Choosing Drivers

[Teammax]

Picking a drive team is a major discussion that all of our mentors are involved in. To determine this we

* Give a written/verbal test to see who understands the rules (used to be written but last few years more of a verbal test)

*Let each student drive the robot around and simulate actions they would have to do on the field

But, Most importantly we look at who has been an active team member. Being on the drive team is an honor. I mean you are representing our TEAM. Our drive team at regionals will definitely be made of 4 students that have been leaders during crunch time and understand the robot's capabilities (because they fully understand the robot((because they were the ones that made it))).

I honestly I have never seen a person that is just naturally gifted at driving a robot. The students that are the best are students that were the most dependable during the build season.

Besides there are always invitationals later where the others can drive.

[techsupport07]

Our team really has no specific way of choosing. We normally just have the secondary driver (controller of the arm, etc.) from the previous year graduate up to the main driving position. This will usually happen their senior year. I, myself have been a driver for the team (both secondary and the main driver). I started out by controlling the shooting and ball pick-up in 2006. I then became the main driver in 2007 (my senior year). Usually to even start out driving, our drivers have some experience, whether it be with RC vehicles or video games. I play a lot of racing video games and do a lot of RC racing, etc.

[Rizner]

Originally Posted by Teammax

Picking a drive team is a major discussion that all of our mentors are involved in. To determine this we

* Give a written/verbal test to see who understands the rules (used to be written but last few years more of a verbal test)

*Let each student drive the robot around and simulate actions they would have to do on the field

But, Most importantly we look at who has been an active team member. Being on the drive team is an honor. I mean you are representing our TEAM. Our drive team at regionals will definitely be made of 4 students that have been leaders during crunch time and understand the robot's capabilities (because they fully understand the robot((because they were the ones that made it))).

I honestly I have never seen a person that is just naturally gifted at driving a robot. The students that are the best are students that were the most dependable during the build season.

Besides there are always invitationals later where the others can drive.

You make a good point, but must also consider that those who don't know exacly how things work will not hold back in rough situatiosn. I'm not saying it's good to not know the robot, but make sure those who do know everything about it don't hold back in situations where they may hurt the robot a little to win a match because they were afraid of damaging it too much. Make sure they play every match to it's fullest. (I'm not saying carelessness, but driving to it's full extent when necessary).

Some of the best drivers I have seen were on the animation team and knew less technical facts about the robot than those on mechanical or electrical. Everyone on the team, though, should know about your robot.

[bigbeezy]

We look at commitment during the build process and to the team in general. Not just the number of hours that one's put in but how much of that time was actually spent working on the robot or for the team and not just messing around. Then we have everyone on the team take a written test (used to be the "driver's test" but now is for all leadership positions on the team during competition). The scores on this test don’t say whether or not you'd be a good driver, but what it shows is that you are dedicated to read the game manual and understand the rules to the nth degree.

Then finally we look at driver skill. However just being good at driving doesn’t mean that you'll get the job. Communication is paramount. If you can't communicate with your co-driver and coach then you have no business behind the controls. One big aspect is, can they stay cool under pressure. It’s easy to drive at your shop where it’s nice and quiet and no opposing robots to compete against, but can you do the same things with the same poise during the real thing.

[gblake]

Originally Posted by GGCO

How do your teams choose who is going to be a driver?

My team thought of a "video game tournament" would be the best way of doing this. We are playing driving games like MarioKart, and Need for Speed. Apparently who ever is the best at playing video games will be the best at driving the robot, at least that is the theory.

I was wondering what you think of this idea, and if it will produce accurate results. I think there are many many many more factors involved. For instance I want the participants to all stand up, wear scratched up saftey glasses and listen to extremely loud music while playing.

So, what do you think? Will the best video gamer be the best driver?

Those of us developing the FRC simulation that will be distributed soon hope that it is a useful part of driver training this season; and that as its fidelity increases in future seasons, it becomes a valuable tool in teams' bags-o-tricks for driver training and other build season activities.

Take a look here: Link to recent 5th Gear discussion
and here: 5th Gear discussion with links to other FRC simulation threads

We look forward to your feedback.

Blake

[Andrew Y.]

my personal opinion is the driving games will have NO baring on robot driving skills. Its kinda silly


Heres how i choose drivers

1) Test on Robot and Game Rules

2) Test on robot operations, functions, and know how to repair and fix on the fly aka "Pit engineering"

3) A driving test that I determine visually. I look for consistency, ability to drive while taking orders, a time trial of laps

4) involvement during the build season. And overall attitude

At the end, the mentors and teacher coaches get together and select our primary driving team & a secondary

[Kyle Love]

1. Allow all students to at least try out.
2. Have driver testing on multiple days (at least 3-5 days)
3. Put them in realistic situations.
4. Put other robots out there with them.
5. Create criteria for fairly judging the drivers (obstacle course is a good one also)
6. Implement a points system to fairly choose a driver.
7. Keep the top 2-3 for practice day at your first regional
8. Give each driver equal field time at the regional to see if they crack under pressure
9. Have a finalized drive team by the end of Thursday at your first regional.
10. Keep the other drivers ready to replace the main driver at any time. (we all get sick eventually)

[AlexD744]

On our team we have 4 people who want to be drivers. So we just made 2 teams. Thiers basically an A and B team. I'm on the B team. :-(. But I'm also a freshman and the other 3 are juniors. That's means I'll have 2 years after they graduate. However, the driving is a lot different this year and things might change. However, I doubt they will.

[AlexD744]

Originally Posted by Teammax

I honestly I have never seen a person that is just naturally gifted at driving a robot. The students that are the best are students that were the most dependable during the build season.

Our head driver, Blake, is naturally gifted. He just tried it one time and realized he could drive really well.

[smurfgirl]

Originally Posted by AlexD744

On our team we have 4 people who want to be drivers. So we just made 2 teams. Thiers basically an A and B team. I'm on the B team. :-(. But I'm also a freshman and the other 3 are juniors. That's means I'll have 2 years after they graduate. However, the driving is a lot different this year and things might change. However, I doubt they will.

Don't worry about being on the "B" team, you are lucky that you have three experienced drivers to practice with and learn from. As a freshman, a lot of this season will probably be spent learning new things and having wisdom passed down to you from older members. Enjoy it for what its worth. Regardless of if you end up driving the robot in future years, you still will have benefited from the lessons learned as a member of your drive team this year. That's what really counts in the long run.

[Chris Fultz]

Many teams make the selection of a talented freshman or sophomore on the team, and then stick with that person until they graduate. There are lots of reasons for that, the main one being the value of experience on the field. While video games and athletic competitions may give some preparation, there is nothing that can prepare you for being in a FIRST match than being in a previous FIRST match.

Why - (just a few)
the unique dynamic of 3 v 3
the need for cooperation between partners
the need for quick decisions
the ability to listen to a coach, and quickly make moves on the field
the ability to be a hero one match and a dog the next
the ability to be critiqued by every other member of the team
the ability to have 'heartfelt' discussions with the team mentors
the ability to push for a solid strategy
just plain experience

Many teams also select a drive team (all four positions) and stay with them the entire season or at least an entire competition. There are many dynamics that come in to play with these 4 people and the more time they spend together the better they work together.

[NorviewsVeteran]

Originally Posted by Chris Fultz

Many teams also select a drive team (all four positions) and stay with them the entire season or at least an entire competition. There are many dynamics that come in to play with these 4 people and the more time they spend together the better they work together.

Such as the other driver/coach leaving out words and you know exactly what they mean. That is built over time.

[bigbeezy]

Originally Posted by NorviewsVeteran

Such as the other driver/coach leaving out words and you know exactly what they mean. That is built over time.

Exactly.

At your first regional communication is key because the drivers and coach really haven't been working together very long and haven't gained that experience. But once you're at your second or third competition drivers are able to know what each other is going to do and the communication is more for double checking.

That is why i dont really understand/agree with the use of two drive teams. Basicially you are cutting that experience in half.

IMO having driver tryouts on thursday of competition is not good. I mean unless you had zero time to practice before ship I would want my drive team to get as much time as possible behind the controls. When I was a driver I would use thursdays to 1) get used to how the robot handles, 2) figure timing on tasks such as crossing the field or going between scoring positions, and most importantly 3) trying things that would be risky to do on Friday/Saturday for instance 2006 when on top of the platform i tried moving on the slick surface and found that it was really easy to slide off the ramp, so I knew not to do that during competition.

[hallk]

We allow all students to try out. The drive team based on how well the performed on a rules/strategy test and on the driving test. We also take other factors into account such as will they be traveling to all events, team participation, will their team role duties be limited if they are driving and past experience. Another thing we try to take into account is if the student can accurately express themselves; this is helpful when talking to the head ref and developing strategies. We also try not to have an all senior drive team.

[Tom I]

My team has a selection process based on several criteria. We have an obstacle course set up with old years robots, and we record the times and the number of obstacles knock down. That is the predominant thing, but we also consider a person's ability to handle themselves under pressure, how well they interact with the co-driver, how well they can stratigize, and how dedicated they are to the team, seeing as how its kind of a privelage to drive.