← Back to ROOTS CoachCONTROL STORIES / PROBLEM FIRST
A solution starts with the real problem

Teach a robot to correct itself.

Strong solutions begin before the code. Identify the true problem, reduce it to facts, then teach the robot how to notice and correct a miss.

See the learning path
Solvers principleBefore you tune a number, identify the problem that number is supposed to solve.
ENGINEERING IN THE WILDIDENTIFY / REDUCE / CORRECT
A good correction begins with a true problem statement.

Line followers, camera gimbals, factory arms, and cruise control all begin with the same discipline: name the real problem before choosing a solution.

Start with the truth

Identify the problem

A visible failure is often only a symptom. Begin by asking what the robot is actually unable to know or change.

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

Accuracy is the first mission.

For an FLL team, the number one problem is not whether the robot looks smooth. It is whether the robot reaches the target accurately and repeats that result often enough to earn a high success rate.

A
B / TARGET
RUN 01RUN 02RUN 03RUN 04Close is not accurate. Different is not repeatable.
LOOK DEEPER
01Observed resultIt finished near the target
02RepeatabilityDid it finish there again?
03Success rateCan the team trust the run?
NAME THE PROBLEM

What must every FLL run satisfy?

Choose the statement you would take into an engineering discussion. A good problem statement makes a better test possible.

TAKE THE IDEA OUTSIDE

The algorithm is small. The thinking travels.

When a robot moves, ask the same three questions: what is wrong now, what has kept happening, and what is changing quickly?

01A line robot follows a route without a human hand.
02A camera gimbal keeps a view steady while the platform moves.
03A factory arm reaches a position without wobbling around it.