Possible new product Survey

[Alex Cormier]

I am in the works of making a new product to help teams out at competitions. Please take a brief moment out of your day to take the following survey.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HMPLYF2

Thank You!!



P.S. Please only take this survey once.

[rcmolloy]

Just took the survey. If you are reading the topic now please take the survey. Thanks

[DonRotolo]

I also took the survey, but no worries: I put it back when I was done.

[Alex Cormier]

So far I have 11 results.

Thank you everyone who took the 5 minutes.

I am hoping to have an item for sale a few days after Kick-Off!

Stay Tuned.

[thefro526]

Alex, this is a fantastic idea!

I've been looking for a way to make my own field layout clip board for sometime now and it seems like you're already way ahead of me. I'd love to see this happen.

[IndySam]

Good luck!

[Alex Cormier]

Originally Posted by thefro526

Alex, this is a fantastic idea!

I've been looking for a way to make my own field layout clip board for sometime now and it seems like you're already way ahead of me. I'd love to see this happen.

Thanks all!

Yeah, up to 34 results so far. Keep them coming.


I am hoping to get product in soon and start shipping these out a few days after kickoff.

[tim-tim]

Done.

I added some insight to what 836 has been doing since 2006 (if not earlier). We use a whiteboard that has field elements drawn on with permanent marker and then a red and blue dry erase marker for each alliance's gameplan.

We have been telling numerous teams at competitions that it works successfully and still have not seen that many other teams with one. I think this is a great idea, but try to make the product adaptable to an ever changing field from year to year.

Please let me know if you have any questions about how we conduct alliance meetings.

[Alan Anderson]

I would be surprised if someone could sell something like this for a price lower than a team would spend on materials to make their own. Good luck.

[JesseK]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

I would be surprised if someone could sell something like this for a price lower than a team would spend on materials to make their own. Good luck.

I think it's a question of quality, time, and ability of teams. For example, my students came up with a lexan-paper-lexan sandwich board for me last year -- while it was incredibly useful the bolts kept poking me, the edges never seemed smooth enough, and we just couldn't find the time to redo it. If the quality of a product is good enough to last a couple of seasons yet adaptable to each season's game (better yet, interchangeable to fit VEX, FTC, and FRC in one board), then to me it's worth buying the product and having the students spend time on the other important things that sometimes don't get done as well as they should.

[davidthefat]

I was the one that suggested the "software".

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by davidthefat

I was the one that suggested the "software".

How does software apply here?

[davidthefat]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

How does software apply here?

Planning, and strategy, like this software: http://www.teamonthree.com/playbooks...ook-maker.aspx

I had success using similar software and printing it out for all my team mates.

It can be modified for every year instead of wasting physical resources, only man time and a few bytes are used. Also the strategies and plans can be saved for later use.

I just think that is a lot more economical and better on general.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by davidthefat

Planning, and strategy, like this software: http://www.teamonthree.com/playbooks...ook-maker.aspx

I had success using similar software and printing it out for all my team mates.

I suspect you are misunderstanding the goal here. We're talking about meeting with one's alliance partners before a given match in order to compare teams' strengths and abilities against those of the opposing alliance, and choose a strategic plan for that particular match. Preprinted play cards would rarely, if ever, correspond to the specific mix of robots playing.

It can be modified for every year instead of wasting physical resources, only man time and a few bytes are used.

It seems to me that a portable computer represents significantly more "physical resources" than a whiteboard, a laminated clipboard, or a pad of paper, even if a new whiteboard and set of dry-erase markers is used each season. A used match strategy board even makes a good end-of-year memento for the drive coach, if you consider such trinkets a worthwhile part of the team experience.

[davidthefat]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

I suspect you are misunderstanding the goal here. We're talking about meeting with one's alliance partners before a given match in order to compare teams' strengths and abilities against those of the opposing alliance, and choose a strategic plan for that particular match. Preprinted play cards would rarely, if ever, correspond to the specific mix of robots playing.



It seems to me that a portable computer represents significantly more "physical resources" than a whiteboard, a laminated clipboard, or a pad of paper, even if a new whiteboard and set of dry-erase markers is used each season. A used match strategy board even makes a good end-of-year memento for the drive coach, if you consider such trinkets a worthwhile part of the team experience.

Oh I assumed due to the very low requirements for running such software that the classmate would have been sufficient to use. My team never did such planning, just talked it over with the alliance. My coach once told us that its not about the X's and O's but Bills and Joes. The coach can make all the best plays and the best strategies, but its really up to the players, driver for this situation, to pull it off. I don't know about you, but even with planning, everything goes up in the air once you actually start. Its so unpredictable during the game.

I mean, but if its boards that float your boat, go for it. I guess I am just the new generation that sees the boards as "old school" (Take no offense, like 20 years from now, kids will be laughing at our super computers)