Wildstang LEDs

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Some of you have asked about our LED lighting and the tie dye feature it has. Well Nate Troup has posted on the site where he bought the product. You can see his post here.http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2011/08/12/adafruit-rgb-strip-on-stage-with-black-eye-peas/
Don't forget to watch the special tomorrow on ABC.

[Tom Line]

Al,

I noticed at IRI that several teams (and I can't remember if you were one of them) had their lights running all the time, even when the robot was disabled.

It looked really neat, and I was considering having the kids do something similar for the competition year coming up. For the competition season, would the lights have to run through the FIRST control system so they turn off when the robot is disabled?

[apalrd]

My understanding of the current rules (2011) is that, if the lights are "non-functional decorations", they do not need to turn off when disabled (as long as they are wired through a breaker in the PDB, and such). If they are functional, then they may, depending on interpretation of the rules (How do you determine if the lights are functional?)

[P.J.]

Well, some teams used lights to show their human player what tube to throw out/feed next (503, 1503). So I would assume those would be counted as functional. So would lights that lit up when a tube was possessed (217, among others.) Although in all honesty I don't think that anyone would really call you on lights. It's a minor enough issue that does not cause any inherent danger, so I do not think that they would have to be disabled when the robot is.

My 2 cents

[apalrd]

Well, some teams used lights to show their human player what tube to throw out/feed next (503, 1503). So I would assume those would be counted as functional. So would lights that lit up when a tube was possessed (217, among others.) Although in all honesty I don't think that anyone would really call you on lights. It's a minor enough issue that does not cause any inherent danger, so I do not think that they would have to be disabled when the robot is.

My 2 cents

I wouldn't take lights that can run when disabled as breaking the intent of the rule, which to me is intended to control safety and restrict teams to only move during match time. Even if the lights did turn on to indicate requested tube, the HP can't actually pickup that tube until teleop begins (unless they want a penalty...). Same with tube indication. Just because it tells you you have a tube (which at that point is an uber), you can't do anything about it.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Well, some teams used lights to show their human player what tube to throw out/feed next (503, 1503). So I would assume those would be counted as functional. So would lights that lit up when a tube was possessed (217, among others.) Although in all honesty I don't think that anyone would really call you on lights. It's a minor enough issue that does not cause any inherent danger, so I do not think that they would have to be disabled when the robot is.

My 2 cents

No, actually the intent of the rule is quite clear. If the lights are functional in any way (both of those would be functional) they don't meet the requirements of non functional decoration.

Interestingly, I would claim that any light is a functional decoration as it aids in visibility of the robot. Wild Stang's robot was very visible with these lights on and that made it easier for the drivers to see where their robot was. However, I don't think I would call a team out on it as the added benefit is minimal at best.

[P.J.]

No, actually the intent of the rule is quite clear. If the lights are functional in any way (both of those would be functional) they don't meet the requirements of non functional decoration.

Interestingly, I would claim that any light is a functional decoration as it aids in visibility of the robot. Wild Stang's robot was very visible with these lights on and that made it easier for the drivers to see where their robot was. However, I don't think I would call a team out on it as the added benefit is minimal at best.

That's what I was saying I was just stating some situations in which lights would be considered functional to answer apalrd's question, I'm confused as to what you're disagreeing with me on. I understand the intent of the rule, I was just stating that it would be very unlikely for someone to actually get called on it.

[Andrew Schreiber]

That's what I was saying, I'm confused as to what you're disagreeing with me on. I understand the intent of the rule, I was just stating that it would be very unlikely for someone to actually get called on it.

I'm disagreeing because, as an inspector, I would call you on it. If you gain an advantage I have to call it or it is unfair to the other teams competing. If you don't gain an advantage then I would probably be ok letting it slide (after getting clarification from either the LRI or at least another inspector). Example, if the rules say you must use navy blue electrical tape but you used royal blue and white because those are your team colors. It would be stupid to force you to rewire your entire robot because you used the wrong color tape. I would give you a heads up that you should change it before your next event though.

[P.J.]

Ok, I apologize. I thought you were saying I didn't understand the rule.

As a referee, I was just thinking of ON the field time, not inspection time (referring to disablement just put me in that mindset) so I was saying no ref I have worked with would cause a big stink about your lights staying on after a disablement. However I DO agree that inspectors would probably as a general rule call you on it.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

To clear up a few things. The LEDs are only visible from one side of the robot. While they are functional during the match they are non-functional until disabled. As the string is programmable, it runs a random "Wildstang" pattern until called upon for tube ID to the human player. This was a late season addition and anyone who watched it play would have seen that the robot rarely picks up from the human player.
Now while this can be called a 'decoration' it is classed a custom circuit. As such, it must conform to those rules. It is powered through a regulation breaker with regulation wiring. The interface works through intended digital outputs through the Crio and sidecar.

[Jared Russell]

Those lights were the true headliner of the half-time show, in my opinion. :)

[RayTurner1126]

1126 was another team with the LEDs, we could use them to signal the human player, but only when using the controls when the robot was enabled, which means that would give us no advantage pre-match. we hardly ever used the signaling lights though, as we figured out us human players are capable of independent thought :yikes:

we also used it as a diagnostic strip

i loved the match when us and 111 were on the field together! the blinky lights were overwhelming!