Subjective Scouting Booklet for Competitive Robotics Scouting can

Subjective Scouting Booklet for Competitive Robotics Scouting can be a very important and rewarding portion to any teams robotics program. There are many levels of scouting that can be conducted including subjective and objective “pit scouting”, subjective performance evaluation, objective performance evaluation, and objective pre-event scouting. Pre-event scouting is done before you go to competitions and can include team lists and previous performance metrics like BBQ (blue banner quotient), W/L ratio, OPR, LS, and many other metrics. Objective performance evaluation is basically taking “stats” similar to other sports. Typical stats are points scored, passes, bonuses and several others. Stats are great as long as they are statistically significant. For competitive robotics, these numbers tend to have significant value after 5 -6 matches. In order to compare though, you need 5 -6 matches for every team. This often requires a system and man-power to gather that much data in a short amount of time. The last 3 types of scouting are the focus of this booklet. This booklet is intended as a tool for the lone scout. The idea is a way to organize Subj/Obj data in order to make a pick list. Subj/Obj pit scouting is basically making a visual assessment of a stationary robot. Objective data might include motors in the drivetrain, how many wheels, gear ratios… The only subjective “pit” scouting metrics I appreciate are design and build quality. Build quality can often say a lot about the robustness and functionality of a machine. The navy has a saying that “if the brass is polished, the guns will shoot straighter”. The same can often (not always) be said for robots. If you do not have the resources for a statistically significant set of stats, I recommend subjective performance evaluation. This basically is watching a team and judging them according to how they perform. Overall, this is usually the most reasonable way to take data if your team can only afford 1 team member for scouting. While the sheet is relatively self explanatory, I would like to cover a few points. Team #: _____ Rating: Team Name: __________ Description: __________________________________ Auto. Mode: ___________________________________ Notes: _______________________________________ Use 1 -5 stars with 5 being awesome and 1 being worst. Always use at least 1 star that way you know you have rated the team otherwise a blank and a low performer could be confused. Take notes on automode, and be specific. Drives forward and stops is not “does nothing”. Notes: is a box for general notes, penalties, or details to help you remember items about a robot Stats: is a quick box for grabbing some match STATs, but a single sample can be dangerous. The “wheel”: Spider charts are a useful way of looking at several metrics at the same time. The scale moves from the center 0 -5. The upper half Scoring Blocking tends to be performance subjective. The lower half tends to be “pit” subj/obj. The left side is Offense, Offense Defense the right side is defense. A strong Defense only bot Chassis: will make a “D” shape. A strong offensive machine ___X___ Bonus Traction will tend to make an “O” or Pac-man if there a Swerve Auton Speed couple low metrics (like traction). O: __ would be a ____ Machine Ratios: 123 O: __/60 /35: D combination score of all metrics. D: __ would be a combination score of the 7 right side metrics. Chassis: is a quick box for popular Chassis configurations. Noting Wide or Long may be important for 2012. STATS Match: ___ Scores: ___ Bonus: ___ Driving Collecting 5 4 3 2 1 0 Pushing

General Instructions: Page 1 explains the basic layout of each team page. Page 2 (this page) covers general construction. Page 5 is for making multiple copies of pick-lists. Page 6 is for “match Scouting” with usage description on page 7. You do not need to print page 1, 2, or 7. Page 3 are the team sheets. Print out and make front and back copies and then cut in ½ and fold into a booklet. Each single sheet of paper covers 8 teams thus 6 front/back sheets would have enough for the 48 team booklet. 8 sheets will cover a 64 team event like MSC. Page 4 Is the “cover”-front cover and alliance selection/results. The lower half is “centerfold-team list and pick list”. Use the cover on the outside, and place the pick-list in the middle so that it can be torn out if necessary.

Team #: _________ Rating: Team Name: ___________________ Description: _______________________________________ Auto. Mode: _______________________________________ Notes: ______________________________________________________________________________ STATS Match: ___ Scores: ___ Bonus: ___ Chassis: ___X___ Swerve ________ Ratios: 123 Driving Collecting Scoring Offense 5 4 3 2 1 0 Pushing Blocking Defense Bonus Traction Auton Speed Machine O: __/60 /35: D Team #: _________ Rating: Team Name: ___________________ Description: _______________________________________ Auto. Mode: _______________________________________ Notes: ______________________________________________________________________________ STATS Match: ___ Scores: ___ Bonus: ___ Chassis: ___X___ Swerve ________ Ratios: 123 Driving Collecting Scoring Offense Bonus Auton O: __/60 5 4 3 2 1 0 Pushing Blocking Defense Traction Speed Machine /35: D

Competitive Robotics Scouting Booklet Alliances 1 2 3 4 5 Event: ________ 6 7 8 Date: _________ 1 8 4 5 Winner 3 6 Owner: ________ Phone: ________ 7 2 Pick List Team List 1 17 33 2 18 34 3 19 35 4 20 36 5 21 37 6 22 38 7 23 39 8 24 40 9 25 41 10 26 42 11 27 43 12 28 44 13 29 45 14 30 46 15 31 47 16 32 48 1 9 17 2 10 18 3 11 19 4 12 20 5 13 21 6 14 22 7 15 23 8 16 24 Bubble DNP

Pick List Team List 1 17 33 2 18 34 3 19 35 4 20 36 5 21 37 6 22 38 7 23 39 8 24 40 9 25 41 10 26 42 11 27 43 12 28 44 13 29 45 14 30 46 15 31 47 16 32 48 1 9 17 2 10 18 3 11 19 4 12 20 5 13 21 6 14 22 7 15 23 8 16 24 Bubble DNP

Prev. M Match # Partner Auto Tele-op Bonus Opponent Auto Tele-op Bonus Opponent Auto Tele-op Bonus

Page 6 is a pair of Match scouting sheets can help you organize your notes to give to your coach. The method we have found works best is to scout each team as close to the match they will be playing with/against your team. Got through your schedule and fill out the partners and opponents for each match. Then find their previous match and mark the card accordingly. This will help you remember when to watch them. After you have taken notes on each team you are competing with and against for the match, then flip the sheet over and write out a general match strategy. Remember to keep it as simple as it needs to be. Try to use the strengths of your partners and the weaknesses of your opponents as a base strategy. There is a fine line between being consistent and being predictable. Consistency helps your team execute a base strategy well, but may get picked up by other teams. Having multiple practiced plays is a good idea as long as you are not risking the outcome of the match.