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Pearadox 2022 drive team lesson #1

Introduction

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What is the drive team to FIRST?

A DRIVE TEAM is a set of up to 5 people from the same FIRST Robotics Competition team responsible for team performance for a specific MATCH. There are 4 specific roles on a DRIVE TEAM which ALLIANCES can use to assist ROBOTS with RAPID REACT. Only 1 of the 5 DRIVE TEAM members is permitted to be a non-STUDENT

role

description

# of people

criteria

coach

a guide or advisor

1

any team member,

must wear “COACH” button

driver

an operator and controller of the ROBOT

2

STUDENT, must wear a

“DRIVE TEAM” button

Human player

a CARGO manager

1

STUDENT, must wear a

“DRIVE TEAM” button

technician

a resource for ROBOT troubleshooting, setup, and removal from the FIELD

1

any team member,

must wear “TECHNICIAN”

button

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What is the drive team to us?

The drive team is a group of people who are responsible for the robot when it is in que and on the field. They are in charge of changing batteries, putting the robot on the field, competing, and removing the robot.

role

description

coach

The coach is in charge of the drive team, they are the ultimate authority and responsible for everything that happens on the field

driver

The primary controller of the robot, they drive the robot and perform all of the primary tasks (shooting, intaking)

operator

The secondary controller of the robot, does things that the driver is too busy to do, they may have buttons that do more specific actions and they may have some buttons that do the same thing as driver buttons

Human player

Does the human player task and may signal additional things for the other members of the drive team

technician

Robot cart valet, should cover areas of expertise not covered by other drive team members

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Pit Crew

  • The pit crew are the technical support in the pit
  • Drive team and pit crew do not overlap, drive team should relay important information to pit crew and should generally not be working on the robot but instead be reviewing the past match or preparing for the next match.
  • During playoffs some members of the pit crew may accompany the drive team on the side of the field in the queuing area, but they can’t go on the field.
  • Pit crew members coordinate Pearatroopers to help teams in need.
  • Generally made up of a pit boss, safety captain, and 1 or 2 others.
  • Sometimes if a subsystem breaks a member might be called from the stands.
  • Pit Crew keeps the Subsystem leads up to date on issues that arise to be added to a checklist and/or fixed after competition.
  • Should keep track of batteries, bumper swaps and schedule.
  • In back to back matches some one will do a battery run.

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Drive coach

  • Is responsible for robot performance and the drive team, cannot directly operate the robot or controls
  • Watches the whole field and strategizes with other teams for the match

Match timeline:

pre-Q/start of Q: talks with the other teams in their alliance to coordinate strategy’s that are made by the strategy lead things like starting placement, atuon, teleop, and endgame.

Putting the robot on the field: waits on the field until driver/ operator give them a thumbs up.

During the match: directs major strategy of the team, like when to play offense VS defense. Where to be on the field, when to complete the end game task.

After the match: discusses the match with the drive team about what went well/ wrong. Prepares strategies for the next match.

Things we look for in a drive coach:

Needs to be able to take criticism, you’re the filter for the rest of the drive team

Needs to want to be drive coach

Needs to be a good communicator

Needs to be able to learn and adapt fast

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driver

  • Controls the robot
  • Watches just the robot

Match timeline:

pre-Q/start of Q: Runs though any pre-match checks, configures driver station and changes battery.

Putting the robot on the field: either helps the drive coach put the robot on the field or sets up the driver station.

During the match: operates all the primary robot tasks and listens to the drive coach for new information

After the match: rests and listens to the drive coach debrief

Things we look for in a driver:

Practice practice practice

Needs to understand all of the degrees of freedom the robot has

Needs to be a good communicator (including how we can improve the robot or controls)

Needs to be able to adapt fast as the drive coach changes strategy

Consistently attends and is engaged in meetings

feels comfortable with repairing the robot.

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operator

  • Controls the robot
  • Watches just the robot immediate surroundings.

Match timeline:

pre-Q/start of Q: Runs though any pre-match checks, configures driver station and changes battery.

Putting the robot on the field: either helps the drive coach put the robot on the field or sets up the driver station.

During the match: operates all the robot tasks the driver is to busy for, and depending on the year finds balls or game pieces to collect. Watches the driver station laptop, specifically camera feeds like the limelight and communicates information to the driver.

After the match: rests and listens to the drive coach debrief.

Things we look for in a operator:

Needs to be observant

Needs to be ready to take over as driver at any point in time

Needs to be a good communicator

Consistently attends and is engaged in meetings

feels comfortable with repairing the robot.

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Human player

  • Mans the human player station

Match timeline:

pre-Q/start of Q: Runs though any pre-match checks, configures driver station and changes battery.

Putting the robot on the field: either helps the drive coach put the robot on the field or gets the HP station ready.

During the match: may vary year to year

After the match: rests and listens to the drive coach debrief.

Things we look for in a Human player:

Needs to be able to fill in as operator

Needs to know when to put in game pieces

Needs to be good at signaling

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technician

  • Drives the robot cart

Match timeline:

pre-Q/start of Q: Runs though any pre-match checks, configures driver station and changes battery, needs to feel comfortable repairing a variety of subsystems on the robot and needs to be ready to troubleshoot on the spot

Putting the robot on the field: moves the cart to the load in gate and then parks it in the designated area

During the match: sits on the cart, watches the match to see what goes wrong, both robot and strategy wise.

After the match: returns robot to the pits, then goes to the drive team debrief

Things we look for in a technician:

Needs to have knowledge of the technical side of the robot.

Consistently attends and is engaged in meetings

feels comfortable with repairing the robot.

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Next week

topic:

Match strategy

Driver practice:

defense

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Driver practice

  • Loading battery, power on the robot.
  • Basic driving, intaking and shooting.