WildStang Presents: WildRank 2022
WildStang Presents: WildRank 2022
Scouting has always been an important part of the WildStang Robotics Program, but this year our method is getting a revamp. Scouting involves students on both 111 and 112 (and all FRC teams) collecting data about competitor performance throughout competitions. Scouting data allows us to make better and more efficient choices heading into final matches by understanding the strengths of other robotics teams at the competition, and how those strengths complement our team.
WildRank, our new scouting app, is bringing our team into the 21st century for scouting. WildRank is available as an web app, compatible with iPads, so all of the students on the team have easy access via their school issued iPads. This allows for WildRank to be cross-platform, making it both touch-screen-friendly and mouse-friendly. WildRank was finalized this year, but our software and strategy teams have been working on this application for over two years. Many hours were spent getting WildRank up and running, as well as testing the app, removing bugs, and making sure the app can work offline. Offline access is critical, as hotspots are not allowed during competitions due to interference with robot comms on the field. WildRank was designed to transfer data with little to no data connection. WildStang Robotics Program is proud to announce that WildRank will be used beginning March 16th, 2022 at the Central Illinois Regional. Also check out WildRank at wildrank.wildstang.dev, and github.com/wildstang/wildrank (more information on the application itself). For more specific information regarding WildRank, please see below.
From Liam Fruzyna, Software and Strategy Mentor:
On behalf of the WildStang Robotics Program, I would like to introduce our brand new scouting app WildRank! Sound familiar? As a student, I co-developed the first two WildRank scouting apps for Android 17. In the 3 seasons since I’ve rejoined the team as a mentor, I have been working on a new platform compatible for use on our students’ district-provided iPads.
Philosophy
Single Cross-Platform App
Since each student has an iPad the goal was for first-class support there. But since I don’t know Swift and some would prefer to use another platform the primary goal was to be cross-platform. The most obvious solution was to develop WildRank as a web app.
Offline
Many existing scouting apps use the web, but since we are using school-distributed iPads, most users will not have a cellular connection. The second goal was to limit the required data connection to as little as humanly possible. WildRank is an offline PWA developed built with client-side HTML/CSS/JS. For data transfer, it supports zip archive exports or network-based transfer. Many other forms of data transfer were investigated, such as QR codes and audio, but none were effective enough for our needs.
Touch Friendly
Again, each student has an iPad; most users are going to poke the screen with their fingers. I wanted the interface to be as touch-friendly as possible. A series of modified HTML elements were designed to be compatible with both mouse and touch.
Zero-Code Configuration
The goal with WildRank Android was to limit the need to write code to implement a new game every year. For an experienced programmer, the work was trivial, but for others, it was still code. This time I wanted a true zero-code experience. The core configuration of WildRank is done using two JSON files. While very simple, JSON still has a learning curve and will feel like code to some. Therefore, interfaces were also developed to build and edit these files via the application.
Deployment
WildRank will see its first live matches when WildStang attends the Central Illinois Regional week 3. The combined WildStang and Plus One scouting team will also be using WildRank at the Midwest Regional during week 6. If you see us there feel free to stop by and check it out. You can run your own instance either via the included docker-compose file or python web server 4.