11 / Git, Debugging, and Competition Readiness

Telemetry-First Debugging

Debug the smallest claim before rewriting the robot.

45 minTeamGit, Debugging, and Competition Readiness

You will

01Turn robot mysteries into observable claims.
02Print input, state, target, measured value, and output.
03Separate code bugs from configuration and wiring bugs.

Why Telemetry-First Debugging matters

This lesson is part of the team workflow layer, where code quality becomes a competition habit. The point is to make programming choices visible, reviewable, and recoverable when students are tired or under event pressure.

Starting point

Debugging starts with a claim

Before rewriting a subsystem, state what should be true: the button changed, the state changed, the target changed, the encoder moved, or the output was sent. Then print the value that proves it.

Telemetry should be readable in a hurry

At events, labels matter. Good telemetry uses clear names and avoids flooding the Driver Station with values nobody can interpret.

Build path

Practice the workflow in small loops: make a change, describe it, test it, record the result, and decide whether it is safe to keep. The lesson should produce a team artifact such as a checklist, branch, commit, tuning note, or debug log.

For this specific lesson, students should first restate the goal in robot terms, then identify the value or behavior they expect to observe, then run the smallest test that proves the idea. The lesson should feel like a guided lab: predict, run, observe, explain, and only then extend.

DebugTelemetry.java · Java

telemetry.addData("input/a", gamepad2.a);
telemetry.addData("arm/state", arm.getState());
telemetry.addData("arm/target", arm.getTargetTicks());
telemetry.addData("arm/position", lift.getCurrentPosition());
telemetry.addData("arm/output", arm.getLastOutput());
telemetry.update();

Debugging and failure modes

Workflow breaks when knowledge lives only in one student's head. If nobody knows what changed, what was tested, or what code is deployed, the robot becomes fragile. The lesson should make the next action obvious to another teammate.

Checks

Every telemetry label is specific.
The values answer a concrete debugging question.
The team removes or hides noisy event-unfriendly telemetry later.

Check your understanding

Module check

What should you debug first?

0 of 1 answered

References

FIRST FTC DocsOfficial FTC SDK and robot programming documentation.Game Manual 0Community FTC programming, control, and robot design reference.