras to give visual aid to the drive team?

Where did you hear that almost every robot has a camera?

[AWoL]

Originally Posted by MattOz

Is the hand signals really that important since almost every robot has a camera or cameras to give visual aid to the drive team?

I'm pretty sure no top robot last year had a camera...

[Dorgnarg]

I think some universal hand signals would be a great way for teams to collaborate! (Something à la Noodle Agreement except not a loophole that can be plugged).
My first thought was to use basic ASL (I've been trying to learn it lately haha so it's kinda on the front of my mind) or if people didn't want to learn actualy ASL we could just use letters for signs (eg. 'f' for forward, 'b' for backwards, 's' for stop) since most of them are different enough that they can probably be differentiated from a decent distance.
Semaphore would be an awesome choice too especially since it was made to be seen from a distance, but I will say that hand signals might be easier for the spy just because sudden changes (best example I can think of is if a robot suddenly tries to run into/block/etc you) might take longer to communicate with full-body signals than with hand signals.
It would be cool to turn the final decision into a document or something that we could print out and have at the driver stations and stuff as a just-in-case reference

[vdoe]

Would a full length mirror (that would fit in the spy box along with the human player) be allowed in the game? It's not an electronic control device, and the human player could rotate the mirror to give their alliance a view of the field.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by vdoe

Would a full length mirror (that would fit in the spy box along with the human player) be allowed in the game? It's not an electronic control device, and the human player could rotate the mirror to give their alliance a view of the field.

I would probably rule that to be a violation of 5.5.9, due to the high possibility of some robot getting confused by seeing a target in it.

Also, just for reference with the ASL suggestion: Think bigger. You're communicating 40' or so past obstacles. Try semaphore, colored gloves, you get the idea. 5.5.9B seems to be a good idea to to look at...

[TJScalzo]

My team has also been working on a dictionary. We've based all of our signs in generic ASL while substituting in words that don't have direct translations. (i.e rampart becomes ramp, drawbridge becomes bridge, chevalier de druse becomes seesaw, etc.)

We've been making a Google Doc that I might be able to share in this thread. However, I'm on my phone right now so I can't find the proper link.

Someone in my group also suggested gloves of some sort. What they suggested was something along the lines of an orange thumb and blue fingers or the reverse (I don't remember exactly). The different colors generally help with seeing signs from longer distances as well as differentiating between similar signs (like m and n).

[GaryVoshol]

I suspect 5.5.9 will be changed to disallow special equipment both in the CASTLE and the SPY BOX.

Back to hand/arm signals. Special colored items or flags would fail point F. vi.

[Foster]

I'd like to put two cents in for making arm motions vs hand motions. Arm motions will be easier to see by the drivers. But, they will also be easy to see by people in the stands. That will allow spectators to get a better glimpse into the game.

Having Universal Spy signals are good. It can be printed on a card and given to teams (and spectators!!) that don't hang out on CD. That way the drive team can learn it and be ready for the matches.

I'm hoping that we'll be able to get to a common format, I'd hate to get to an event and learn that there are 4 or 5 different arm motions that teams need to learn. "Wait, so the hand on head isn't ..... ?!?" isn't something to learn after a match loss.

[rich2202]

The first step is figuring out what to communicate.

Robots need cameras to help with shooting.also a spy isn't helpful helping an unknown robot shoot.

What is helpful to telli:

1) where is a loose Boulder
2) is a defending bot is going after an alliance bot, and which one
3) how an alliance member can help a stuck bot

Any other thoughts?

[MikLast]

Originally Posted by rich2202

The first step is figuring out what to communicate.

Robots need cameras to help with shooting.also a spy isn't helpful helping an unknown robot shoot.

What is helpful to telli:

1) where is a loose Boulder
2) is a defending bot is going after an alliance bot, and which one
3) how an alliance member can help a stuck bot

Any other thoughts?

if you are lined up to where you need to shoot
what defense you should hit (in case the drivers are to into the driving to look at the lights)
go left, right, forward, back, etc.

[Rohan8616]

Can a human player (spy) bring a non-electronic device (such as a whiteboard) onto with them to the spy area to assist communication with the drivers?