Triaging Lost Teams

[ahartnet]

First question I'd ask is what are their goals.

Start with making sure they have a kitbot up and running - and maybe see if you can scrounge up some raw materials to add a wedge similar to the one andymark had to be able to go full tilt over some of the open air defenses and like others said - just get them used to driving a robot anywhere between right next to them and 54 feet away with obstacles preventing you from seeing the robot clearly. Get bumpers that are legal on the robot. If there's a LRI or inspector volunteers in the area, see if they can come by and do a preliminary check.

From there I'd probably try to get some goals that are achievable that don't have to do with competition performance. It could still be robot performance based - say make it over (EDIT: as impressive as it'd be, I did mean under) the low bar twice every match. Be able to push one boulder into the courtyard. Something. But definitely set some goals not related to the robot. Make sure they have a logo, a color scheme, something that could make their pit stand out (even if it's just some flyers printed on some kind of big posterboard), etc. Maybe put together a business plan that can be submitted. Can they get a local area to donate $ towards shirts to feel like a team at competition? Start building a group of students and mentors into a team so that in the summer and fall they can go out and fundraise. Note: that doesn't mean give up on this year.

A team with experienced mentors and/or students can probably turn a build season around at the halfway point from a robot performance standpoint - maybe even later. But I would think that a team without that experience should focus on setting the right (read: achievable) goals.

[TJP123]

Originally Posted by ahartnet

... say make it over the low bar twice every match.

I'm sure you meant under the low bar, but it brings up a good point. Once they have a driving robot and are getting ready for competition, make sure they understand all of the fouls. The "safe zones" and Secret Passage are going to cost more than one team that doesn't understand the rules.

[ahartnet]

Originally Posted by TJP123

I'm sure you meant under the low bar, but it brings up a good point. Once they have a driving robot and are getting ready for competition, make sure they understand all of the fouls. The "safe zones" and Secret Passage are going to cost more than one team that doesn't understand the rules.

Ha! I did mean under. And yes - identifying the rules that would be easy to break would be a great thing to go over.

[Billfred]

Step 1: Get driving. Probably something skinny, 6WD, thick plywood bellypan. Not going to fuss with pneumatic tires at this point, let's just get them running.

Step 2: Probably order the AndyMark wedge front piece, for a little more help with the static defenses.

Step 3: While shaking that down, add a short, low-bar-clearing arm (like Team Cockamamie did on Ri3D, though maybe not with the window motor depending on what's around) to manipulate the Portcullis and Cheval de Frise.

Step 4: Coach them up on playing smart D, the importance of the tower capture, and get them running drills over the defenses.

Step 5: Get it all super-clean, so they can get a fast inspection and start hitting the filler line at their event.

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Congratulations, you just built a robot that can attack 7/9 defenses and would be a worthy second pick at most smaller events if you drove it well. Leave the ball handling to teams that have been thinking about it for three weeks.

If I had still time and a little more resources, I'd probably figure out how to make that arm in Step 3 reach the floor so it can help boost the drivetrain over defenses. I like pneumatic tires for this game, but with the current supply situation I probably wouldn't steer a team this far in the weeds to them. That does put you one notch down from the pneumatic-tired teams, but I don't think it's insurmountable.