Driving Tips?

[Danny McC]

Ive never been a driver but I was going to when I was a freshmen. And the only thing my brother(who was my teams old driver) ever told me was its a robot that can be fixed so drive it like one. But than again he loved hitting things and was quite crazy.

[thefro526]

The only advice I was ever given before Driving was, "A robot can always be fixed but a match can never be replayed". Now I always go out with the attitude that sometimes you have to push it to the limits to do well and If you go back and know you didn't do your best then you will always wonder "what if".

Also another big thing is communicate with your scouts. I think anyone who has ever driven, coached, or negotiated will agree with me when I say at least once per regional you get that team who "can do everything amazingly" and then they get on the field and break, stink, or just don't move. You should always base strategies on scouting and what your other partners want to do. Example: just because I tell you that I can hurdle 10+ track balls in 2min doesn't mean I can, but if your scouts are also saying 10 then it's the truth, or your scouts will say "Dude that guy's a bit off it's more like 4 or 5 during a normal match"

[BigWhiteYeti]

There is not a lot you can do after the build unless you are on a big team which built two robots. The biggest thing you can do now is be sure to know the rules, even the ones you think aren't important because something WILL come up.
At the comp, communication between you, your alliance partners, and your scouting team is vital. Also, be sure you, your driving partner, and your drive coach are on the exact same page. There is no time for arguing in a match. Run a few scenarios on paper with your coach and know what to do in each.
Other than that, keep cool and drive!

[James1902]

1) The hitchhikers Guide has it right, DONT PANIC. Take it easy when your on the field, no matter how important the match is, always remember the compitition is there for you and your team to enjoy. Be wacky when your waiting to go on, spotaniously break into danceing, cheer for the matches before you, and try to have fun with your team mates.(trust me it helps) You'll drive a lot better if you lossen up, calm down, and don't stress. you'll do fine.

2) Listen to your coach! They know what their talking about, let them guide you in your desicion making on the field. Most of the time they see things that you don't

3)get to know your co-piolet and other drive team members really well. Your going to spend a lot of time with them and it's much better for everyone if you all get along.

Hope this helped. see you on the field

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by wpdrummer

1) The hitchhikers Guide has it right, DONT PANIC. Take it easy when your on the field, no matter how important the match is, always remember the compitition is there for you and your team to enjoy. Be wacky when your waiting to go on, spotaniously break into danceing, cheer for the matches before you, and try to have fun with your team mates.(trust me it helps) You'll drive a lot better if you lossen up, calm down, and don't stress. you'll do fine.

2) Listen to your coach! They know what their talking about, let them guide you in your desicion making on the field. Most of the time they see things that you don't

3)get to know your co-piolet and other drive team members really well. Your going to spend a lot of time with them and it's much better for everyone if you all get along.

All of this is the truth. I've seen some amazingly talented drive teams with spectacular robots fall to pieces because they were too stressed, or didn't get along and communicate well. More importantly I've seen drive teams that functioned like a well-oiled machine together and took less-than-perfect robots to places they never should have been able to go. I know it sounds corny and cliche, but when you work together you do much better.

[pyxelz]

well, I was the driver for 973 the past 2 years -- here are a few general tips and strategies:

-be smooth. not only is it impressive, but it's safer (less chance of tipping over)
-protect grabbers/manipulators from heavy defense
-avoid entanglement with other robots - it will just slow everyone down and get people annoyed.

I know that driving styles differ depending on the robot and the game and everything else in the universe, but I hope that helped.

[flamefixed]

know exactly what your robot can do. how does it turn? what path of travel does it take? the is very important. just like any other vehicle, you need to know what it is capable of.

dont be afraid, dont panic. but go all out, never hold back.

instinct. you need to know what is happening, and automatically know what to do.

last year, i actually got into a little zen during driving, dont laugh haha, but it worked. focus on what needs to be done, and one of the biggest things that helped me in defense alot last year, ANTICIPATE and (as my soccer coach said) keep your head on a swivel. see the field.

last thing. be confident. your driver for a reason. each match continue to prove it and be a beat.

[Andrew Y.]

practice, dont forget to turn the robot on, dont be afraid, have tons of fun.

worked for me for 4 years

[pyrome]

I have been driving for three years, and this is my last year.

1: pay attention to the robot at all times. Don't let ANYTHING distract you in ANY of your senses. Even if a robot is right next to the wall in front of you waving its appendages around, you need to act like it's invisible and concentrate on the bot.

2: be aware of the position of all the robots on the field, especially in this game. sometimes the most ingenious maneuvers pop into your head during a match, but only if you know the relative positioning of everything on the field.

3: have a scouting team that knows what it is doing. often teams will exaggerate the capabilities of their robot, and thus a match that you were confident about can fall to pieces. your scouts are often the only dependable source you have about an upcoming match.

4: start talking with your teammates about 30 minutes before your match. strategy is VERY important. be politically aware, so you know exactly what they are going to do.

5: have tons of fun. I don't know about you, but I love the jittery feeling I get before a match, the screaming fans, and the 'glass pounding at the competition.

[Sam N.]

trust your coach

[Corey Oostveen]

As a driver last year. I have to say the biggest thing is to relax. Driving in practice is completely different then at competition.

Also it might be too late but letting everyone drive the robot will help keep the team behind you 100% You don't want your team thinking what you are doing is easy and that they could do better. By letting them drive it makes them better understand the difficulty. Because good drivers do make it look easy.

Last but not least! Have fun it is just a game. FIRST is not about the robot. Be gracious at all times. How you drive directly reflects your team.

Good Luck this year!!!

[Dan Petrovic]

Originally Posted by Coosty

Also it might be too late but letting everyone drive the robot will help keep the team behind you 100% You don't want your team thinking what you are doing is easy and that they could do better. By letting them drive it makes them better understand the difficulty. Because good drivers do make it look easy.

If only there were videos from IRI last year...

33 in particular.

Here's a big thing. Use the restroom often. That urge to "have to go" comes up more often when you're nervous, and that's the last thing you want when you're driving.

Don't be afraid to drive it like you stole it, but don't be reckless to the point where you waste time correcting what you did wrong. There's a fine line that has to be balanced on for efficient driving.

If you feel you need some limitations to how fast the robot moves, tell your software crew that you'd like the robot to drive at 50%-75% power all the time unless you hold a trigger or button (provided you have buttons on your joysticks) to get the full 100% power. Balls roll, so that 50%-75% power might be valuable.

That's what I have.

[Qbranch]

Our coach (the infamous 1024 driver from years past) says the best advice he has is

"Drive it Like you Stole it... I don't care if parts fell off. If the robot still drives, GO!" -Marc

-q

[Protronie]

Go fast, hit hard, and keep it wide open till you see the checkered flag or it blows... oh wait that my morning commute to work.

[Dgrez]

After driving at the baltimore scrimmage i found that it was difficult at times to navigate the robot when you are positioned on either the left or right driver stations as a result of the plexiglass in the lane divider. There seemed to be a reflection off the glass of the robots in your lane as well as those behind the glass giving an illusion of what is really in the robots path. I was wondering if any of the other teams had a similar issue.