Competition Robot Design

This year I've been trying to get more teams doing FIRST Lego League in Victoria and the more new coaches I talk to the more I realise their is a lot of misconception about what a competition robot needs to be. So lets look at some of those myths:

The Robot Must Be 100% Designed by the Students

False - ideally the robot should be 100% the students work, but nobody in FLL expects a rookie team of 9-10 year olds to create a World Festival standard robot.  The key is that students give credit where credit is due, it's fine to take an idea of the internet but don't turn up saying we designed this robot.  What the judges want to hear is where you got the design from, why you chose it, how does it work, which parts did you design, how did you come up with attachments. 

The Robot Needs to Be Complex

False - Many teams enter FLL using the standard EV3 education kit robot design. It doesn't have to be fancy and involve huge attachments.  KIS - Keep It Simple, and build on the team knowledge each year. 

The Coach Needs to Know How to Build a Robot

False - Nothing gives me more pleasure than my students coming up with something I don't understand. It shows they are learning and not afraid to experiment and apply new skills. Have faith that the students will use their creativity to solve problems.  As a coach at this point your role changes from showing to questioning.  As the team how the robot works? Can they make it stronger? Can they make it smaller/more compact? Can they use fewer pieces?

Success is the Most Important Thing

False - Lots of coaches (and parents) go into the competition wanting their team to win and sometimes that leads to coaches having a little too much involvement in the robot design. Allow the students to fail at times, it's ok for the robot to not work 100% of the time or for something to fall off mid run.  Never underestimate what you're doing to a students confidence level if you tell them their idea isn't any good and they should just use what you designed. Next time the student tries to make something are they going to try themselves or go straight to you for help?  

So what to do as a rookie team?

Talk as a team about the approach they want to take. Are they confident building? Do they have time? Many teams won't get much more than 1-2 hours a week to prepare their FLL entry and with a project to do as well sometimes they would prefer to jump straight into the programming. 

If they are going to build their own robot you can start before the mat is released in late August, come up with a basic robot design and that way when the challenge is released you can just make minor changes based on the new challenges. For example, does your robot need high clearance like in Nature's Fury, fit into tight spaces (World Class) or climb a ramp or stairs (Senior Solutions). 

If they would like to use somebody else's design, 'shop' around, look at different designs and talk about which one they think suits them best.  Which one has mechanisms they understand and can talk about, remember, if they don't understand how the robot works they really shouldn't use it.  Make sure they understand they need to give credit to the designer and not claim the work as their own. 

If they're interested in using somebody else's design check out 'Competition Robot V1' from the Resource Download section of this blog. It can be made from ONE EV3 Education box (with the exception of a second colour sensor).  It is adapted from a design on fllcasts.com and is a good place for teams to start. The robot design easily allows for attachments (see future blog posts) and has lots of room for the students to modify the design with new attachments, motors and sensors.