Overview

Every year, seniors graduate and take what they know with them. Underclassmen end up re-learning things the team already figured out two or three seasons ago. This is the "tribal knowledge" problem, and it's one of the biggest reasons FRC teams plateau or regress.

This GitBook is our solution. It's a single place where team knowledge gets written down, maintained, and passed forward so that it doesn't disappear when people leave. If something is useful to a member of 4123, it should eventually end up in here.

This is a living document. It's expected to grow every season as we learn new things and find better ways to do things. If you notice something missing or wrong, flag it.

What this is (and what it isn't)

This is a practical reference for building competitive FRC robots. It's opinionated on purpose because vague advice isn't useful when you're trying to build a robot in six weeks. When there's a best practice, we say what it is and why. When there's a tradeoff, we give you the context to make the decision yourself.

This is not a replacement for hands-on experience. Reading about how to rivet doesn't teach you how to rivet. The GitBook gives you the knowledge, shop time gives you the skill.

It's also not a game-specific strategy guide. Games change every year, but the fundamentals of how to design and build a robot carry over. That's what lives here.

If something in here is wrong or outdated, say something. Tell a lead or a mentor. Wrong information is worse than no information.