FIRST is really looking into the Einstein problems

[Bruceb]

Here is an e-mail I just got from FIRST
Dear FRC Teams,

Please allow me to update you on our examination of the Championship final rounds.

As part of the examination, FIRST will evaluate the field and all robots that were on Einstein as a complete system—a system as comparable as possible to what existed at Championship. We have received and reassembled the Einstein field equipment at headquarters in Manchester, and we are in the process of retesting its functionality. In addition, we are asking each of the twelve teams that competed on Einstein to (1) allow FIRST to ship their robot to Manchester, (2) provide an adult representative to be present for testing, and (3) provide detailed systems information, including driver station logs and robot code. Each of the teams has acted with the utmost grace and professionalism, and for that we are truly grateful.

We also recognize that many of you have important information to share about your experiences this year. Thank you to those who have passed along such information in response to my April 29th e-mail. To make that process easier, we have set up an e-mail for you to share your experiences and expertise: 2012FRCfeedback@usfirst.org. Please know that while all of your feedback will be reviewed and considered, FIRST will not be able to respond to every e-mail.

We are also investigating the issues on Einstein with independent, outside experts as well as respected leaders in the FIRST community. We remain steadfastly committed to understanding the root causes of the issues and resolving them. I will continue to report our process, progress and eventually the findings of the examination.

Sincerely,

Jon

[R.C.]

Awesome,

Great step forward!

-RC

[Chris is me]

Whoa. This is fantastic. They're even acknowledging, potentially, the issues outside of Einstein field by soliciting input from teams. What a great step forward.

[Jon Stratis]

The lengths their going to get this figured out is certainly impressive. I really feel for the difficulty of their job here... It's quite possible they get the robots on the field and run all day and have no issues. What if the problem was a loose wire that's now tight since the field has been disassembled and reassembled? What if it was having thousands of cell phones in the arena next to the field? What if it was some specific environmental problem in the dome that isn't present now? Hopefully bringing back those same teams helps them reproduce the issue reliably!

[IKE]

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

The lengths their going to get this figured out is certainly impressive. I really feel for the difficulty of their job here... It's quite possible they get the robots on the field and run all day and have no issues. What if the problem was a loose wire that's now tight since the field has been disassembled and reassembled? What if it was having thousands of cell phones in the arena next to the field? What if it was some specific environmental problem in the dome that isn't present now? Hopefully bringing back those same teams helps them reproduce the issue reliably!

Remember, this is an effort (a huge effort) to either find a solution, or remove a lot of "what-ifs".
I am really impressed by the efforts from all.

[Steven Donow]

Awesome job FIRST! I never had a doubt in my mind that FIRST would go to such great measures to solve this problem.

[CalTran]

Is there a "like thread" button somewhere?

[normpear2]

Is it possible if we can get a list of what regionals, if any, the Einstein Field was used at?

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by normpear2

Is it possible if we can get a list of what regionals, if any, the Einstein Field was used at?

I wasn't used at any regional. It was kept in reserve in Memphis for emergency purposes.

[Grim Tuesday]

Originally Posted by normpear2

Is it possible if we can get a list of what regionals, if any, the Einstein Field was used at?

Einstein Field was never used at a regional. It spent the season stored in Tennessee, waiting for the catastrophic failure of another field, to replace it if need be.

[CalTran]

Originally Posted by Grim Tuesday

Einstein Field was never used at a regional. It spent the season stored in Tennessee, waiting for the catastrophic failure of another field, to replace it if need be.

Ironic, all things considered.

[normpear2]

Originally Posted by Grim Tuesday

Einstein Field was never used at a regional. It spent the season stored in Tennessee, waiting for the catastrophic failure of another field, to replace it if need be.

That actually could explain why this happened.


Lack of being tested in competition conditions. There is a reasons most products are heavily tested before being used.

[Ziv]

Originally Posted by normpear2

That actually could explain why this happened.


Lack of being tested in competition conditions. There is a reasons most products are heavily tested before being used.

This has been brought up. It's certainly a possible factor, but mysterious communications issues occurred at several events—including some of the divisions—throughout the season. It's also unclear what would be different about this field from the others (something that I'm sure will be investigated if necessary in Manchester).

[Chris is me]

I personally don't believe the issue was contained to a single field this year. I obviously have nothing to prove that point that isn't circumstantial, but I think making the assumption that this is an isolated incident that was unique to Einstein is not a safe one to make at all.

[jblay]

Are the teams travel and hotel costs being paid for by FIRST? I sure hope so.

It seems like this email is kind of finally admitting it was a greater problem than just Einstein by asking teams to email in the issues they had outside of Einstein which I think is crucial to not only finding the cause of the issue but also restoring people's faith in the way FIRST deals with these issues.