I lot of good questions. Below are my tips since I have ran this event through all its trial years.
1) I use painters tape or gaffer tape (more expensive) to mark the lines. Below are tracks from this past Nationals and a coaches clinic. I can setup a track in 15 mins but I have a lot of practice. The track can be setup on any smooth floor. There could be other floor lines or different color tiles within the track. I have advised teams to avoid detecting the tape lines on the floor for the previous reasons.
2) You are correct that Robot Tour is one of the events open to the public. Which means the event setup should allow for spectators.
3) I have used the following process to setup the track. Before starting its best to have a paper copy of the track setup. This link (
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/ ... ue&sd=true) is for a Google Slide that I use to drag and drop the track setup. I recommend having extra copies in case it is difficult for competing students to view the track setup. I also tape this printed version next to the track and in the setup area for reference.
- Setup the outside 1" track lines first. Create the 2 m by 2m inside track area. A large square and two 1 meter rulers are my main tools.
- Mark every 50cm along the outside tape.
- The rules say the inner lines are imaginary lines and not required. I have very much learned its much easier to setup if these lines are present. I use 1/4" painters tape from Amazon (
https://a.co/d/aLf46TD)
- The Gate Zones are the next tape lines I add to the floor. I use a different color tape for these lines.
- On the tape lines mark the locations of the 2x4 obstacles. The rules allow students to run with or without the 2x4s. Marking the tape makes this process easier. In the above pictures I use different color tape to mark the 2x4 locations. This requires extra time and is not required.
- Students will see the setup process and its near impossible to hide all the details. I do not put the Start and Target Points on the track until just before the start. The 2x4s do not need to be on the track until a team moves to the track.
NOTE: The rules say
approximately for several key dimensions in section 5. It is near impossible to create a perfect track. While I do not like the word "approximately", this protects the ES from students complaining if the track is not perfect.
4) No. I very rarely clean a track area unless the area is extremely dirty. The rule 6.j puts the responsibility to clean the track on the students. All my students bring a swifter to clean the track.
5 & 6) This depends a little on how the ES wants to run the event. Meaning does the ES let the teams go to the track at first or open the program first. To keep the experience the same for all teams, I make the students open their impounded program first. When they actually open the file, then I start their 10 min setup time. Until the setup time is started, they cannot walk to the track to view the setup. I use cheap classroom timers (
https://a.co/d/0hoFsGk) with an alarm to track their 10 mins. I bring in several teams to start their setup time. Each one gets one of these timers. You can loose a lot of time if you bring teams in one at a time. This allows teams to open their IDE and call over the ES when ready to open their impounded program.
7) I have seen a lot of students to have their laptops ready before walking into the event area. There is nothing in the rules to prevent this. On your last point, Arduino IDE can be difficult at times. I generally ask the students to start a new blank program if they have the laptop already open before walking in. This is a difficult area due to the goal of not impounding laptops.
Other notes:
- Due to the setup time, you can typically get 4 teams per hour per track. You may need 1 to 3 tracks depending on the tournament size.
- I have tried sharing 2x4s between multiple tracks. It was not a good idea as it caused delays moving 2x4 between tracks.
