2016 Scouting Ideas/Apps

[ABreyen]

I know that it's early, but we [our team] wants to get a jump on scouting ideas (and possibly mobile apps) for this year!
My thoughts on mobile apps: (subject to mentor approval &#128540 2014 we had 6 school iPads and 6 dedicated students in the stands, scouting on those iPads. It worked GREAT, I thought, the only issue was iPad security. Our coach could NOT leave the stands, as school policy for off-site tech states that whoever checks it out, is responsible for it.

2015 we used paper... Yuck. Given that 2015 was a confusing scouting year, but I believe iPads were easier.

So, I thought that, most students have iPhones or Android devices. Why not use those? (Again, subject to mentor approval) Obviously, devices CANNOT communicate in match and in arena.

So... Barring any complications w/ approval, are any teams planning on making an iOS 2016 scouting app, or iOS and Android? We would be greatly appreciative of one--as we have no idea how to code an iOS app 😜

TL/DR: Are any teams planning on making an iOS or iOS and Android 2016 scouting app?

[sagi34]

IDK about the apps, but last year I was lead scout in my team, and we tried to use app instead of papers, it was first year we did it, so I allowed each student to choose what he likes better, only 1 out of 12 studnets chose the app over the paper.
I think that it is much more comfortable to use papers, because you can use them however you want, and not according to the rules of a specific app, another reason is the battery, you need your phone battery to communicate with your team, you don't want your battery to reach 0% because you used the app, and if it reaches 0%, how will you continue using the app? you will loose a lot of scouting data.

[Farbod909]

Yes! MorScout 2.0 is a perfect solution for you. It can be used offline or online so you have that freedom in case internet is not working in the arena. Also, you can fully customize your scouting forms so you're not restricted to team 1515's scouting strategy (however, that will still be an option).

Here is the full description:
Team 1515 MorTorq is developing the next iteration of our scouting application, MorScout, from last year. Our scouting application is designed to be run without any setup, meaning your clients will require an internet connection to login and periodically to sync to the server. MorScout is designed to run primarily on Android and iOS, but also web browsers. Each FRC team can create accounts for their own scouters. Our application is designed for both match scouting, as well as pit scouting. Each team can create custom forms for their scouters to fill out, so teams are not limited by just our scouting ideas! Once scouting reports have been made, team members can view all reports from their team for specific matches and/or teams. Additionally, scouters will have the option of making their reports public or private. Private means that only the scouters’ team will be able to review that report. By making a report public, any team using MorScout will be able to view the report, allowing each FRC team to assist in every team’s scouting.

Although MorScout is currently in heavy development, you can view our progress at our Github pages. Our goal is to finish MorScout by Week 1 of FRC competitions.
Server: https://github.com/mortorqrobotics/morscout-server
Web client: https://github.com/mortorqrobotics/morscout-web
Android: https://github.com/mortorqrobotics/morscout-andorid
iOS: https://github.com/mortorqrobotics/morscout-ios

Last year’s version of MorScout is also available here:
https://github.com/mortorqrobotics/morscout-2015

[ABreyen]

Originally Posted by Farbod909

Yes! MorScout 2.0 is a perfect solution for you...............

This looks awesome! We will definitely look into this! Are you planning on publishing to Google Play and/or the Apple App Store? Or is it just the source code to have teams compile?

One question: Do the devices talk to each other (via BlueTooth or Wifi or something), or do they sync to a central server to talk to other devices?

This looks awesome!

[Farbod909]

Version 1.0 is available on the App Store and play store, but in order to test them out, you would need to download the server from the morscout-2015 repository and run a local server process.

Version 2.0 will also be on the App Store and play store too. But this time, we will be hosting a centralized server, in order to make using MorScout even easier! All you would have to do is make an account, join a team, and start scouting.

The app syncs the scouting data with the server, and even if there is no internet, it stores the info on the device, and syncs as soon as an Internet connection is re established.

There will be 4 ways to use the app: iOS app, android app, desktop app, and website.

[ABreyen]

This is exactly what I was hoping for! Im attempting to try it on my devices, and hopefully I can convince the team to use it!!

[Farbod909]

For some reason the morscout-2015 server folder had been removed but I re-added it. If you want to test the mobile apps, you can follow the instructions in the repository to successfully run the server and connect to it via one of the apps.

If you have any issues please let me know. My email is rafezyfarbod@gmail.com

[Adam8234]

2052 has a scouting app. FRC Krawler is not like most scouting apps where it's made for a specific season. FRC Krawler is meant to be used for any season. Meaning, you don't have to wait for updates. Sadly, it's only for Android, so that might not work out for your situation.

Main Advantages:

1. You can add as many questions, or metrics, as you want. So you only scout what you want. (The main reason why it's so flexible)
2. Bluetooth Data Transfer across devices
3. Excel formatted exporting for easy data evaluation
4. And more...

There are currently 5 metrics with 2 on the way

• Boolean (Yes or No)
• Counter ("+" and "-" with an increment for each press of a button)
• Slider (A seekbar in a range you provide)
• Chooser (A list that you choose one item from)
• Checkbox (A list of checkboxes)

Examples of 2052's metrics for 2014...

• Auto High/Low - 1-3 - Counter
• Move over Auto Line - Boolean
• Accuracy - 1-10 - Slider
• Role - Inbound, Trusser, Finisher - CheckBox or Chooser.

I could go on...

Google Play Store
Check out more here - http://www.team2052.com/frckrawler/
If you have any questions or need help, email frckrawler@team2052.com

[adammiller3122]

I highly recommend SuperScout. You can check out this thread for more information.

[beurwonderwall]

In my team, we use a combination of paper and an Android app.

The Andorid app is an app we custom write each year and we use it to take data all day Friday and then compile it Friday night.

The paper is used to funnel the drive team much needed information throughout the day.

Personally, we use Telerik Appbuilder to build our app because it is simple and straight forward. We choose Android because it is easier to build an app for.

I highly, highly recommend using an app as it makes the compilation of data much easier.

As for your concerns with the coach not leaving the stands, I would suggest having some sort of system. We have a leadership member or mentor in the stands at all times, so it isn't much of a problem for us.

We also use a rolling box (sort of like a suitcase, but plastic) to keep everything in so we can easily take it to lunch with us.

We also use a convertor to charge the tablets so we never run out of battery.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me!

[SVanNess]

When will Krawler have the 2016 events imported?

[The Doctor]

I'm making a scouting webapp to compile numerical data on team performance during qualification rounds. It's a bit limited in that it needs a computer or a tablet with wired internet (because Wifi is disallowed). Like I said, it's only for match scouting, and we'll probably use a separate mobile app or paper for pit scouting.
As stated here, pit scouting is likely much less valuable than actual match scouting. If people are interested, I might publish the code.

Early prototype:

[Adisai1]

Team 226 is working on a scouting app, that is completely offline. It should be ready before at least a week in advance to the week 0.5 competition: http://github.com/hammerhead226/masterfrcscouter.

[evanperryg]

Originally Posted by ABreyen

I know that it's early, but we [our team] wants to get a jump on scouting ideas (and possibly mobile apps) for this year!
...

2015 we used paper... Yuck. Given that 2015 was a confusing scouting year, but I believe iPads were easier.

So, I thought that, most students have iPhones or Android devices. Why not use those? (Again, subject to mentor approval) Obviously, devices CANNOT communicate in match and in arena.
...

TL/DR: Are any teams planning on making an iOS or iOS and Android 2016 scouting app?

It's still legal to take advantage of your device's mobile data connection. We are developing Android and iPhone apps that will communicate with an AWS database. (we aren't creating our own network, but taking advantage of one that is already present) A laptop in the pit with a broadband card will keep data updated. In the event that this system fails, the apps also save CSV files with all the data onto individual scouter's phones, which can then be emailed to scouting leadership once the student has access to Wi-Fi. Our app was very successful last season- two teams on Einstein were using it throughout the season .

[Citrus Dad]

Originally Posted by evanperryg

It's still legal to take advantage of your device's mobile data connection. We are developing Android and iPhone apps that will communicate with an AWS database. (we aren't creating our own network, but taking advantage of one that is already present) A laptop in the pit with a broadband card will keep data updated. In the event that this system fails, the apps also save CSV files with all the data onto individual scouter's phones, which can then be emailed to scouting leadership once the student has access to Wi-Fi. Our app was very successful last season- two teams on Einstein were using it throughout the season .

We've been using a similar solution. For those who are interested we have white papers on the technical implementation.