The Quest for Einstein

[Al Skierkiewicz]

I have got to say the use of the term "elite" for me is like dragging fingernails on a chalk board. It really gets to me. Those teams that are referred to by this term, I am sure, don't think of themselves in that sense. It does not take a lot of money, a lot of students or a lot of engineers to get to Einstein. It does take a robot that is designed to play the game and that won't fall apart during a critical match. It takes a drive team that can see the field and react as needed and can work with their partners. An alliance must act as a single team, not three separate teams.
So here are a few ideas:
Identify bad behaviors that prevent you from achieving your goal. We lost to Hammond/Beatty once because an electrical crimp fell apart during the final match. We solder everything so that will never happen again and train our electrical students to test everything they make.
Don't depend on "out of the box" designs that are too complicated to operate every time without fail. This goes double for designs that are not repairable in minutes with standard tools in the toolbox you bring to the field.
There is no substitute for practice. Triple that if you are using a complex design like crab steering or an odd pickup device. Einstein is often won by shaving fractions of second off a task.
If your design depends on sensors for software interaction, be sure to have a manual mode or some way to bypass a defective sensor. Then intentionally break it and practice the manual mode.
Don't let your drive team consume large amounts of Mountain Dew, coffee or energy drinks. Don't expect them to try to operate on little or no sleep.
Be open to the suggestions of the little freshmen in the corner who is afraid to speak up but has the best idea of all.
Play "what if" games with everything. "What if" the wheel falls off, "what if" the speed controller goes dead, "what if" our arm gets bent, "what if" our radio gets hit or "what if" the main breaker has a ball dropped on it.
Here are a few wisdoms that might help as well...
A pedestrian in New York was once asked "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" The response was "Practice, Practice, Practice".
"Never give up, never surrender!"
"It ain't over till the fat lady sings." Referring to a Wagner opera that lasts several hours.
Don't stop playing until you can't play any longer or you have run out of scoring devices. This goes along with "It ain't over till it's over."
A charged battery beats a dead battery any day.
“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.“ – Thomas Jefferson
“Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.“ – Thomas Edison