Kickoff Procedure?

[Aarnat]

This is the Robo-Lion's (team 2199) second year competing.

Last year (rack and roll) a select bunch went to the kick off. After the kick off everyone met over at someones house and we started discussing the rules and procedures of the game. We ran through a complete game (and used paper plates as robots, and pretzles as tubes) to make sure everyone understood the basic idea of the game. Afterwards we started discussing the nessisary functions the robot needs to perform. We then came up with different classes of robots. We came up with four: the defensive bot (a pushing bot), pure manipulator bot (just an arm to move the tubes), a ramp bot (can lift two robots ) ,and a hybrid (the rampbot with a manipulator). We then started breaking up into little groups as to what class we as a team want to build and ideas of how we can build it. After much debating we looked at our limitations as a first year team and said we would build a pure manipulator bot because we wanted to have fun and actually play the game.

This year we will basically do the same thing only we will have the rest of the team watching the web cast at someones house while the select few (which I will now be part of because I am a co-captain this year) is at the kick off. Obviously we will decide again what the classes of robots are and decide what class of bot we want to do. Also different this year, We will be getting two KoP so we have more parts this year.

See you all this year,
Aarnat

[sarcasticmadnes]

Let's see. 115 usually sends a couple people down to the remote kickoff in San Jose. They pick up the kit and watch the live webcast. One of our advisors records the live webcast at his office to show later at the full team meeting. By 11:00 am, all the officers and people who were at kickoff are back at school to inventory, print a full game manual, and set up for the 1:00pm full team meeting. At 1:00pm, after the full team arrives, we show the game animation and any key speeches. Then, an alumnus and former president Patrick Wang gives a game analysis to get the brainstorming started and we go from there until about 5:00 to 6:00. During build, we meet almost everyday. Pre-build we have trainings to get the members up to speed in all the divisions.

[Daniel_LaFleur]

We all meet at the school and then we split into 2 teams.

Team 1, about 3 people, goes to the kickoff in Manchester (only about an hour away). Armed with a digital camera and a tape measure, their job is to look for the little things that weren't highlighted that may be an issue as well as pick up the KoP.

Team 2 will watch the kickoff on the web and then we will break into sub teams and come up with 2-4 strategies (not designs). These teams will prioritize the goals and set strategy only.

When team 1 returns to the school we'll have a pot luck luncheon/dinner and present each of the different strategies (no decision will be made at this point as we want the students to mull over each of the different ideas). Before we leave, we will inventory the KoP and make a list of missing parts to be sent to FIRST on Monday.

Within 2-3 days full scale mock-up models of robots that would perform their strategies are created out of cardboard. By the 1st Wednesday we will vote on the strategy we want.

[11Mort11]

we watch the webcast at the county college(ccm)

then go over strategy and some ideas of how the matches will go. the next day we have a meeting on robot design and strategy. /* */

[ChrisH]

Most of our team gets together to watch the Kickoff via the NASA channel or the webcast. A few memebers will go to the local remote Kickoff to pick up the Kit.

After Kickoff we sit down and read the rules. Then we simulate the game in a variety of ways. Some simulations are tabletop versions of the game. Other times we use people to simulate robots. The purpose of thses simulations is to determine one thing. "How do we guarantee we will win the match?" We want to know what the field needs to look like at the end of the mach to ensure victory. This process can take up to several days.

Then we figure out how to make the field look the way we want it to at the end. We probably have several ideas on how to do this up front but we work to find the best one. We will also prioritize game tasks and figure out which ones are more important. For example, last year we decided that hanging tubes was more important to us than lifting robots, so we worked the arm and gripper first. We didn't perfect our ramps until our second regional. This strategizing process can again take up to several days.

It can take 10-14 days for us to finalize a concept. On the other hand once we have a concept, design and fab go full bore and we get a prototype running within days if not hours. The prototype also gives the software guys something to play with. In addition, if we should get bogged down in fabrication for our real robot, we could ship the prototype and compete with that if we had to. It wouldn't have our traditional blue and yellow, but it would be well tested.

[Schnabel]

The TechnoKats, along with our sponsor Ivy Tech, host a kick off for 36+ teams at Ivy Tech. Usually everyone for the TechnoKats and area teams are there while only a few can come from other teams (due to space available). It starts off in the hall right before the webcast starts, we receive a speech thanking the sponsors and letting everyone know what is going to happen. Then when the broadcast starts, everything is good until just before the game, usually right around the time that Dave makes his appearance, and then the video will begin to lag (never has failed in the past). After the video is over, we get our kits and teams are able to use classrooms to start planning. The Technokats usually get the second hall where we have lunch, then begin discussing what just happened with the announcement of the game.

[Libby K]

1923 attends the local kickoff hosted by our gracious neighbors, 1403. This year, we will be sending one mentor to Manchester. After kickoff, the team meets back at the school, gets the kits together (inventory later, AFTER we get a design-- this makes it so we're not distracted by the shiny robot parts, and forces the team to FINALIZE on a basic design before that date we need to tell FIRST if we're missing something- finalizing can be a problem for us).

Back at the school, we strategize. What's the best, most reliable scoring method? Defense methods? What can WE as a team accomplish? (we have very limited resources, and by "very limited", I mean a classroom, hand tools, and denied access to the school's shop.) ...and all that jazz. This can go late into saturday, and we start fresh on monday with heads full of ideas and notebooks full of designs to consider.

All this talk of kickoff is getting me SUPER PSYCHED!

[RoboMom]

Originally Posted by Aarnat

Also different this year, We will be getting two KoP so we have more parts this year.

See you all this year,
Aarnat

I believe your team will be coming back from the local kickoff with two bins + 2 boxes from IFI which => 1 KOP.

[draconar]

In the past, 1379 has had a few go to the local kickoff hosted by SPSU (about 30 minutes away) with the rest watching the webcast from the school, and then we spend Saturday analyzing and starting to brainstorm. This year we're changing things around a little and having people watch the webcast together, get a copy of the critical sections of the rules (Game/Arena/Robot), and then come back Sunday afternoon to start brainstorming. This allows the team leaders to bring the KoP back to school and inventory/organize and at the same time gives everybody a chance to full read the rules before starting any work. That (hopefully) eliminates brainstorming ideas like "If we make a wedge on the bottom of the robot, we can flip the other bots over."
That's the idea, at least. If nothing else, it's one last night of possible sleep before my brain gets totally overloaded with robot ideas.

I like some of these ideas about simulating the game. Strategy has always been one of our weaknesses in the past.