Training Rookies...

[lemiant]

Dear Chief Delphi-ins,

I will be a rookie to FRC next year and I am wondering what advice you have about training rookies (for older team members) and training yourself as a rookie. I am interested in everything, from what language to learn to what techniques to practice, or even how and where to learn about the basic parts of a robot.

Thanks,

Lemiant

[delsaner]

Welcome to FRC, I guarantee that you will have a blast.

The transition from FTC (I noticed you were on a team) to FRC can be overwhelming, but i am sure you will be able to grasp it within time (I was in a similar situation).

What I did when I was a rookie was I experimented with different subteams of the entire FIRST team I was with. My team was split up into several subteams (mechanical, electrical, pneumatics, CAD, Animation, etc). Once I found where I wanted to go, then I started to ask questions and gather information about that specific part. Have a friend in that subteam that will teach you the basics of each subteam, and then you can move on to more difficult aspects.

Basically, get a feel for what you are interested in, and them start learning about that topic (via research, practice, or assistance of a veteran member).

Shoot me a PM if you have any questions. I'll be more than happy to answer them.

[kstl99]

I was a 50 year old rookie this year. You have picked a great place to start as there are many smart people on this forum and you will probably get a lot of great advice. You can look through all the old threads and read what interests you. I would also spend alot of time at http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/...lt.aspx?id=966. There are many videos at http://www.thebluealliance.net/tbatv/. My favorite video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wysi3s7h0qA, the final match in Boston this year because it captures some of the excitement, but I may be a bit biased.

Just be prepared for a lot of work and a very rewarding and fun experience.

[548swimmer]

Originally Posted by lemiant

Dear Chief Delphi-ins,

I will be a rookie to FRC next year and I am wondering what advice you have about training rookies (for older team members) and training yourself as a rookie. I am interested in everything, from what language to learn to what techniques to practice, or even how and where to learn about the basic parts of a robot.

Thanks,

Lemiant

Welcome to CD. There is a lot of good mechanical discussion on the new drivetrain pictures being posted if you want to learn a bit about how these robot things run. If you're interested in CAD I recommend fiddiling with it over the summer. I taught myself almost everything I know this way. Go to students.autodesk.com and create an account. If you don't have a school email you'll have to talk to your teacher and ask them to send you a link.

Good luck!

[Jamie Kalb]

Yo! Like the above people have said, you are in for a whole lot of fun.

I knew almost nothing my entire rookie year. The summer afterward, I read Kickin' Bot by Grant Imahara. It's a book on the basics of building combat robots. No, FRC is not combat robotics. However, there is a lot of overlap in their construction and basic systems. A lot of stuff I had seen throughout the year started to make a whole lot of sense. I thought the book covered the basics of building a robot very, very well. It goes through a ton of basic things, from skid-steer drive to roller chain and sprockets to speed controllers to shop tools to motors to ... You get the picture.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone starting FRC. It doesn't go into much advanced stuff, but, like I said, I thought it covered the basics of building a robot very, very well. If you can possibly get your hands on a copy of it, I think it'd definitely be worth it.

Have fun!

[MagiChau]

Thanks Jamie for the info.

For training I guess ask people stuff? Maybe workshops could be set up to teach about the basics of particular area. That all depends on if people are willing to put in the time and effort to do that.

[Nadav Zingerman]

Originally Posted by ZonChau

Thanks Jamie for the info.

For training I guess ask people stuff? Maybe workshops could be set up to teach about the basics of particular area. That all depends on if people are willing to put in the time and effort to do that.

Workshops do exist in many places, but they are usually closer to Kickoff (January), since most teams start recruiting at the start of the school year. You should ask your coach/mentors/senior mentors/regional director about these.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Lemiant,
Know that you can come here and ask questions any time on any subject and receive an answer. It may not be the one you seek but you will get a lot of answers. Choose wisely... If you wonder about the question in the public forum, then use the PM feature and contact someone who you think will give you a confidential answer you can use.
As for working on your team, the best thing is to watch how things work for a while. The good news is you are on a relatively new team so things are changing all the time. If the team is not large, (say over twenty students) than you will have lots to do. Never be afraid to learn something new.

[delsaner]

Originally Posted by kstl99

I would also spend alot of time at http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/...lt.aspx?id=966. There are many videos at http://www.thebluealliance.net/tbatv/.

These sites are excellent sources within FIRST; thanks for mentioning them. If I may add a bit of information about FIRST sources...

ChiefDelphi- you can find pictures, ask questions, make friends within FIRST, and more or less anything else. People here are willing to help others, its what we do, heh.

TheBlueAlliance- This site is your one-stop scouting website. This site can tell you whos attending what competition, history of some teams (their records from 2003-present), pictures of each teams robot, scores of matches at every competition, the alliances in each match, etc. Truly a phenomenal website.

usFIRST- This is the major FIRST website, you will mainly be concerned with the FRC portion. If you scout around on the website, you can find the rulebook and many more recources.

[spacewolfx]

Welcome to the FRC!

Just coming out of my rookie season, i can say you are going to have blast this year. Just concentrate on building a basic design, and have fun. It really isn't that hard. We divided our team into subteams based on what people were good at. As for learning, it mostly comes with the build season. You learn fast, and have fun while doing it.

Also, try some practice building right now. We are building a classic T-shirt launcher bot and doing smaller projects to keep the team sharp.

[3DElizabeth]

Hi!
I dont know if you are planning on participating in the Animation competition but I made this introductory tutorial to explain some key concepts on animation. It still needs work and to have more added but its a start http://elizabethbarndollar.deviantar...ture-165654455
Thanks
Elizabeth

[,4lex S.]

Just be enthusiastic, and look for an oppourtunity to latch onto a senior who knows what they are doing. It can sometimes be hard to find one who won't just brush you off, but offer to help with stuff and someone will pick you up. Otherwise, do the tutourials for what you are interested in, and try to get involved in any off season projects you can.

A little research into the history of FRC robots and previous design and programming information will make you far more useful in your first few years.

Welcome to FRC in Canada, btw, what team are you with? (they probably have a rookie training program if you were on a Vex team already)

[lemiant]

Thanks everyone for the responses, they're very helpful.

In response to Alex S. : Thanks for the welcome .
Also Although I was on a FTC Team (A community based one that ran for only last year - <Point of Pride> and was on the winning alliance in Atlanta </PoP>), that team shut down this year due to lack of students and it was not related to the school where I will be doing FRC, so although they have an FTC team as well, I was never on it. For reference, their team number is 1482.

Thanks Again,

Lemiant

[plnyyanks]

-do nothing but sleep for the week before build season (you won't during)
-figure out what you want to do, find a person who does it well, and shadow them. I did this, and learned LabVIEW in its (almost) entirety in two weeks
-prepare for the worst: what can go wrong will, and they prevent you from using duct tape on the robot


best of luck to you

[,4lex S.]

Originally Posted by lemiant

For reference, their team number is 1482.

I would say you are in good hands. Your team has quite a bit of FRC experience, and plenty of spirit from what I remember of my last Greater Toronto Regional.

I know how you feel about losing your former team, its been a rough ride for many teams lately, especially those outside Ontario. Mine disappeared after my senior year too, even if we were starting to look promising.

Good luck, and wear your cowboy hat with pride (if 1482 still wears em').

Note: I am currently working under the assumption that you mean GM sponsored 1482 from Calgary, otherwise this post sounds kinda random.