How do you guys plan to veiw the other side of the hub to find hidden balls?
Some ideas we had
The human player on the otherside of the feild indicates their presence
A driver view on the robot using cscore
Have the human player bring a mirror to the field and use it to see the other side. Rule H303 specifies what drive teams can bring on the field and it seems to be legal assuming it isn’t deemed a safety hazard or blocks visibility for field staff or audience members.
This isn’t really something that my team has talked about yet. I think that we are just assuming that we will have about 70% visibility of the field (because the hub only really blocks the central sections) despite the drive station we get. I like the idea of a mirror though. It would be a bit difficult trying to angle it just right for the drivers, especially since you don’t always get the same drive station, but it is a cool idea.
A mirror big enough to be useful will likely be too big to safely handle by default–I could be wrong on this, ask your HR at your first event. Nice thinking, but it’s probably better to have moderately-sized signalling devices for the HP.
To visualize the issue: Lines drawn from driver station views, RED is blind from all driver stations
I just had this idea where the HP has LEDs on their outfit and they can change the colors and patterns of the LEDs based on the locations of the balls on the field. Would this be legal?
H303B. Nice try.
(For those that want the shortcut: the allowance is for non-powered signalling devices.)
There’s an offchance that you could argue H303E as a counter…
Ah. I see. Ruling that out I’d probably go with flags. It wouldn’t be to much of a stretch to learn semaphore flag signals and designate different letters to different positions on the field. You could even make the flags in your team colors!
I would avoid using red and blue flags (for reasons that may be more obvious at your event). I’ve seen all kinds of other tricks, though.
–colored tape on gloves
–two pieces of pool noodle of differing colors
–this is where we insert jokes about baguettes and legs of mutton (2016 signalling devices)
–obviously non-penalty-announcing flags (hint, use two colors on one flag)
–Signs
–White board if someone’s quick at writing large-ish and someone else can read at 60’.
The two colors on one flag was exactly what I was thinking. One concern with flags though is that every time the HP has to cycle cargo through the terminal they have to set the flags down. Tape on gloves would probably be the better option, or even just different arm positions.
Let’s just say Red and Blue flags are not liked by teams
This is what a wide-angle drive camera is for. Get a camera with a 180* field of view and this won’t be a problem.
It’s from stronghold, isn’t it. I’ve heard horror stories about that game from my coaches.
Nope. ALL games.
Referees use red and blue flags to signal penalties. if you’re red and a ref is waving a red flag and pointing at your robot, you just got a penalty.
All safety considerations aside, if I were on the opposing alliance, I would probably argue that your mirror is impeding my HP’s view of the field.
The horror from Stronghold wasn’t the red and blue flags, it was the field itself. The obstacles at mid-field were the death of many a robot that year.
Learn the signals for directing aircraft on the ground.
Having the human player point out hidden cargo is useful information, but you still need a way for the driver to actually see it - it’s not realistic to just drive over to the indicated area and trust you’re gonna intake a game piece.
Most people just throw a camera above their intake. The key here is to have your driver practice using it (turn the driver station away, have them go to another room, whatever); driving first-person is completely different from normal operation.
On the ground, airplanes are parked in very specific locations. Flag signals are used to put them exactly on point. Just saying…
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