Identify the Problem

At the beginning of, or even right before, the initial design phase it is a good idea to go over the challenges presented by the current season’s game. This could be by documenting and expanding upon the game overview and/or specific rules that could affect a design solution. For many this will be done within their initial game analysis.

While it is easy to copy and paste the game overview from the game manual or website, it is a good idea to provide a team’s perspective on this topic to show some independent thought.

For instance it could be good to document the following regarding initial challenges to overcome.

• How scoring works and what mechanism may be required to accomplish this task.

• What obstacles are created by the field elements that are being employed and the best drive that may be needed.

• What tasks need to be accomplished during the autonomous period to obtain the Autonomous Win Point (AWP)

• Specific rules, such as expansion, that limit build capabilities

Throughout the design process it is good to identify robot design issues that are encountered. One way to do this is by identifying an encountered issue, stating possible solutions, and documented results whether they be good or bad.

By doing this a few areas that will be discussed later can be covered such as brainstorming, selecting the best solution and testing.