Scouting Overview

Team 358:  One of the most important competition aspects of FRC, scouting other teams, is too frequently overlooked; especially when teams are new or have few members and limited resources. Regardless, 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.

Types of Scouting

Internet scouting (team database, websites, Chiefdelphi, Blue Alliance)

• Robot photos
• Youtube Team Video
• Basic data
• Preliminary capabilities
• Team history of performance and reliability

Pit scouting (roving packs of scouters)

• 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.

Match scouting (sedentary group of scouters)

• Collect results, both subjective (defense success, speed, stability, drive team skill) and objective (points scored, mechanical reliability, penalities)
• 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?

Remote events (scout robots you'll compete with at upcoming events)

• Standings
• Match Records
• Watch live competitions and watch what people chat about different teams.

    Team 2834 Scouting Database Presentation was developed to rank teams based on offensive and defensive performance. In addition to Offensive Power Rating (OPR), which is used by many FRC teams, a new measurement called Calculated Contribution to Winning Margin (CCWM) was developed that takes into account the contribution of defense. Although this should not replace pit scouting and match scouting, it can help teams who do not have a lot of resources.

 Team 180 S.P.A.M.'s Scouting Sheet

Team 198 X Cats' Scouting Sheet

• Scouting Overview
• Regional Rankings
• Advanced Scouting
• CowScout.com
• The Blue Alliance
• Chat