Sacramento went well! The robot had no major mechanical failures, although we found a lot of smaller issues in preventative maintenance in the pit. We went the whole event undefeated, and in eliminations followed a tried-and-true strategy: get picked by 254.
Fail Faster
Because there was no major drama to report, this is a good opportunity to show what goes on behind-the-scenes of a successful event. We keep a running Google Sheet during each season called the "Fail Faster Database" that tracks every issue we run into at events, big and small. Here is the Sacramento Regional Fail Faster list:
copy_of_2023_fail_faster_database_-_sacramento.pdf |
Full disclosure, we were very thorough about tracking issues at Sac, but less so at Hueneme and SVR. This list is what we aspire to do every time.
Team Spotlight
We always appreciate a team who can do a lot with a little, and simplicity is always one of our goals as a design team. With this in mind, we loved getting to play opposite 8793, the Pumpkin Bots (and wish we could have played with them, at least just once!) 8793 built a simple cube running robot on the KOP chassis. It was comically fast and skillfully driven. With just a roller claw on a pivot, they were outscoring many much more complex machines, and really stood out to us from the stands.
Here's a Pumpkin Bots match for your enjoyment.
Here's a Pumpkin Bots match for your enjoyment.
Never underestimate a reliable robot in the hands of a good driver, and great job 8793!