I’m new to robotics, what is something important I need to know
1 Like
This is a pretty big question so I’ll start with the basics. I’m assuming you’re talking about FRC so let’s start with this year’s game. Watch the Game Animation and read the Manual. For more broad resources on a variety of topics The Compass Alliance is a good place to start. Do you have any specific topics within FRC you’re particularly interested in? (build, electrical, programming, marketing, CAD, etc)
4 Likes
As stated, a broad question so here are my broad answers:
-
Mistakes are made. Learn from them! As I tell my team members, don’t freak out, figure it out.
-
Communicate! There is a whole network, on this site alone, willing to work with you, you just need to ask! (Doing a good job so far!)
-
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel all the time. Sometimes it’s okay to use someone else’s good idea to further your own designs.
-
Doing something over and over and over and expecting a different outcome is the definition of insanity. Prove a concept or move on.
-
#readthegamemanual - There is so much useful information in there many times questions can easily be answered by a little reading.
-
Teamwork - Don’t try to do everything yourself. Delegate and work as a team to accomplish the teams goals.
-
A team motto- “It will be fine” - Whatever happens, enjoy yourself! Enjoy what you learn and accomplish. Enjoy the friends and networks your make. Enjoy the atmosphere of the competition. There’s always next year, it will be fine.
1 Like
You are in luck! You are in Michigan! Reach out to other teams in your area. They will be glad to help you. There are teams in Midland/Bay City/Saginaw area and I believe in St. Johns as well. If you have specific questions, please feel free to PM me.
I just joined my frc team last year and knew nothing, I personally am on my teams mechanic team so the first thing I did was go to our mechanical lead and ask her to show me every single tool we commonly use. Knowing names of tools and how to use them which immediately make you more helpful, also I know this is hard but don’t be scared to ask questions. Even if it seems like common sense I promise the people on ur team weren’t born knowing the answers, they didn’t know everything at first either. Also whenever u hear a term that u don’t know just take our ur notes app and write it down, then when u get home later u can search it up.
There are a ton of useful things buried on the FIRST web site, you might want to especially dig through all the sections and links on these pages:
There’s a ton of info for FRC, and my biggest recommendation is that it’s a learning process. There’s going to be times where you make mistakes, and do something wrong. Try and figure it out, and see if you can fix it. The other big recommendation is to check back here. Chief Delphi often has a treasure trove of information and tips for teams. Teams who post open alliance build logs often can give u an insight on what problems they managed to overcome. Personally, I have been doing FRC for around 4 years, and when I started, I literally was asking leaders and seniors around for what the components do, and how they worked. And when those leaders started, they didn’t know what those components did.
Don’t be the pink guy! Ask questions if you don’t know what to do, your teammates want you to be successful. Welcome to robotics!
3 Likes
This topic was automatically closed 365 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.