What to Pit Scout

As one might expect, pit scouting describes the scouting of the teams at an event in their pit. Pit scouting is invaluable to begin to get a mental picture of each robot and to gather information that cannot be determined from watching the robot in a match. This includes information such as the length and width of the robot and possibly information such as programming language. It may also be valuable to gather some game specific information, such as methods used during sandstorm in 2019. It is also important, especially at later events such as the World Championships, to ask teams if they have made any major changes since their last event that would invalidate any prescouting data you have gathered.

What NOT to Pit Scout (in most cases)

Any information which can be seen or collected in matches, such as types/amount of game pieces scored, cycle times, or ability to perform actions in auto/endgame should generally not be queried about in the pits. Teams can tend to exaggerate their ability and therefore any information collected in matches will be much more accurate than what is collected in the pits. One exception to this could be gathering information on teams in your first or second qualification match, especially at your first event. The team in question may not have any matches before you play with or against them and therefore it may be valuable to ask them more questions regarding their functionality just to get an idea of what to expect, even if the information is not completely accurate.

Photography

Another critical component of pit scouting is taking pictures of each robot. This is important for reminding you of what a robot looks like when discussing it later, such as when creating your picklist. A picture of the robot can help scouts recall information about the robot that they saw while scouting it as opposed to simply remembering the team number and name. The best pictures usually include the bumpers and the team number in the photo, although close up photos of mechanisms can also be useful. If the team looks like it is making major changes to the robot it might be best to come back to take pictures later when they are done. Some of the best times to take more photos of a robot if a team seems busy when you first come by are right before pits close or during lunch. Many teams will have vacated their pits at these times and you should be able to get clear photos of the robot.

How do I Pit Scout

Pit scouting is as simple as going to each team’s pit and asking them the few basic questions you have determined will be useful as well as asking to take a few pictures. Most teams are pit scouting themselves so someone in the pit will generally be more than happy to answer your questions.