I apologize and may have inadvertently stepped on a few toes and upset some of the coaches on this listserve in my recent posting. Let me be clear, my comments were *generic* advice and sincerely not intended to accuse anyone of wrong doing. If anybody took my comments in that manner, that was not my intention. I was using this particular topic as a generic example (which may not have been the best approach in retrospect). Perhaps I should have had a few more caffeinated beverages before hitting <send>. Mea Culpa. If you read my posting initially as an accusation, I request you read it again with a positive spin on it. My intention was to encourage facilitation and mentoring by coaches. Bill On Tue, Oct 8, 2019 at 6:51 AM Robot Bill <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > If you will allow me, I would like to get up on my virtual soapbox for a > few moments and provide some generic advice. Some of you know me, some of > you don't. Let's just say, I have been associated with FIRST and FLL for a > while. > > As I see some of the dialog on this listserve, I am secretly hoping that > all of the coaches and mentors are using this information to *teach *their > FLL teams. These are wonderful teaching opportunities for your teams. How > you interact with your teams makes all the difference. Using this thread as > an example, on one end of the spectrum, you can take the lessons learned > from the other coaches and just tell the team, "the way to fix the wheel > slipping is to do XYZ". If you do that, you will certainly shorten the team > meeting and get closer to a better working robot. On the far end of the > spectrum, you can mentor and facilitate the team, by leading them through a > series of questions: "how is it slipping?", "how long is it slipping?". You > can help them to do some research online to investigate the physics of > friction. What are the factors that influence friction? What modifications > can you do to the robot to reduce the probability of friction occurring > (ensure the wheels are clean, increase the surface area by using more or > different wheels, increase the weight directly over the wheels)? I am an > engineer and we do this all the time. You will be, without you knowing it, > teaching the children the basics of failure reporting and corrective action > (FRACA). Rarely does any engineering project work initially. There is > always an iterative process by which the product is incrementally improved > (OBTW, take a look a the Robot Design rubric: > https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__firstinspiresst01.blob.core.windows.net_fll_2020_first-2Dlego-2Dleague-2Drubrics.pdf&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=k6Oa5GxfBPFMgGjb2r5QIoEOeBZs9xbNIpA0kLw_kFQ&m=Tp57f4vD6NGXAL7wD-6sLmBTzTeRnmjWT9re8JnXy5c&s=kFH2YZoW0XD9I3uN8bPdHtl3QykMa22eZFQlvjoX6EE&e=). > Notice "design process"?) > > If your only goal as a coach is to win a FLL tournament, just go purchase > a trophy, get a cake and have a party now. If your goal is to develop your > team members (and I hope it is), use these learning moments to discuss with > your teams what is going on. If you are a rookie coach and not and > engineer, don't fret. It is OK to be vulnerable and tell the team you do > not know. Show them how to find the answers, do the research together. Give > them homework do do between meetings (I did this as a coach to get my team > to learn line following). > > I have always told coaches that the main part of FLL is during the season > as you prepare for a tournament. The tournament should be a celebration of > what your teams have accomplished over the season. Please capture these > moments and use them to educate and develop your team members. What part > this teaching spectrum you choose will make a big difference in what your > team members will take away from your coaching. > > <Getting off soapbox now> > > Thank you for volunteering and have a great season! > > Bill > > > On Mon, Oct 7, 2019 at 10:21 PM Jeff Borek <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> Last year, my team had luck improving consistency in a similar situation >> by making sure the wheels were wiped clean (just with a dry rag) each time >> before a run. Turned them into a little bit obsessive with the cleaning >> but definitely improved consistent start, turn, stop. >> >> On Mon, Oct 7, 2019 at 10:01 PM Amy Nichols <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> >>> This actually seems to be problem with the mat, I believe. We’ve run the >>> same robot on multiple mats...and then other robots on this board. The >>> robots run on this board skid and slip along the mat mainly when the robot >>> turns...but who knows? Very time is a surprise. :) It really seems to be a >>> problem with the quality of the mat. At first, we thought it had to do with >>> how much it was used - possibly newer mats still had a glossy film on it or >>> something. But that doesn’t seem to be the case, as we ran the same robots >>> on a mat right out of the box without any of these issues. So...we don’t >>> know and were just wondering if it’s our sole mat or if others were having >>> trouble as well? >>> >>> Weird. >>> >>> Thanks much, >>> Amy >>> >>> Sent from my iPhone >>> >>> On Oct 7, 2019, at 9:02 PM, Skip Morrow <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >>> >>> First, verify that you have wheel slip. Film it in slo motion. Does it >>> happen every time? Does setting a slower speed help? Going from zero to 100 >>> in a blink is pretty much always going to cause some slip. Especially if >>> you have big wheels. Also, is your robot balanced? Maybe you have a heavy >>> attachment on one side? That can throw things off by taking a lot of weight >>> off of one wheel which can cause it to slip more easily. Finally, for a >>> really advanced solution you can try and write an acceleration myblock. >>> Otherwise, the only solutions are to ensure your robot is balanced, and use >>> slower speeds. >>> >>> >>> On Mon, Oct 7, 2019 at 8:26 PM Alicia A. Strahan <[log in to unmask]> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Accelerating from start. Wheels spin but it doesn’t grip on the mat. >>>> Doesn’t happen every time but throws off the robot just enough to mess up >>>> the mission. >>>> >>>> Get Outlook for iOS >>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__aka.ms_o0ukef&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=k6Oa5GxfBPFMgGjb2r5QIoEOeBZs9xbNIpA0kLw_kFQ&m=thvGt952Yyu0iqagWEo60249q5tBHIFX2KClcuP3KmM&s=zmPPxGnUtUwh1QX3eM52aiobdS7XvXBlMYeN07OknQI&e=> >>>> ------------------------------ >>>> *From:* Skip Morrow <[log in to unmask]> >>>> *Sent:* Monday, October 7, 2019 8:04:22 PM >>>> *To:* Alicia A. Strahan <[log in to unmask]> >>>> *Cc:* [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> >>>> *Subject:* Re: [VADCFLL-L] Robot skidding on board >>>> >>>> What do you guys mean by "skidding"? When I think of skidding, I think >>>> of putting on the brakes, locking up my tires, and screeching to a stop. >>>> That obviously doesn't apply here. >>>> >>>> Are you talking about a general loss of traction, leading to robot >>>> inaccuracy? If so, are we talking mostly during turns? Or accelerating from >>>> a dead stop? >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Mon, Oct 7, 2019 at 3:22 PM Alicia A. Strahan <[log in to unmask]> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> We have noticed a problem as well. It does not happen every time and >>>>> does not happen when we run the code on a different surface like the >>>>> floor. >>>>> >>>>> *Alicia Strahan* >>>>> STEM Lab Teacher >>>>> Rosa Parks Elementary School >>>>> >>>>> ------------------------------ >>>>> *From:* First Lego League in Virginia and DC < >>>>> [log in to unmask]> on behalf of Alina Marston < >>>>> [log in to unmask]> >>>>> *Sent:* Monday, October 7, 2019 3:01 PM >>>>> *To:* [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> >>>>> *Subject:* [VADCFLL-L] Robot skidding on board >>>>> >>>>> Hi everyone, >>>>> >>>>> My team is having trouble with our robot wheels skidding on our >>>>> board. My team has tested their robot on two other boards and the robot's >>>>> wheels do not skid when turning on the other two boards, but they do skid >>>>> when they turn on ours. We had another team test their robot and programs >>>>> on our board last week and their wheels skidded also when running on our >>>>> board. In all, we've tested three other robots on the other two boards and >>>>> none of them skid like on ours at home. Has anyone else had this problem? >>>>> >>>>> Thanks! >>>>> Alina Marston >>>>> The Magically Energized Lightning Waffle Bunnies >>>>> >>>>> -- To UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE your settings, please visit >>>>> https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-l.html and select "Join or >>>>> leave the list". >>>>> >>>>> -- VADCFLL administrative announcements are sent via >>>>> VADCFLL-ANNOUNCEMENTS-L. Visit >>>>> https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-ANNOUNCEMENTS-l.html to >>>>> subscribe. >>>>> ------------------------------ >>>>> To UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE your settings, please visit >>>>> https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-l.html and select "Join or >>>>> leave the list". >>>>> VADCFLL administrative announcements are sent via >>>>> VADCFLL-ANNOUNCEMENTS-L. Visit >>>>> https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-announcements-l.html to >>>>> subscribe. >>>> >>>> ------------------------------ >>> To UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE your settings, please visit >>> https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-l.html and select "Join or >>> leave the list". >>> VADCFLL administrative announcements are sent via >>> VADCFLL-ANNOUNCEMENTS-L. Visit >>> https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-announcements-l.html to >>> subscribe. >>> >>> ------------------------------ >>> To UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE your settings, please visit >>> https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-l.html and select "Join or >>> leave the list". >>> VADCFLL administrative announcements are sent via >>> VADCFLL-ANNOUNCEMENTS-L. Visit >>> https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-announcements-l.html to >>> subscribe. >> >> ------------------------------ >> To UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE your settings, please visit >> https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-l.html and select "Join or >> leave the list". >> VADCFLL administrative announcements are sent via >> VADCFLL-ANNOUNCEMENTS-L. Visit >> https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-announcements-l.html to >> subscribe. > > -- To UNSUBSCRIBE or CHANGE your settings, please visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-l.html and select "Join or leave the list". -- VADCFLL administrative announcements are sent via VADCFLL-ANNOUNCEMENTS-L. Visit https://listserv.jmu.edu/archives/vadcfll-ANNOUNCEMENTS-l.html to subscribe.