Replacing graduating seniors

[KrazyCarl92]

It seems that a likely scenario for next season is that your team will have a small number of inexperienced programmers with little mentorship support in that area.

Given that scenario, one way you can increase your chances of a successful season next year is through smart strategic design. If you check out Karthik's strategic design presentation, it basically walks you through how to go about building the best robot your team possibly can. Golden Rule #1 is to build within your team's resources.

Recognizing that your programming experience is a limited resource for the coming build season, simplicity in code may be weighted heavily in strategic or mechanical choices on how you build your robot. If it is not feasible for your programming squad to integrate fancy sensors and sophisticated control algorithms, then your particular resources may dictate selection of a simple single-trajectory pneumatic catapult for launching boulders instead of a Cheesy Poofs style adjustable-hood/turret/speed-controlled/automated-targeting fly wheel shooter. Maybe you also choose a shooting position locked in against the tower so you don't have to worry about targeting code, or use a flash-light to indicate where the robot is aimed instead of a camera?

A great example is 5811's robot this year. It was consciously designed to only require very simple code. It is quite literally a drive train (uses WPILib code), a single pneumatic cylinder (just true-false, doesn't get any easier), and one additional CIM motor (again...just on-off with the touch of a button). The design does not rely on sensors to perform its function. This made the job much more achievable for our Rookie FRC programmers, and there were still plenty of areas for our programming team to attempt some more challenging code: ded reckoning auto routines for crossing obstacles, using the PDP current sensing to automatically cut off the intake when a ball is collected, etc. Based on the experience the programming team gained this year, we will feel more comfortable in future seasons relying on sensors and controls to achieve advantageous functionality.

I've seen many teams this year that went with motor-driven arm solutions with limit switches, rotary position sensors, etc. to control the arm position that would have been better off with a single pneumatic cylinder raising and lowering the arm. No need to integrate sensors, fewer points of failure, and can come very close to achieving similar functionality. I'm not saying that the same solution is the best for all teams, but being honest and reasonable in assessing your own ability to execute different tasks or mechanisms will give you a better chance at success on the field.