Scouting

This page has been adapted from Sunny's post in the forum.

What is scouting?

Scouting in the process by which teams gather, interpret, and share information.

Gathering Information

We gather information for our purposes. If at the end of qualifications, we find ourselves sitting in 2nd place and we need to create an alliance, then we use all of the scouting information to build the best alliance possible.

We want to gather everything piece of information about an opposing robot/team. We want to know if they have a strong drivetrain, a weak drive train, can they score well, do they suck at scoring, is their minibot fast, can they play good defense, etc. No information should go uncollected, whether it's notable or not.

Interpreting Information

We use this information all throughout the tournament.

For qualifications, we use scouting information to better gauge opponents and better gauge matches. If we learn that team xxxx has a jumpy driver who doesn't respond well to pressure, then it might be a good idea for us to put a robot to defend them and totally shut them down.

For finals, we use scouting information to help us pick teams. This part of our scouting team has never been too good, but I would like to change that. The best way to do this is to create a list of top 24 teams. Take this list, and go into finals.

Sharing Information

There are a lot of good robots this year, but like any year, it is the job of a scout to share information about our team. Paul made a step in the right direction in this. We need to spread information about our team to others so that they know what we can do.

In some ways our team has failed at this, and as a consequence we've seen little success at nationals. I want our scouts to spread information and becomes friends with teams. EVERY TEAM should know a 1261 scout.

Why Do We Scout

This question is better answered with a story.

In 2010, we won the Palmetto Regional. This regional was another 2010 regional where we fought the robot, but in the end we won. Our scouting team was firing on all cylinders. We were working with another team to create an online database, and we had people going around and talking to all of the teams.

During qualifications, scouting was awesome. Our scouters had data, and about 10 minutes before each match, Tanner or Patrick would get a text laying out the upcoming match and our opponents. This text gave me all the information I needed and the entire alliance was able to operate at a higher level.

For eliminations, everyone on the team sat down on Friday night to talk about prospective picks. We also had been close to team 343. And when 343 went up to number 1, we knew that were getting the first pick.

In more ways than one, scouting ensures that things fall together. Scouting ensures that we know everything just so that we are not caught off guard or blind sighted by anything.

Who do we scout?

Everyone. Period. We need information on everyone. If team xxxx sucks, I want to know ahead of time instead of finding out when they pull their shopping cart into the queuing area.

How Do We Scout?

Starting in 2014, the team built an app in order to collect scouting information. This helped us with efficiency and analysis, especially when paired with Tableau software. Basically we have a team of data analysts, or Tableau experts, who help us go through the data we have collected as we check for accuracy, special features of the robot, and consistency. We usually get together as a team and go through solid data as well as hear feedback from the scouts who have actually gone out and talked with the competitors. Not only is performance a factor we take into consideration, but also collaboration among our team. How can we help our alliance get to victory if we cannot work well together? We also make a list of possible picks ranked by any combination of factors and how much each factor weighs. Along with this pick list, we also make sure to think of teams we would join or not join, in the event that we are chosen by a higher seeded alliance captain. In the end, if you are not an alliance captain, it may be better to just accept whichever alliance captain chooses you, in order to ensure a playing position in the playoffs.

Earlier, we used google docs. I know some teams use paper and folders, and I know some teams use excel. There are a million ways to scout but we need to find one that works.

Also, during qualifications, the drive team received one text message. This helped a lot, but I think that a faster, larger system would be excellent. We should aim to get the drivers all the information they could want. If this means that a scouter runs the drivers through the next match, then so be it.

As far as spreading information, teams often make fliers of their robots. The highlights and the strengths are on one sheet of paper. We're not saying that you need to shove information down people's throats, but people should know who team 1261 is.

For eliminations, a top 24 teams list is very common. This is a fantasy list where we say, list the best 24 teams here, no matter where we stand or where they stand. During eliminations, this list can be gold.

In 2016, Rishov Sarkar created a scouting app that is reusable each year; it just requires a team member to go in and create scouting questions pertaining to the year's game. You can view it here. We have also opened this scouting app up to other FRC teams who have asked us about it as they are free to use it to their desire.

Common Scouting Positions

Lead Scout - this person is also known as the President of Scouting, and is someone that both the Head Pit Scout and the Head Stand Scout communicates with in cases of retrieving information from certain teams or reporting match performances.

Head Pit Scout - this person is the lead for all of the pit scouts and pairs up people who either work well together or who can learn a lot from each other when going out and talking to teams in the pit. This helps the team create friendships and bonds so teams know they can always trust and count on us.

Head Stand Scout - this person is in charge of maintaining order in the stands and making sure that every team on the field is being scouted. This helps the team to collect info that determines the accuracy and performance of a team's robot, how well they work under pressure, and if what they claim in the pits is true on the field.

Scout - You do what the lead scouts says, and you do it well. The scouting team is often considered to be frivolous where people play around and get free stuff. While this might be true, it's also necessary for the scouting team to gather and pass around information. It might be wise for a scout to stick to a group of teams and make friends if needed.

Whats the difference between Pit Scouting and Stand Scouting?

Pit Scouting - Pit scouts tend to be more extroverted. They go and talk to different teams searching for qualitative data. They also represent the team on a larger scale because they go and talk to every team that is competed with. Pit scouts tend to be more experienced members. They are called pit scouts because they walk around in the pits and talk to the teams there.

Stand Scouting- These are the members that stay in the stands and collect quantitative data. These members tend to me more introverted or are rookie members learning the ropes of FRC.

Whether a student is a pit scout or a stand scout is determined in scouting meetings that occur at the beginning of the FRC season. Students take a scouting text that is typically written by the president to determine if students know the year's rules properly. Then members that pass move on to the next step, whether it is participating in interviews to be a pit scout or tests to assess data input skills to be a stand scout. If a student does not pass their original scouting test that determines their knowledge about rules, they are not allowed to attend competition.

Stand Scouting Gear

Here is the list of items needed to maximize stand scouting:

• Portable chargers (you will be scouting the ENTIRE game; you are bound to lose battery at some point)
• Power strip connected to nearby outlet to seating area (handy when you do not have a portable charger or you run out of battery on your portable charger)
• Team tablets (6 total)
• Team Laptop (at least 2 in case of emergencies; these are useful when using Tableau for alliance selections and your laptop decides to crash in the middle of it. Keep in mind to update tableau data REGULARLY to access accurate results!)

Head Stand Scout Obligations

Here are a list of tasks that the Head Stand Scout should be responsible for:

• Keep track of who is using which team tablet/team portable battery (It's easy to lose these if you're not careful)
• Making sure each team in each match is being scouted for (drowsy members tend to miss data; this will lead to inaccurate data in Tableau)
• Know where all of your stand scouts are scouting from. They may move to different seating areas if the view is not optimal for them
• Make sure scouts get up and walk/eat every once in a while; you are the parent of the stand!
• Activate product key on Tableau for 5 of the programming laptops. This is because the product key found in the KOP (Kit of Parts) can only be applied on up to 5 devices. Note: the head stand scout only needs to use one of these in the stands for emergency Tableau analysis. However, Tableau should be installed on all available laptops to be used for scouting training before competition. Had stand scout should confer with programmers on which laptops they will need during competition and which are free for scouts to use.
• Update scouting app with questions relevant to the game.
• Make sure power strips are accessible in the stands so everyone can recharge their devices, as well as themselves!
• Make sure the members are comfortable talking to you! It is easy to believe a misconception about playing strategies and points, so it is better to stop inaccurate data collecting early on rather than later, all because the members were too intimidated to talk to you
• Pep talk your scouts! They sit there all day long walking 100s of matches; so spread the team energy to wake them up and make sure they know that their job is worthwhile :)

Tableau Training

Here is a list of tasks for scouting preparations before competition:

• Practice tableau analysis with rookies using past year’s data
• Practice making different kinds of graphs
• Steps for different graphs
• First meeting - discussing graphs + review last years graphs
• 2nd meeting - play around with tableau settings + watching tableau tutorials +blue alliance
• 3rd meeting - brainstorm what we would need for scouting app/ what is ideal data to collect/ qualitative vs quantitative

Note: scouting training does not have to be broken down into three different meetings, but this is optimal so the members do not feel overwhelmed. It is also easier to retain information by soaking up a little at a time rather than all at once. Also, Daniel Li in 2015 started to create his own version of the Forecast option on Tableau to see Tableau predictions of match data relating to how many points a certain team will be able to score in the next match based on previous match data. This is used by looking at the average points accumulated by one team over all of the matches that they have played. However, there is a Forecast option on Tableau that should theoretically be able to pull up this kind of data, but so far the team has not delved into this project very much. This is not a necessary project to be taken up, but it is nice to have this ability :)

Scouting FAQ

• We're ranked last, do we still need to scout?
  • YES. If we're ranked last, there's a reason. Get out there and tell teams that we're ranked last, but we're working on it. Tell them some of our good traits and get us in their thoughts.

• Team xxxx is our rivals, we don't need to talk to them/scout them, right?
  • YES. No matter what you hear about team xxxx, if they're a FRC team, then we can work with them. Don't let past prejudices or differences play in. Becomes friends with everyone and you'll have limitless help.

• Drivers are the representatives of the team, it's their job to go out and talk to teams about our robot, right?
  • THIS IS WRONG. Drivers are way too busy. Between matches, fixing the robot, communicating with the mentors/pit crew, watching matches, talking strategy with teammates and alliance partners, drivers do not have time. Drivers should be worried about winning matches, not worried about whether we're getting picked for finals.

• What do I do if my phone loses internet or freezes and I cannot access the scouting app in order to enter in data?
  • Get out a pencil and paper and do it the old fashion way! You can re-enter the data you've collected at a later time, but it must be collected! Missing data can be huge and can skew our perceptions of a team's performance. Just make sure you communicate this problem with the head scouts so they know what to watch out for.

Let me iterate, it is the task of the scouting team to make sure that our team is picked for finals. This responsibility does not fall onto the drivers, coach, or the human player. Getting people to know our team and robot is one of the cores of scouting. If the scouting team is not doing it, then it's not doing its job.