1. Scouting and Alliance Selection Ohio FTC Kickoff
Team 6133
The NUTS!
Walnut Hills High School

2. What is Scouting?
Scouting is as much about your own team as it is about the other teams.
The goal of scouting is to figure out how your team can best work with your two alliance partners against your three opponents, and to help produce a well thought out Pick-List.
Scouting is the process of collecting objective and subjective data on all of the teams at the event (including your own team).
There are several different types of scouting
Pre-scouting – before the event.
Pit Scouting - static review at events.
Match Scouting – observation and data collection of matches
Analytical methods – Statistical analysis of match results / data feeds.

3. Pre-Scouting Done before the tournament Check other teams websites
Robot photos
Basic data
Preliminary capabilities
Team history of performance and reliability
Online
ftcroot.com
ftcstats.org
tpascores.com
theorangealliance.org

4. Pre-Scouting – ftcroot.com

5. Pre-Scouting – ftcroot.com

6. Pre-Scouting – ftcroot.com

7. Pre-Scouting – ftcroot.com

8. Tournament Scouting
One of the most important competition aspects of FTC, scouting other teams, is too frequently overlooked. Especially, when teams are new or have few members and limited resources, but even a mediocre robot can win with great strategy built on great scouting.
Knowing your opponents strengths/weaknesses wins matches
Knowing your alliance partners strengths/weaknesses wins matches
Knowing your own strengths/weaknesses wins matches

9. Tournament Scouting – Pit Interviews
Talk to pit crews (drive teams too if you can)
Take current robot photos
Collect data on type of drive train, power (# of motors), wheel traction material, manipulators, complex or simple design, etc.
Visually observe robots and pits. Does a robot seem to be under repair a lot? Do they have ready to go spare parts & assemblies?
Collect robot information sheets describing robot capabilities, past performance, special characteristics
Talk to other scouters (robot capabilities/record)

10. Tournament Scouting – Match Observation
Collect results, both subjective (defense success, speed, stability, drive team skill) and objective (points scored, mechanical reliability, penalties)
What did they do in autonomous/hybrid. Will you interfere with one another as partners? Can they disrupt you or you them as opponents?
Drive team impressions easy/hard to work with, cooperative/uncooperative
What strategies defeat them?
What strategies do they defeat?

11. Alliance Selection Issues to Consider
Scout yourself as well as others to know where your real strengths and weaknesses lie
How will you evaluate robot performance & reliability, drive team teamwork, and strategy
Head Scouter must be well organized
Scouts must be trained so every report is consistent in how performance is rated.
Keep it simple
Your scouting should match your people resources.
Counts and multiple choice answers are easiest to sort and analyze team performance. Essay and freeform write in answers are only good as backup material.
Paper records vs computerized
Paper never fails. It's easy to pull a team summary form and pass around, but is hard to sort and analyze all teams by different criteria
Computers make it easy to sort data on teams

12. Alliance Selection St Louis World Championships
Edison Division
Ochoa
Division
Team
Rank
3409 1
8686
7236 11
6929 3
11453 8
5916
8221 2
4174
8644 12
5843
7182 5
8645 15
8393
4029 4
6022 18
5414 23
5040 32
12529 39
10294
7129
4211 10
7244
3537 7
9794 21
Finals
Edison Division
Rank
Ochoa Division
8221 2
8686 1
8644 12
6929 3
7182 5
5916 8
World Champions

13. Alliance Selection Review your data during the qualification matches.
Discuss pros & cons as a group.
Develop preliminary best lists that complement your robot & anticipated strategy.
May be best offensive robots and best defensive robots.
Watch the robots on your best lists during the last qualifying matches.
Refine and finalize your lists. Don’t forget to watch for late bloomers, robots that finally get it together after a rough beginning.
Send your Team Captain to Alliance picks with your final lists, even if you aren’t doing the picking. Compare lists for that all important second pick overlooked diamond.

14. Other Considerations Always be Gracious WHAT TO DO IF TOP 4 SEED
Break up power alliances
Pick based on complimentary abilities
Pick based on rank
WHAT TO DO IF NOT TOP 4 SEED
Do what they can't do
Be easy to work with
Be strong and accommodating in strategy
Perform consistently
Be dependable
Don't draw penalties
Say YES!!!!