The Cat5 Scout app is a flexible, simple-to-use, and powerful mobile app that helps you gather, compile, measure, and act upon data collected by the students in your First Robotics Competition team.
The app was started in preparation for the 2016 FRC Competition, but is built with flexibility in mind so that the same application can be used year after year by simply updating the data model (the questions you seek to answer during competition).
The app developers know that that there is frequently limited access to WiFi and cellular networks at FRC competition events. The app, as it is currently written, exports its data to text files. The tablets connect to a master computer via USB cable to transfer those files, which are then copied into a spreadsheet for evaluation.
Future enhancements to the app will include the capability to push data to the master computer using Bluetooth, cellular Internet, or, for the venues that allow it, via WiFi.
The app takes into consideration that not all FRC teams have large budgets. It is built specifically to work with one laptop and one or more mobile devices to collect and collate data. The FRC team may choose to leverage students' mobile devices, but especially if you have a random collection of devices it is strongly recommended that you test the devices thoroughly before an event.
The app works best as an installed mobile app on devices such as small tablets, but can be run from cell phones in a pinch.
Our recommendation is that you have at least six students gathering data and one student or mentor working with the full data set. A laptop is recommended for analyzing compiled data, due to its larger screen size and attached keyboard.
Your scouting team does not all need to be using the same hardware. You can have some students on cell phones and some on tablets; the app should work just as well as if everyone was on the same type of device.
This open source project is open to input from the entire FRC ecosystem. If you're a programmer, feel free to submit pull requests with new features or bug fixes. If you're a user, please submit bug reports and also let us know how the app works on your various devices. If you have ideas for new features, send them in so we can assess them for feasability and scheduling.
If you find the app helpful, spread the word to other teams via social media, Chief Delphi, and word-of-mouth at competitions and other events. The web site for the app is http://www.cat5scouting.mobi.
Check the web site often, as documentation, video tutorials, and similar materials are planned to help students and other more-novice programmers to start contributing to the project. Also, if your team is using the app, let us know, and we'll add your team to the list on the web site.
This application is built using the AngularJS and Ionic frameworks, and Cordova libraries, including the Cordova SQLite plugin.
This app was started by members of Team 3489, Category 5.
You can use the social features of GitHub to submit suggestions and bug reports, or you can contact the development team at this form.