Posted on the FRC Blog, 5/11/2020: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc/blog/2020-kop-survey
A Kit of Parts Survey Haiku for You
2020 MAY 11 | Written by Kate Pilotte, Senior Kit of Parts Manager, FIRST Robotics Competition.
Want something to do?
It is socially distant.
Please share kit thoughts here!
Wishing I could see the survey even though I’m not eligible to take it. I guess I could lie and hope the last question is clearly marked, but no.
And now for something completely different, can anyone illuminate me on Haiku? I know it’s based on syllable counts (5 7 5), but I don’t see how that counts as poetry without matching meter. I learned about fifty or a hundred words of Japanese in the '90’s in preparation for trips to Nihon, and didn’t get that syllable count of a line prescribed emphasis, but it was admittedly a cursory review. Not making fun; I’d really like to know why Haiku is a thing. (What am I missing?)
Yeet Denso throttle motor.
That is all.
The last question is clearly marked, it tells you right before the the last questions
My understanding is that haiku works better in Japanese, a language with higher meaning-to-syllable ratio than English. But don’t quote me on that, everything I know on this subject comes from Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon.
Something I’ve always wanted is more kitbot options. The AM14U is great, but variety and options bring a lot to the table. A simple style of versachassis, 2014 drive in a day, or even a new source would provide a lot of opportunities for teams.
Having been on the inside of AndyMark’s process for a year and a half, I probably have a unique perspective here.
(No, I don’t think it’s a good idea.)
There isn’t really much behind this sentiment other than the idea that all teams are different and have different preferences and styles they are comfortable with, and that no singular solution is best for every team, so therefore multiple solutions seems nice. I’m not too familiar with the logistics of it all, so I cannot comment on its viability, but I still think the idea would be helpful for teams if there were an easy way to make it work (if not it doesn’t matter, this is just wishful thinking).
You might also start to get into segmentation among rookies and younger teams. There are a lot of neat tricks people have developed over the years for the AM KoP chassis. Splitting the userbase, let’s just say in half, would significantly take away from that spread of ideas.
But there’s a but. A WCD style versachassis offering is what most people first transition to from the KoP chassis (and what a good chunk of teams run), and there are arguably more “tips & tricks” that have been developed for it over time.
Isn’t this wish fulfilled by the ability to opt out of the kitbot and receive a $450 voucher from AM?
To a degree - having a fully configurable and ready to assemble drive base on day 1 is one of the many advantages of a kit drivetrain. One could argue that teams could order other parts ahead of time and start on a custom drivetrain on kickoff, but for teams without the resources or experience to do this, a pre-engineered drivetrain saves a lot of time and effort, and adding options to what that drivetrain can be would be helpful, from my perspective.
That being said, a lot of knowledgeable and important people are telling me that that may not be the case, so maybe the it isn’t as helpful as I think it is.
Just as a thought, and bear in mind this would take some coordination from VEX, AM, and HQ…
VEX comes up with an answer to the AM14UX and offers it to HQ. HQ then makes an announcement that goes like this:
Each team will get 1 KOP drivetrain or an equivalent voucher. The options are:
Any team failing to make a selection will automatically get the AM14UX [or, something I thought about but decided wouldn’t be a great idea, a random selection between AM14UX and 217-XXXX].
I’m not sure how much extra work that would be for HQ’s end, and VEX would have to put that kit together, but I’d be willing to bet that it’d be doable on relatively short notice. (As pure speculation… 1 VEX intern, a stack of VersaChassis, a “$400 budget” from VEXPro’s current offerings, and a little bit of machine time could probably get something together in about 1 month.)
I’d also be somewhat open to opening up that competition to REV but I’d rather they focus on the control system for the next couple years–sorry, guys, it’s gotta just WORK!
I like the idea. As a veteran team I’d love a vexpro voucher.
It’s hard enough for us to successfully opt out of the kitbot on a yearly basis, for team organization reasons, that I am skeptical that a program like that would actually get signed up for by a significant percentage of teams. Not because they don’t want it but because they just don’t execute.
Note it creates complexity all the way down the chain to the volunteers running local kickoffs - there’s already plenty of complexity in what each team gets in the current system for an all-volunteer logistics effort to cope with.
Personally I would like it if FIRST took a better stance on sourcing their batteries for the kop. Some teams only use their kop batteries because that is all they have or some people don’t test their batteries and assume that their newest batteries are the best but they always aren’t. In 2019 the KOP battery was worse than one of our batteries that was 5 years old. Stuff like this could be them trying to buy effectively or something but a “new” battery shouldn’t be worse than a 5 year old battery. (If you want numbers for all of our batteries let me know and I can post some screen shots)
They did use MK this year
The whole idea of FIRST Choice sponsored by AndyMark, and specifically the drive base option, does a lot for AM’s brand I’m sure. It builds good will, lets teams understand what’s our there, and introduces teams to a new supplier. I would guess that AM likes being the exclusive partner in this case for that reason. If they bring VEXpro in, to offer essentially the same thing, they lose the built in marketing tool associated with them right now.
I do like the idea, I’m just not sure that the parties involved would go for it.
Poetry has to have meter? Free verse isn’t poetry?
Would there ever be a WCD style kitbot?
Nope. As far as I’m concerned, poetry needs rhyme, meter, alliteration, something to make it pleasing to the ear. Preferably two or more.
AM14U.
Anything else worth having?
Not much, I’m afraid.
