Wearables in FRC

[ASD20]

This year I used a smartwatch at competition for the first time. I found a few really good uses. (BTW I was coaching when I used most of this)

1. I turned on match score notifications on the Spyder app and used the notifications on my watch as a way to keep track of where we were in the match schedule. This provided a more accurate measure than time for keeping track of when we needed to cue. I found this extremely useful, especially in places like District Champs and Worlds where you had no idea what was happening from the pits or practice fields.

2. I also had Slack notifications turned on which made it easier to see messages immediately. I also experimented a little with using it to easily view scouting info for pre-match driver meetings. Our strategy guy would message the info and it would be right there for me. I found this nicer than having to open my phone and then open the app, but it was really just a convenience thing.

I have not really used my watch for on-field applications, partially because I have been really cautious with the rules. I tried to not look at my watch at all on the field because I did not want to break the rules.

Pro Tip: This is not really a wearable thing, but one amazingly useful trick I figured out this year is to set a screenshot of your match schedule as your phone lock screen. It only saves you a few seconds each time, but times 100 times over 3 days it really makes a difference.