Developing a StrategyStrategy Building for the FIRST Robotics Competition

Agenda

• Overview• Analyzing the game• Determine Scoring possibilities• Create a strategy that suits your team• Prioritize potential robot functions• Hands On Activity (Jan 6th)

Quote

“The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.”

-Sun Tzu, Art of War

What is a Strategy?

• Definition of Strategy− the science or art of combining and employing the means of war in planning and

directing large military movements and operations.− a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal

or result

• How does this apply to FRC?• When creating a strategy for FRC, you are creating a “master

plan” that will guide you through both the build and competition season.

• You are creating the framework for both your robot’s design and your match strategy.

The 4 Steps in Developing a Strategy

• Analyze the game• Determine Scoring possibilities• Create a strategy that suits your team• Prioritize potential robot functions

Introduction

• What is your objective for this season?• Competing at a competition with 40+ other teams is fun and

exciting.− Coming home with a gold medal is even better

• In order to produce a winning robot, you need a winning strategy to match!

• Focus primarily on your main objective. Don’t get caught up in the “cool factor” or exceed your team’s capabilities.

Goals

• As you develop your goals for the season, make sure to keep them reasonably attainable

• A team who doesn’t consistently qualify for championships shouldn’t make winning the championship their primary goal

− Many teams make this mistake, and usually fail• Building a championship winning robot takes

significant resources and years of experience− Winning a regional is the first step to the championship

Analyzing the Game

• On Jan. 9th You will be given a box of parts, a 3 minute game animation, a game manual, and the words: “good luck, we’ll see you at the competition”

• What is the first thing you should do?• Read the Rules!

− Reading the rules will prevent future surprises.• Max dimensions• Weight limit• Kinect/webcam during auto (2014) • Tethered Robots (2015)

• Don’t make assumptions! Especially based on past years rules!

Analyzing the Game

• Know the ranking system!− How many people know the ranking system prior to the

competition season?• The ranking system changes slightly from year to

year− 2010, coop 2012, Assists 2014, Match Average 2015

• Understand How the rankings are sorted and where the values are derived from.

− WLT, cumulative auto score, other fields• Take advantage of this knowledge!

− Manipulate your strategy and priorities to maximize your chances of seeding high

Analyzing the Game

• Analyze the (original) 2010 Ranking system• Teams will earn “seeding points” which will be

totaled and sorted from high to low to determine the seeding order

• Teams on the WINNING alliance will receive a number of seeding points equal to the penalized score of the WINNING alliance

• Teams on the LOOSING alliance will receive a number of seeding points equal to the un-penalized score of the WINNING alliance

• What was the most optimal method of play?

Analyzing the Game

• Answer: score for the other alliance!• As the losing alliance, you receive the score of the

winning alliance− Loosing a match 5-4 nets you 5 seeding points− Losing a match 10-0 nets you 10 seeding points

• As any good lawyer would say, you found a loophole!

• FIRST realized the loophole after seeing Week 1 competitions and added a 5 point bonus to the winning alliance’s seeding score

Determine Scoring Possibilities

• Evaluate every possible way of scoring points− 2012: Scoring Baskets, Balancing on bridges− 2013: Scoring Discs, Climbing− 2014: Scoring balls, Assists, Truss Toss, Truss Catch, Mobility− 2015: Scoring Totes, recycling containers, litter, coop

• Make sure you evaluate the end game. It usually has the potential to change the outcome of a match in a short period of time. (if there is one!)

Determine Defense Possibilities

• Evaluate every possible way to stop your opponent from scoring

− 2003: knocking over stacks− 2012: Block shots, defend the fender− 2013: Blocker, Rookie pool noodle− 2015: Can burglars

• Don’t forget about penalties/fouls.

Chokehold Strategies

• A strategy which, when executed, guarantees victory, independent of any action by your opponents

• FIRST tries to design games with no reasonable chokehold strategy

• If one exists, it will be very difficult to perform− 2002, Team 71 pulling 3 180lb goals− Almost Chokeholds: Minibot (2011), 4 can grabber (2015)

• Determining if a chokehold strategy exists should be the first step in game analysis. Why?

− While looking for a chokehold strategy, you will most likely find the most optimal strategy

Find the Most Optimal Strategy

• How long does an FRC match last?− 2:30, 0:15 for Auto and 2:15 for Teleop

• With this limited time, you want to find the strategies that yield the most amount of points in the least amount of time

− 6 stack with Recycling Container/Litter• Analyze scoring percentages of possible functions that

your team is capable of building.− 3 point basket 50%, 2 point basket 100% accurate (340,

2012)− 10 point goal 50%, 1 point goal 100% accurate (2014)− Adjust your strategy and priority list based on resources and

reliability of possible machine functions

Cost to Reward Ratio

• For each task, you must evaluate the level of difficulty compared to the reward of completing that task.

• Eliminate Strategies that have a low scoring potential and/or are too resource intensive

− 2014: Catching over Truss; 10 pt. goal?− 2015: Robot scoring Litter; 4 Can Burglar?

• The best tasks are the ones which are relatively easy to perform, yet provide a large amount of points

Finalize Your Strategy

• After analyzing potential scoring methods and eliminating tasks that are not worth the effort, you should have a small list of tasks you want your robot to complete.

− 2015: Get totes from ground, stack 6 high and score, obtain Recycling container, coop

• With these desired tasks, you should be able to create 1-3 different match strategies based on potential alliance partners

− 2 6-stacks with cans/litter, 3 6-stacks without cans (why?), coop• At this point, you now have a concrete

Develop a list of Potential Functions/Robot Capabilities

• Once you have decided what the most optimal strategy is, it is time to begin brainstorming what functions you want your robot to have.

• Potential functions for 2015− Tote Stacker− Can Manipulator− Ramp− Can Burglar

• Take a look at what resources other teams have made available to you

− Build Blitz, Robot in 3 Days− Chief Delphi

Prioritization of Robot Functions

• Now that you have evaluated possible robot functions, it’s time to prioritize them

• Determine your robot’s qualities− Speed, power, maneuverability, dimensions

• Determine what functions should be on your robot− Shooter, Ball pickup Mechanism, intake, Blocker, etc.

• Remember: your priority list should reflect your strategy

− Should a blocking mechanism be on a priority list for an offensive robot?

Capabilities of Functions

• Once you have determined what functions will be on your robot, you need to determine what specific capabilities these functions will have

• Not all potential capabilities are necessary for success− Tote grabber: picking up upside down totes− Tote stacker: add can before and after stack is created

• Some capabilities can reduce the maximum potential for a function

− Being able to stack on top of existing stacks

Tradeoffs

• As you design and build your robot, you will need to evaluate the tradeoff.

• Most likely you will not be able to build every desired function/capability on your priority list

− Evaluate your teams resources. Determine how many functions you are capable of building while still allowing for testing, programming, and driver practice. Adjust as necessary to fit your build schedule

− You want to have each function operating as efficiently and effectively as possible

• Combine certain functions to maximize overall functionality− 2014: Shooter and Intake in one− 2013: Floor Pickup arm/10pt Hanger− Power take off from drive train to power a winch

Golden Rules and Simplicity

• Golden Rule #1: Always build within your team's limits− Evaluate your abilities and resources honestly and realistically− Limits are defined by manpower, budget, experience− Avoid building unnecessarily complex functions− On the other hand, as you get more experienced, start

cautiously pushing a few boundaries• Golden Rule #2: If a team has 30 units of robot and

functions have maximum of 10 units, better to have 3 functions at 10/10 instead of 5 at 6/10

• Remember: teams who do more then they are capable of tend to fail!

Simplicity is Key

• When designing and building a robot, remember these three simple words:

• Simplicity− Avoid building unnecessarily complex functions− Keep your robot design simple, but not too simple (kitbot)

• Efficiency− Keeping a design simple will reduce the amount of necessary

steps it takes to complete a task, thus improving its efficiency• Dependability

− Having a complex design with many points of failure will be much less reliable than a simple robust design

Build Season

• As you move through the build season, make sure to stick to your strategy and priority list

• Avoid prototyping and developing robot components and functions that are not on your priority list

− Elaborate blockers for offensive robots− 4 can grabber (2015)

• Steering away from your priority list will take resources away from more critical functions

− Remember: make efficient use of your time and resources!

Review

• Read the rules and analyze every possible method of scoring.

• Find the most optimal strategy which would yield the highest amount of points per match

• Evaluate scoring methods and eliminate strategies that are overly difficult and yield few points

− Don’t waste time and team resources. Apply those resources to improving existing functions which yield more points.

• Prioritize your robots potential functions• Remember the Golden Rules!

− The jack of all trades is the master of none