Human Player: Past, Present and Future

[AJunx]

Now that all the regional events are over and everyone has had a chance to watch this year’s competition in action, what are your thoughts on the role of the human player in Triple Play?

Also, what did you think the role of the human player this year compared with that of previous years?

2002: – Zone Zeal.
Human player scored small balls by “shooting” them over the player-station wall into moveable goals (both robot and HP could score balls).

2003: – Stack Attack.
Human player placed up to 4 bins on the floor prior to the beginning of the match.

2004 – FIRST Frenzy: Raising the Bar.
Human player scored small balls by “shooting” them over the player-station wall into the stationary or moveable goals (only HP could score small balls).

2005 – Triple Play.
Human player can load one tetra at a time onto his/her team’s robot while the robot is in the appropriate loading zone. Human player may not touch the robot except with the tetra.


Now for some serious questions :

What do you think the role of the human player should be in the coming years of the FRC?

Considering all of the discussion regarding penalties this year, do you think that FIRST should continue to incorporate a human player element into each year’s game if it means that there must also be “safety-related” penalties (like this year’s 30-point penalty)?

Bearing in mind the role played by the human player this year and in past years, as well as the role of robots in the real world, do you think there ought to be a human player element in future FRC games at all?

-Andrew