The Great Move to Electronic Scouting [Poll]

[Skyehawk]

Yes, this is early... but you must be truly desperate to come here... (jk)

<DISCLAIMER: I am not selling anything, just want to help out>

I have been anything but silent about scouting systems over the past several years. It is a topic that seems to fluctuate widely in interest over the course of the season, following the ebb and flow of weeks 0 through the last match on Einstien. This is usually the introduction for many individuals into 'Big Data'.

I just wanted to bring a few thing up and gauge some interest at the same time. FIRST Team 876 has been using electronic scouting successfully for the past 2 years. Paper is a great option, it's reliable and easy to use, but being able to instantly tabulate data is better, way better. We found, as did so many other teams, that pre-match reports are one of the most effective tools in coordinating last minute strategy in the queue line.

Over the last two seasons, we have been using WildRank, developed by FIRST Team 111 for the community. This has proved to be a great option due to data redundancy, but I am always looking for a more streamlined process.

Last year we introduced computer generated team reports, they worked wonderfully. There is something about reading information off of a printed report, the data seems definitive. The integration of a small thermal receipt printer allowed us to have a streamlined portable system, this upcoming season we hope to make the complete package. Would you, the FRC community be interested in a full blown tutorial from software to hardware (and all the firmware in between ) on setting up a full fledged, feature rich system like this of your own?

Our system was assembled for ~$300 USD, it will never be as cheap a well thought out paper system. But considering some tablets certain teams use for scouting cost in excess of $300 a pop this is one of the cheaper electronic options out there.

-Skye Leake