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  #46   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 24-03-2004, 22:29
hay4man hay4man is offline
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Re: Pressure on Drive Team

I just want to state a few opinions.....as a driver and a programmer....

1. Driving seems to me...to be an innate ability. Everyone can do it....some better than others. Everyone should be able to do it, else the programming team is not doing their job.

2. A programmer should be a driver, for at least a few practice rounds, so he/she can make the robot easy to drive. If this is not possible, at least have the drivers interact with the programmer so he/she can make tweaks to the controls according to their wishes.

3. Drivers feel less pressure when they feel confident about their robot and about their control over the robot.
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Unread 25-03-2004, 00:43
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Re: Pressure on Drive Team

Quote:
Originally Posted by KenWittlief
from the tone of your two posts I get the sense there is conflict and resentment on your team.

being the person or people who put the most work into building and designing the robot has nothing to do with your driving abilities

do the engineers from Ford or GM drive the race cars they build on the track? No - of course not

on our team we have always let anyone who wants to be a driver have practice time, either with previous robots, our practice robot, and with our current robot - then at some point we have a contest in one form or another, and SEE who can actually drive the machine the best.

Putting the most time and effort into the build phase of the project does not magiacally endow you with driving skills - in fact, people who have been busy practicing driving while you were busy building would most likely be better drivers.

We also had HP pratice this year, usually people had to leave build work they were doing to go get shooting practice - and they were the best shooters.

A team is where everyone has one thing they do best and performs that function - not where one or two people try to do everything themselves.



with this attitude you wont be winning any chairmans award this year :c(
Actually the ones that do the most work on the robot know what the robot is capable of. Also we are the best ones. We had some newer members try out but they were not good enough. And I'm just saying whats true.
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Unread 25-03-2004, 02:52
Avarik Avarik is offline
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Re: Pressure on Drive Team

Here is my view on the whole who is on drive team thing:

Driving the robot is a reward. In all honesty, many of us put 6 weeks of our life into that robot. If you examined it, you would find traces of our sweat and blood (literally!) on the robot. Some of us even begin feeling attached to it.The way we chose our drive team is our most dedicated members who are able to attend all trips. Yes, everyone does some work, but more willing and interested members are quickly seperated from others. It is kind of like a reward for those who put in the most time and effort into it. Honestly, EVERYONE wants to drive the robot, so we try to be as fair about it as possible. Remember, winning is always a good feeling (and in this sense, you would make everyone try out to find the best drivers), but knowing that you put all of your free time and energy into a machine, and getting the chance to actually use it is better. One of the comments many mentors made to us was that we were lucky that we get to see our own finished product and use it.
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Unread 25-03-2004, 03:20
luciano841 luciano841 is offline
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Re: Pressure on Drive Team

Its fun to see the finish product and
get the chance to drive it in competition

Im just glad i beat all the rookies and got to drive again this year
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Unread 25-03-2004, 20:22
hay4man hay4man is offline
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Re: Pressure on Drive Team

Quote:
Originally Posted by KenWittlief
from the tone of your two posts I get the sense there is conflict and resentment on your team.

being the person or people who put the most work into building and designing the robot has nothing to do with your driving abilities

do the engineers from Ford or GM drive the race cars they build on the track? No - of course not

on our team we have always let anyone who wants to be a driver have practice time, either with previous robots, our practice robot, and with our current robot - then at some point we have a contest in one form or another, and SEE who can actually drive the machine the best.

Putting the most time and effort into the build phase of the project does not magiacally endow you with driving skills - in fact, people who have been busy practicing driving while you were busy building would most likely be better drivers.

We also had HP pratice this year, usually people had to leave build work they were doing to go get shooting practice - and they were the best shooters.

A team is where everyone has one thing they do best and performs that function - not where one or two people try to do everything themselves.



with this attitude you wont be winning any chairmans award this year :c(

Sorry...but i absolutely disagree with you.

Driving a Ford or GM race car is an actual sport, a physical activity that requires strength and fitness. Driving a robot requires that you can move your arms and fingers.

Furthermore, if builders put the control of the robot into the hands of drivers who haven't even touched the thing, and if the drivers break it, resentment can build up much more easily.

If a driver feels no real attachment to the robot, then they should not be driving. Drivers need to have some part in the actual construction of the robot. They need to be immersed in the inner workings of the robot. They need to know how to turn it on and off, how to select programs, how to tether...in some cases.

And what does this have to do with chairman's award?
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Unread 25-03-2004, 22:12
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Re: Pressure on Drive Team

Quote:
Originally Posted by hay4man
Sorry...but i absolutely disagree with you.

Driving a Ford or GM race car is an actual sport, a physical activity that requires strength and fitness. Driving a robot requires that you can move your arms and fingers.

Furthermore, if builders put the control of the robot into the hands of drivers who haven't even touched the thing, and if the drivers break it, resentment can build up much more easily.

If a driver feels no real attachment to the robot, then they should not be driving. Drivers need to have some part in the actual construction of the robot. They need to be immersed in the inner workings of the robot. They need to know how to turn it on and off, how to select programs, how to tether...in some cases.

And what does this have to do with chairman's award?
I think that the people on a drive team should be those that have skill, but can also handle the pressure and communicate well with the other members. Respect is also a necessary characteristic to possess. I'm not sure if limiting the drive team to those who worked on the robot is a good thing because you may be disregarding people that may not have worked on the robot, but could be a better fit for the drive team.

Also, what I think Ken was saying is that by excluding people who haven't worked on the robot from even trying out for the drive team, you're not showing gracious professionalism. That could be what he was trying to say about the chairman's award. In order to win, it seems like your team needs to embody the idea of gracious professionalism.

I think that everybody deserves a chance. Just because someone didn't build the robot doesn't mean that they don't have an attachment to it. Also, if you're worried about someone breaking something on the robot, use an old or practice robot for tryouts. I believe that teams need to have a sense of unity, and by restricting a drive team to only those who build the robot divides the team.
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Unread 27-03-2004, 23:01
KenWittlief KenWittlief is offline
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Re: Pressure on Drive Team

Quote:
Originally Posted by ali_rockon22
OK this what we do.

We are the most dedicated and the smartest ones on the team

So thats basically what we do. There is more that I can only tell you in person.
these are the things I was referring to regarding winning the chairmans award - the C.A. is given to what the judges consider the ideal team - the team that other should look to and emulate

if you got people on a team going out and saying "we are the smartest ones on the team"

or worse yet, that there are things about your team you are not free to talk about in public, that you can only mention in person...

these are clear indications that there is stress and conflict on the team - team members are talking about each other behind their backs.

there is no 'me' in team, unless you spell it backwards and leave out half the members.
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Unread 30-03-2004, 14:31
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Re: Pressure on Drive Team

good point...even though im the regular driver, others have driven in competition. one was as relaxed as could be, while the other was having a nervous fit. i just know my position though. and from my exp, drivers just dont need much pressure to get the job done. it's in the contract they signed (without knowing it) upon accepting the job.
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