Five Tips for FTC Scouting
by Bob Howard, Coach Team #4997, Masquerade ; Paul Bresnan, Coach Team 6433, Neutrinos ; Caroline Bresnan, FTC Alumna, Team #2868, Smoke and Mirrors Scouting is the art of gathering information about your fellow FIRST Tech Challenge teams and their robots. Knowing your opponents� strengths and weaknesses is critical for a team�s success. The following simple tips are designed to help your team begin the scouting process. Tip #1 � Visit the Inspection Field As a part of inspection, all teams are required to test their robot on the field. Watching these test drives is a great way to gather information on a team�s autonomous programs and scoring capabilities before the tournament has even started! Be sure to take detailed notes. The practice field is also a good place for pre-tournament scouting. Tip #2 � Print Out the Field Diagram Field Diagrams are great for scouting. Print our several copies per page and use them as a way to draw out autonomous paths. They also come in handy ...