Scouting 2016

[Jarren Harkema]

Are you referring to pit scouting, where you ask teams questions about their robots? Or are you referring to field scouting, where you watch what their robot is actually capable of?

This year, I feel that pit scouting has very little value. Most teams will have practiced with team versions of a few Defenses, and some will be lucky enough to practice with all 8 of them. I think that a team's response is going to vary greatly from actual performance on the field. In fact, if our team is unable to find an official field to practice on before our first tournament, I'm going to push our drive team to be upfront with other scouters. If we haven't tested our robot on an official rough terrain defense, our people in the pit should say that. I'd rather our robot prove it's merit by showing its ability on the field.

That being said, there are a lot of data points to collect by watching a robot perform on the field. Focus on the ways a robot can score, and try to break those down into easy to define variables. As your team's robot is developed, think about the ways other robots can compliment you, or be a detriment to you, and record that information as well.