Drive Practice

[GeeTwo]

If you have the resources to build a practice robot, it is the surest way to increase your practice time, and therefore performance at the robot competition.
If you are close, you can do something in between: While we have worked to build two full robots the past few years, the most important part to have a duplicate is the main chassis, including drive train and most of the control system. If you can get your manipulators down to less than 40 lb (or whatever the withholding allowance turns out to be this year) plus some easily removable/addable COTS items (or parts that you DO make two copies of), you can leave this out of the bag, transfer it to your practice chassis, and keep driving and learning pit routines between stop build and your competition(s).

If you do not have the resources for two chassis, be sure to have the robot functional at least a week before stop build so you can drive it around, get used to the controls, and identify/begin to resolve the bugs. 3946 has a goal for functionality about 2 weeks before stop build, even though we do build a second robot, it's that important.

Edit:

Originally Posted by beijing_strbow

How many hours of practice do you usually shoot for? The actual amount depends on a lot of things, of course, but what's the goal?

We have total build meetings scheduled for about 14-15 hours each week from kickoff to final competition. We have tried to have ten or more of those hours for drive & pit practice beginning week 5 of build. We achieved that in 2015, with very little pit time. In 2016 we were a week later starting, and a far greater fraction was pit time. Improvements and work on the other robot was still taking place during drive sessions before bag. After bag, we continued improvements, built the pit decorations, and other non-robot prep for competition.

[beijing_strbow]

How many hours of practice do you usually shoot for? The actual amount depends on a lot of things, of course, but what's the goal?

[beijing_strbow]

Originally Posted by GeeTwo

We have tried to have ten or more of those hours for drive & pit practice beginning week 5 of build. We achieved that in 2015, with very little pit time. In 2016 we were a week later starting, and a far greater fraction was pit time.

What does pit practice entail? Is it just when you have to fix an issue, you handle it like you would at a competition?

[D.Allred]

Originally Posted by beijing_strbow

What does pit practice entail? Is it just when you have to fix an issue, you handle it like you would at a competition?

Our pit crew has a post match inspection checklist and pre-match routine. Pre-match the robot gets a quick check of joystick functions, charge the pneumatic system and load a fresh battery. Post match they inspect for loose items, damage, and review issues brought by the drive team.

Pit practice is just as important to prepare for a competition. Little items that can be caught in the pit can ruin a match.

David

[GeeTwo]

Originally Posted by beijing_strbow

What does pit practice entail? Is it just when you have to fix an issue, you handle it like you would at a competition?

That's the main thing - don't bother fixing it right, just get it working again as quickly as possible - but make notes so that repeated problems will be really solved when there's time. This is also a chance for the pit crew to internalize their checklists - things like swap the battery, be sure the pneumatic dump valve is closed, chains are in place, non-loctited bolts are tight, and check that that piece of foam rubber that wears out every few matches is still in good shape, or replace it if not. In rough years (e.g. 2016), realistic pit drills are as much benefit to consistent performance as driver practice.