Team Work & Sister School

[Noel]

So, my team, has a sister school, team 1893. Both teams used to be one, I guess you could say, but then split up. (This was before I joined).

But, we still work together a lot, share materials, people, spaces, all that stuff. I find it wonderful and great. The epitome of what FRC is all about.

This year, we're building two separate robots, but they look identical. Of course the programming will be different and the drivers and stuff are different of course. But, it's practically the same robot, with a few minor differences, and with a different code.

So, your opinion, do you think that our mega mega similarities would hinder us in anyway?

I mean, I see all the advantages (mega alliance), but I'm looking at it from well, my perspective as a member of the team.

So, I wanted to ask others what they think about this "issue"? So, I can see how other teams may react in the competition, and what potential changes (not to the robot of course, but in general), that we may need to make.

Thanks!

(soon there should be a vid up of our robot/pics)

[Alan Anderson]

Cross-team collaboration is a good thing. As long as no student is on both teams, I say go with whatever works for you.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Noel,
Many teams currently have this relationship. If it helps students be inspired at both schools or in one school with two teams it should be viewed as a good thing. A downside that I see, is that teams who figure out a winning strategy against you also can use that same strategy on your sister team. If you attend different events, of course, this item is minimized.

[AlexD744]

We might have a merger in schools next year and it's a mystery as to what could happen as far as team dynamics. But right now we are concerned with bigger thing like ship dat in what 16 days? AGHHHH

[Noel]

The ship date scares me but I have hope. This is my first year on the robotics team, and I'm still a bit a confused as to the whole "goings-on" of FRC.

Like, I was a part of the "off-season" competitions (I guess that's what they are) this year, but I haven't been here for a "true" competition and I'm a bit lost as to the mechanics of it. (ex. this question about sis-schools and similar robots).

[GaryVoshol]

Search for "triplet" and you will find several threads from 2-4 years ago about the concept of joint robot development.

[Timshel]

Well, it'll certainly help in development, but it isn't going to do much good in competition unless you're specifically assigned to the same team every single time. Since we only have one other potential "sister school" in Germany, 3 hours away from us, collaboration is unlikely.

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by Timshel

Since we only have one other potential "sister school" in Germany, 3 hours away from us, collaboration is unlikely.

That shouldn't be a deciding factor. There's been collaborations in Texas/Michigan/Ontario and East/West Coast teams - thousands of miles apart.

[EricH]

254/968 (or 254/60, for those that were around back then) are about 4-6 hours away from each other...

For another interesting collaboration, see "Division by Chicken", when 217 and 229 collaborated in 2005 but didn't build identical robots. You heard me right, they didn't build identical robots. The robots were hard to recognize as twins.

[ebarker]

"Ideas are cheap,The combination of ideas and execution and excellence and the whole process is what really matters."

Woodie Flowers

My point - you will see a lot of team "work in secret".

There are about 1700 teams - the challenge is announced - and everyone show up to competition and there are only 3 or 4 basic concepts.

The difference is in in the execution.

A corollary - teams work in unison sharing ideas, they may as well because ideas are cheap. And there robots differ by their ability to execute their ideas.

Cooperative competition is way more fulfilling. And it is a long journey between today and the final rounds of a regional competition, A LONG way.