Scouting Apps and QR-Based Systems (QRScout)

Why teams move to apps

Apps fix paper’s two weak spots: collection becomes tapping buttons instead of writing, and transfer can be automated instead of retyped. The tradeoff is complexity and the risk of technical failure, which is why even app-based teams keep paper backups.

There are two broad approaches to getting data off the device:

• Networked apps sync over wifi or a server. They are convenient but FRC venues often have unreliable or prohibited wifi, and the field network is reserved for robots.
• Offline / QR-based apps avoid networking entirely by encoding each match’s data as a QR code that a central device scans. This sidesteps venue connectivity problems completely.

QRScout

QRScout is a popular open-source, QR-code-based scouting system created by FRC Team 2713 (Red Hawk Robotics, Melrose, MA). It runs in a web browser, including offline, at https://frc2713.github.io/QRScout/. The workflow:

1. A scout fills out a match form in the app (configured for the current game).
2. QRScout encodes everything they entered into a QR code , with fields separated by tabs by default.
3. A central laptop with a webcam or a phone scans the QR code, and the tab-separated values drop straight into a spreadsheet like Google Sheets or Excel.

Because the form is defined by a config.json file, teams customize QRScout for each season’s metrics, and many teams maintain their own forks for their specific needs. The big win is fast, error-free transfer with no network : scanning a QR is faster and more accurate than retyping a paper sheet, and it works in any venue.

Another widely used open option is ScoutingPASS (by PWNAGE Robotics, FRC 2451), which follows a similar QR-based, configurable approach.

Choosing an approach

• Rookie / small team: paper, or QRScout with phones you already own. Low cost, low risk.
• Mid-size team: QRScout or ScoutingPASS on a fleet of cheap tablets, scanned to one laptop. Big speed gain, still offline-safe.
• Large, software-strong team: a custom app and database (e.g., the kind documented in the Citrus Circuits / Team 1678 scouting whitepapers), often with automated aggregation and TBA integration. High power, high maintenance.

Practical guidance

• Pre-load the match schedule so scouts pick a match/team from a list rather than typing numbers (a major error source).
• Charge everything the night before and bring battery packs and chargers.
• Always carry paper backups. If a tablet dies mid-match, a scout grabs a sheet and keeps going.
• Test your full pipeline before the event, including scanning QR codes into your live spreadsheet, so you find problems at home, not at 8am on match day.

Key takeaways

• Apps speed up collection and transfer but add failure modes, so keep paper backups.
• QRScout (FRC 2713) encodes each match form as a scannable QR code, enabling fast, accurate, fully offline data transfer.
• Match your system to your team’s size and software capacity; pre-load the schedule and test the whole pipeline before the event.

This lesson was adapted from learnfrc.com.