Re: cease all software development?
 

One way to think about where software development should cease is by analogy with hardware development.

If teams are thinking and talking about hardware upgrades for the robot outside of Fix-It Windows and competitions, are they violating the rules? Suppose someone sketches a new mechanism - is that OK? Is producing CAD drawings of parts out-of-bounds? Is building a prototype and testing it on the practice robot going too far? The rules allow for teams to "exchange information, ..., collect raw materials, prepare tool kits, plan how to make repairs, etc. in preparation for upcoming competitions." If the teams "must put down their tools", then building prototypes is probably outside of the rules. Is a CAD program a tool or, for that matter, how about pencil and paper? It seems that there's some room for interpretation here. Note that poorly funded teams that cannot afford to build a practice robot can compete on more a equal basis when it comes to paper design.

If you believe that compiling and testing software on a practice robot is equivalent to building and testing hardware prototypes on a practice robot, and you believe hardware prototyping is outside the rules, you have some GP guidance for software development.

Of course, all of the above is just my opinion, only FIRST can provide official interpretation...

Post-ship S/W (& H/W) development restrictions
 

FIRST has responded to a question regarding software development after robot shipment:

http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=647

This rule interpretation is very restrictive with regards to both software and hardware development outside of the competitions and FIX-IT WINDOWS.

How will this affect your work during the competition season??

(Historically, Team 980 has been able to substantially improve robot performance during previous competition seasons, all in accordance with FIRST Q&A interpretation of the rules regarding software development and upgrade parts fabrication).

Re: Post-ship S/W (& H/W) development restrictions
 

I want to clarify the above statement - in prior years, we added capability to our robot consistent with the rules and FIRST Q&A interpretation in those years. Last year, we modified our code and tested it on our practice robot. At the following competition site, we would manually enter changes to the version of code that was on the competition robot. This was entirely consistent with last year's Q&A regarding "cease software development":

Q: Does <R14>, particularly "cease all software development", preclude teams from changing code (variable values, PID gains, "broken" code, new functionality, etc.) after the Fix-It Window on our now-legal practice robot (per Q&A #1026).
A: You may do whatever on your practice robot but you must recreate your "fixes" onsite at a competition.

This year, our post-ship coding and testing will be restricted solely to FIX-IT WINDOWS and at the competitions...