Scioly.org

Robotics events generally turn into pay to win events. Robot arm was kinda like this, and robot tour won't be any different. The smaller team that can't afford all the parts will be penalized since they literally can't afford to be good at the event and the gap between the strong established teams and the smaller teams that are just getting off their feet will just widen. Anyway, that's a discussion for a different thread, and one I'm sure that's been had before.

Ohh I hadn't thought about it that way. I figured all build events were essentially pay to win, but now that I think about it, you can do well in some events with a small budget. My school doesn't have a lot of funding for SciOly... Next season is going to be awful.

I’m a robotics kid myself, so I might try Robot Tour next year. No clue what it’s about though. Our school doesn’t have a lot of robotics tools or SciOly funding either, and I’m still financially recovering from Flight, so maybe not. Still, there is a big issue to be dealt with when SciOly events are based less upon knowledge than parts and money.

pumptato-cat wrote: ↑March 14th, 2023, 9:42 am I wouldn't call it a horrible idea... But having a robotics team build for SciOly is definitely not to the spirit of the event. I hope no one does that...

We once had our (very good) Robotics team help out with Robo Cross. They just coached and provdided materials to our students, who actually built the thing. Problem was that they totally misunderstood the spirit of SciOly and we would have been better off doing it ourselves.

0ddrenaline wrote: ↑March 21st, 2023, 7:43 am We once had our (very good) Robotics team help out with Robo Cross. They just coached and provdided materials to our students, who actually built the thing. Problem was that they totally misunderstood the spirit of SciOly and we would have been better off doing it ourselves.

Hmm, what do you mean by "misunderstood the spirit of SciOly"?

Can anyone help me understand what happens in the boot camps? Is this summer boot camp for Students or for coaches?

latha423 wrote: ↑May 10th, 2023, 12:54 pm Can anyone help me understand what happens in the boot camps? Is this summer boot camp for Students or for coaches?

The workshops are for coaches. If you want more information on them, there's more information about the workshops on the official soinc.org website.

randomdogonapc wrote: ↑March 14th, 2023, 2:48 pm I’m a robotics kid myself, so I might try Robot Tour next year. No clue what it’s about though. Our school doesn’t have a lot of robotics tools or SciOly funding either, and I’m still financially recovering from Flight, so maybe not. Still, there is a big issue to be dealt with when SciOly events are based less upon knowledge than parts and money.

The advertisements for Robot Tour clam that $50-$60 gets you parts for a competitive build, and that significantly more money doesn't get you a much better build. Spending that much, once, for the year isn't too bad, and is similar to what it realistically costs for most other builds. Spending $50, then deciding you need a different $50 set of parts, then another different $50 set of parts, and so on is a more difficult prospect.

knightmoves wrote: ↑May 11th, 2023, 3:47 pm

randomdogonapc wrote: ↑March 14th, 2023, 2:48 pm I’m a robotics kid myself, so I might try Robot Tour next year. No clue what it’s about though. Our school doesn’t have a lot of robotics tools or SciOly funding either, and I’m still financially recovering from Flight, so maybe not. Still, there is a big issue to be dealt with when SciOly events are based less upon knowledge than parts and money.

The advertisements for Robot Tour clam that $50-$60 gets you parts for a competitive build, and that significantly more money doesn't get you a much better build. Spending that much, once, for the year isn't too bad, and is similar to what it realistically costs for most other builds. Spending $50, then deciding you need a different $50 set of parts, then another different $50 set of parts, and so on is a more difficult prospect.

Yeah, I'm sure that $50 would be the bare minimum. You'd need lots of tries, given how many times you might need more parts. If we'd actually tried on Bridge this year, it might've been as much as $200 (or more)

onshape wrote: ↑May 12th, 2023, 6:26 am

knightmoves wrote: ↑May 11th, 2023, 3:47 pm

randomdogonapc wrote: ↑March 14th, 2023, 2:48 pm I’m a robotics kid myself, so I might try Robot Tour next year. No clue what it’s about though. Our school doesn’t have a lot of robotics tools or SciOly funding either, and I’m still financially recovering from Flight, so maybe not. Still, there is a big issue to be dealt with when SciOly events are based less upon knowledge than parts and money.

The advertisements for Robot Tour clam that $50-$60 gets you parts for a competitive build, and that significantly more money doesn't get you a much better build. Spending that much, once, for the year isn't too bad, and is similar to what it realistically costs for most other builds. Spending $50, then deciding you need a different $50 set of parts, then another different $50 set of parts, and so on is a more difficult prospect.

Yeah, I'm sure that $50 would be the bare minimum. You'd need lots of tries, given how many times you might need more parts. If we'd actually tried on Bridge this year, it might've been as much as $200 (or more)

I can tell you the $50 to $100 is correct for Robot Tour. I'm part of the group writing the rules and testing the event for the past years. We have built and purchased well over 10 robots for testing. Teams will be wasting money if they are buying expensive robots. The rules were designed around preventing the event from being a pay to win event. Plus those expensive robots have not been preforming as well. To truly do well, students will need to optimize the robot's motions which may not be easily done with the expensive robots.

The current high end robot going to nationals is just under $100. We could reduced the costs to under $70 and still compete as well. There are plans on releasing these designs and part lists before the start of the 2024 season. The idea is to release a series of designs and options for teams to use as their starting point.