San Diego FTC Region Virtual Robot Inspection Guide
What and Why
This season, our region will be doing “virtual” robot inspections. Our region has chosen to ask teams to self-inspect their robots and produce a video of the process. The main goal of this video is to demonstrate to anyone watching that your robot would pass a typical robot inspection process at a traditional tournament. All SD Region team inspection videos will be publicly available. It is our hope that these videos will not only be an educational process for each team, but a regional team bonding experience that is also fun and educational for all.
When and Where
Your official robot inspection video must be posted no less than 72 hours before the date of each first league match. You are welcome to post your video much further in advance, but please see the section below on updates. Unofficial robot inspection videos may be posted at any time and contests for these may be posted throughout the season with specific deadlines. All videos should be hosted on YouTube. We will provide a form for submitting the links soon. See Privacy Concerns below for more on this.
Overall Video Structure and Required Elements
Recommended Practices for Creating Your Official Robot Inspection Video
You are free to produce your video however you like. With that said, here are some recommendations you might consider:
When to Create an Updated Official Robot Inspection Video
The FTC SD Region encourages teams to tinker throughout the season, especially during this extended season. We are hoping that these videos may inspire teams to try revisions on their designs as the season progresses. We also recognize that it takes time and energy to create these videos. So you are only required to post updates to your official robot inspection video when significant changes have been made to your robot since the last posted video. These updates must be posted no less than 24 hours before the next match.
Significant changes include:
Privacy Concerns and Requirements
Please take care while creating and editing your video that the following privacy considerations are observed.
Unofficial Robot Inspection Videos
This is a season like no other, and we hope to see some robot videos like no others. Perhaps you would like to post a video showing a highly creative use of coffee beans in your robot? Perhaps you would like to demonstrate your robot is “water game ready”? Maybe various holidays will inspire you? Epic Blooper reels? Regardless, unofficial robot inspection/reveal videos are highly encouraged this season and can be posted in the same way as the others. We hope to hold a few contests over the course of our extended season to provide some additional incentive. These videos should abide by the Privacy Concerns outlined in this document, but are not subject to the regular robot inspection rules. Have fun!
This season, our region will be doing “virtual” robot inspections. Our region has chosen to ask teams to self-inspect their robots and produce a video of the process. The main goal of this video is to demonstrate to anyone watching that your robot would pass a typical robot inspection process at a traditional tournament. All SD Region team inspection videos will be publicly available. It is our hope that these videos will not only be an educational process for each team, but a regional team bonding experience that is also fun and educational for all.
When and Where
Your official robot inspection video must be posted no less than 72 hours before the date of each first league match. You are welcome to post your video much further in advance, but please see the section below on updates. Unofficial robot inspection videos may be posted at any time and contests for these may be posted throughout the season with specific deadlines. All videos should be hosted on YouTube. We will provide a form for submitting the links soon. See Privacy Concerns below for more on this.
Overall Video Structure and Required Elements
- Your video should begin by stating or showing your team name and number
- Robot Overview
- Provide a 360 degree view of your robot with all equipment it will carry.
- If your robot moves on initialization, please start in an un-initialized state, show us the Robot Motion Warning Label, and then record the robot movement during initialization from an angle that shows all or the majority of the movement.
- With the robot initialized (if it moves on initialization, if it does not, it can be uninitialized):
- Demonstrate that all 3 dimensions are 18” or less.
- Pass your hands over the edges and corners of the robot demonstrating that there is no dangerously sharp structure on your robot.
- Provide a clear view of the space between the robot and the field demonstrating that field damage and grounding to the field will not occur.
- Show that wires and other structures do not hang over the sides of the robots in ways that could lead to entanglement
- Show that your Team number and alliance markers meet requirements
- Parts and Electronics
- Take us on a tour of the electronic system on your robot.
- Start with the Hub(s) and battery on your robot. Show the main power switch/label and demonstrate its accessibility. Demonstrate how the battery is secured. Show the grounding strap if you are using one.
- Follow the wires from the hub(s) to all motors and servos. Use a pencil or pointing device to help the viewer follow the wires. Count the motors and servos as you go. If devices like a servo power module are being used, make sure you show them along the way. If you have fabricated any of your own wiring, please note the gauge where it is used. If you are using an actuator that requires a specific controller, please demonstrate that.
- Follow the wires from the hub(s) to all sensors and other devices (e.g. webcams, LEDs, etc.). Use a pencil or pointing device to help the viewer follow the wires. Note the manufacturer and type of each sensor/device. If you have fabricated any of your own wiring, please note the gauge where it is used.
- Take us on a tour of the electronic system on your robot.
- Inspection Sheet. Finish with a pan of both pages of your filled out and signed Inspection Sheet.
- Smoke, lasers, special effects. Have fun, but please ensure the extras don’t impede a viewer’s ability to clearly see the required video elements above.
- Robot performance. If you’d like to showcase your work, feel free to show the robot in action with commentary if you like. If you do this, take care to adhere to the Privacy Considerations below when it comes to drivers, human players, and innocent bystanders.
Recommended Practices for Creating Your Official Robot Inspection Video
You are free to produce your video however you like. With that said, here are some recommendations you might consider:
- Get familiar with the following FIRST FTC Resources early in the season:
- Fill out the team self-inspection checklist to make sure you can check all the boxes
- Draft a script that follows the guidance for the overall video structure described above.
- Rehearse a couple of times
- Think about how you might divide up the video into various sections that can be recorded independently and then edited together. This might reduce rework when you are not happy with a particular “take”. This may also help with updates later.
- Consider recording a voice over after the video is recorded to fix issues or improve audio quality.
When to Create an Updated Official Robot Inspection Video
The FTC SD Region encourages teams to tinker throughout the season, especially during this extended season. We are hoping that these videos may inspire teams to try revisions on their designs as the season progresses. We also recognize that it takes time and energy to create these videos. So you are only required to post updates to your official robot inspection video when significant changes have been made to your robot since the last posted video. These updates must be posted no less than 24 hours before the next match.
Significant changes include:
- Adding actuators (motors/servos)
- Adding sensors or other electronic devices
- Changes to the robot’s overall geometry that, to a casual observer, might raise concerns about the 18” cube rule.
Privacy Concerns and Requirements
Please take care while creating and editing your video that the following privacy considerations are observed.
- No names of team members or coaches should be mentioned
- No faces of team members should be visible at any time
- Your video may be “public” on YouTube if you wish, or “unlisted” (anyone with the link will be able to view, but it will not appear in YouTube search results).
Unofficial Robot Inspection Videos
This is a season like no other, and we hope to see some robot videos like no others. Perhaps you would like to post a video showing a highly creative use of coffee beans in your robot? Perhaps you would like to demonstrate your robot is “water game ready”? Maybe various holidays will inspire you? Epic Blooper reels? Regardless, unofficial robot inspection/reveal videos are highly encouraged this season and can be posted in the same way as the others. We hope to hold a few contests over the course of our extended season to provide some additional incentive. These videos should abide by the Privacy Concerns outlined in this document, but are not subject to the regular robot inspection rules. Have fun!