Hey! I’m just starting my engineering notebook for the new season and had a few questions about what judges actually look for. Do they care about seeing a recap of what our team did last year? Also, for the layout, do they like a lot of color and “personality,” or should I keep it super plain and simple? Finally, is it better to load up on real photos of the robot, or do they prefer seeing CAD models? Just trying to figure out what’ll actually help us stand out!
Every judge will vary slightly, and at the end of the day, whatever is most helpful to your team is the “correct” answer.
https://kb.roboticseducation.org/hc/en-us/articles/4788499711127-Guide-to-Judging-Introduction-and-Terms however, the guide to judging is a good place to start for specific questions
Disclaimer: I do not have any experience as a judge for any robotics competition, so be aware that my answer is from what I’ve heard and read, rather than from personal experience.
If I were to judge a VEX notebook, one of the main things I’d be checking for is the documentation of the Engineering Design Process (documentation of how the robot was built, brainstormed, iterated, etc.). Another is cleanliness, legibility, and general organization, as the notebook should not confuse a judge about how the robot was made. Lastly, and this is really part of the previous two, is how thorough and thoughtful the notebook is. For example, a notebook with just 3D model then immediately a build would not score as well as a notebook with brainstorm sketches, 3D models, decision matrices or other visualizations of decision-making, along with a good, but not overwhelming, explanation or annotation of each part.
To address your questions directly. Usually stuff from last year is not relevant, but ongoing mentoring might be something to include. Your goals for season could be based on last season, but focus on this season. Color with purpose is good. I would add both CAD models (for the planning) and real photos (for testing, execution, etc.) Otherwise look at the links above.
Honestly, it’s my first year notebooking, too! Just adding on to what other people said, but I wouldn’t over-style the notebook with extreme and vivid colors, but keep it minimal and organized. What I mean is that it shouldn’t seem like the majority of the time was spent on designing the notebook, rather than simply working on it. Additionally, for the organization portion, this doesn’t need too much attention, but if you want, you can color code or something like that.
Another thing - I think you should incorporate a fair amount of CAD models and real photos of the construction. My instructor generally says that if someone reads your notebook, they should be able to construct the same exact robot, but I think otherwise. Instead of this, they should be able to clearly understand how you and your team made the robot, meaning the judges need to accurately interpret it. In order to do this, you should probably include frequent captions, along with annotations with your images of the code or construction of the robot.