Lead Robot Inspector Champs Inspection List
 

I want to remind everyone that Inspections will begin during the Wednesday open pit from 6-9 PM. We will have about thirty inspectors available to open Bag and Tag teams and start inspections. Sixty will be available on Thursday morning.
With the vastly reduced inspection time of this year's event, we can only inspect all robots with your help. So we are asking this...
1. Please come and get your your robot inspected as it comes out of the crate or soon after. If you plan to make changes, please do so after your first inspection. It will be easier for us to reinspect your changes.
2. Make sure you have your BOM printed out or on a computer that the inspector can reference during the inspection process.
3. Do not wait until 12:30 PM Thursday to come and get inspected. We will do everything we can to get you ready for your first match. We are not miracle workers.
4. Teams that are not inspected because they are not ready, are subject to Team Update 16. "9.3.6 Seeding Point Exceptions
A TEAM that does not field a ROBOT because it has not passed inspection will receive zero seeding points and zero coopertition bonus."
5. Teams must be reinspected any/every time they make changes to their robot, anytime during the weekend.
6. Random reinspections will take place on Thursday and Friday so that we can be sure every robot is compliant for Saturday. We want to be sure nothing is missed that would affect your ability to play on Saturday afternoon.
7. Remember that you have the right to question a Robot Inspector decision. Please check with the Lead Robot Inspector on your division.
8. Things that have troubled teams this season are: Bumpers (height and construction), bumper covers that fall outside the bumper zone or are not tight, bumpers that are held on with velcro, tywraps or other non-suitable fastening system. Batteries must be held firmly in the robot at all time, buy a woven belt (camping stores) and secure it to robot frame. Frame Perimeter will be checked, use 1/4" plywood if you need to, but nothing outside of the bumper zone may project beyond the frame perimeter unless it is a moving robot part that is subject to the two second rule. Make sure you have only the maximum number and type of motors allowed in the robot rules. No Globe motors and no van door motors are allowed this year.

I ask other Lead Robot Inspectors to add to this list.

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Al,

I had a quick question and I thought that this thread would be an appropriate place to ask it and I’m sure we won’t be the only team in this boat. We booked travel decently in advance for our team to attend the championship event (before the updates about working on your robot came out) and because of this we will have no students for the 6 pm-9pm period on Wednesday night. However several of the mentors were able to switch our flights to be available for this period of time.

In the interest of lightening the backlog for Thursday morning, in your opinion how much inspection is appropriate to get done Wednesday night? We usually have the students walk the inspectors through the robot, however it would be great to wake up Thursday morning and be already inspected, and be able to use the filler line.

Thoughts?

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We will be in the same boat - ultimately it is more valuable to the team that the robot is inspected ASAP than for our students to go through inspection themselves (they have already done it twice). Although, at the very least, a student "captain" must sign off on inspection before it is complete.

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You guys want to borrow some 148 students again? We'll dress them up in Maroon and no one will know the difference... ;)

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We usually walk through inspections with students to get them involved and experienced with talking with (nasty) adults. Two signatures are required but I will ask the question and get back to you.
John, we are not umpires, we can still see.

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Well John,

I do hear that Maroon is the new Black :-p.


Al, thanks for checking on this.

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First of all, a big thanks to Al Skierkiewicz for all his time and hard work to turn a difficult situation into a managed situation. You didn't hear it from me, but this is why Al's paycheck is on the order of 20X more than the rest of us inspector types. :D


This is going to work just fine but It will take effort from all involved. Please come to this event with a spirit of cooperation with the inspection process. The thing I want to highlight is that our intention as inspectors is to get you onto the playing field ASAP. We're going to be looking for the gross violations first. Illegal components, bad wire sizes, too big, too heavy, sharp stuff, chemical weapons, etc, will prevent us from allowing you to proceed with this goal. Having said this, please don't be surprised if we come back after you get "stickered" and ask you to correct more minor issues. DON'T PANIC, we're not shutting you down but you are expected to follow the rules at all times. As Al said, if you get called on something and you disagree with, ask for the Lead Inspector's opinion. That's what we're there for and it could be that you’re right (which would save you time and effort). On the other hand, if the inspector is right, agree to the task without a lot of discussion and argument and let that inspector (and your pit crew) move on.

This is going to be an exercise in time management from both points of view. Please do your part to make this a success.

See you all in a week ......... (wow) :cool:

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I am excited to join Al, Ed, and all of the other hard working inspectors in Atlanta this year. Usually, I get selfish in Atlanta and focus on AndyMark business and mentoring team 45, but this year I will also be helping out the inspection process on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. This will definitely be a fun time.

Al's idea if inspecting right away, then making robot changes, and then getting the changes re-inspected is fabulous. If many teams heed his advice, this will go smoothly.

Sincerely,
Andy B.

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Based on some of the reports I have been receiving, I want to remind everyone that there are certain robot components that cannot be modified.

Thou shalt not modify, motors (except mounting holes, wires and output shafts), electrical components (controllers, spikes, Crio, Classmate, wireless, servos and specified other parts) and pneumatic parts (except to remove a mounting pin if provided). Do not remove the cases from electrical parts, in order to fit them in some where including the Jaguars and the wireless access point. There is no custom made pneumatic components and the size of the actuators is still limited to maximum of 24" stroke by 2" bore.

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Just because some one has to be "that guy" I'm going to ask. What if you don't get inspected in time for a match because of understaffing/compressed time table?

I can just picture my team asking for an inspection at say 10am on Thursday, a reasonable lead time of 3 hours before matches start, and there being such a backlog at that point we don't see an inspector until 1pm. I think this is a real and valid concern for those of us who do to travel will not have students available on Wednesday night. I just want to make sure the concern is heard and discussed ahead of time.

Pete

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Pete,
We will do all we can to get you inspected. By 10:30 or 11 AM we will start prioritizing by match schedule. Those in the first matches will have the highest priority to get inspected. If I or one of the other leads shows up in your pit with our "mad mom face", it is time to stop and get inspected.
We will be in contact with the division field head refs and passing info to them. If we are overwhelmed it is not your fault. I do not expect a problem with 30 inspectors in the pit on Wednesday evening and 60 on Thursday.

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A revised Inspection Checklist is now available on the First website...
http://www.usfirst.org/uploadedFiles...0Checklist.pdf

This is streamlined version of what inspectors have been using this season.

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Thanks for the answer Al. As some one who has inspected and knows how long it takes to do a thorough inspection I had some concern. I also know what we have to get done as a team to be battle ready. While we may not be first through the line we don't want to be last either. As a team that cares about doing things right we wanted to make sure we asked our questions now so there would be no surprises when we get there.

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BOM submission at CMP is being discussed in another thread. According to <R89>, a printed copy of the BOM is not acceptable. Item #2 in the above LRI Champs Inspection List specifies a printed copy (or a copy on a computer) of the BOM be available at the time of inspection.

Is the BOM hard-copy (or soft-copy open on a computer) for reference during inspection an additional requirement on the teams at Championship? If a team does not furnish a paper copy and does not have the BOM on their own computer (like their Classmate), will inspectors need to review electronic BOMs on the inspection station computer in order to pass inspection? I worry that the latter approach will create a big inspection bottleneck.

As an inspector, having the BOM in-hand during inspection is useful. I can more easily check for completeness of the BOM while the robot is under my nose (i.e. are costs for a fifth CIM included or how much did that COTS worm gearbox cost?). I think both hard-copy and electronic versions should have been required throughout the season, but that's not how <R89> was written.

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I guess I'm not grasping how they can have an electronic BOM and not be able to view it on the classmate.

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Some teams (like ours) generate their BOMs on separate computers using Excel. They just might not be aware of the Open Office CALC spreadsheet tool on the Classmate.

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some teams also don't have laptops with excel when they need to update their BOM

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If you have the driver station Classmate (which you should have with the robot for inspection), then you have Open Office, which will let you view and update the Excel file.

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I'll suggest that it really helps (and really makes things go faster) if you can refer to the rulebook and Q&A before going to talk to the LRI, and then take the rule and or Q&A reference along with you for the discussion.

This is why I download latest revision of the rulebook to a flash drive before the competition... and, this year... realized that since my cell phone reads PDF's, that I could have downloaded it to that, too.

Is there a compiled Q&A that teams can take with them? I know that it is usually available at the inspection station, but thats going to be a pretty busy place this year!

Jason

P.S. I'll add one "new" thing that some inspectors might miss... mitred or bevelled bumpers ARE legal this year. Having the rule book available helped us clear that one up quickly in Seattle.

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Al:
Can you spell out the preferred configuration for the robots coming to the inspection station based on the order of inspection? Last year we had bumpers off since they were going in the sizing booth first - is that still the plan? At our regional this year they had us install the bumpers at the inspection station after weigh in to do the checks there versus in the pits - are we doing that?

Also - anything you would like inspectors to bring to supplement the inspection kit since we will have so many additional inspectors? Tape measure, multimeter, pens, clipboards, copies of the checklist....

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There is a new inspection requirement for all robots at the dome.

You can see a video of it right here

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Hmmm...

I wonder how many robots would actually be able to survive a 1ft-2ft drop...

It'd be interesting though, because drop tests are always fun... We've dropped a couple of containers at work and they like to do some fun things. :D

(Votes to add 12" drop test to 2011 inspection process.)

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how about a 12 foot drop test ?

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Not quite. We'll be dropping robots upside down from 2 feet to verify the battery is properly secured. :D

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I say we do it the Mythbusters way. We keep dropping the robot, from increasing heights, till the battery falls out, than we rate each bot :D

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Gary,
Robots should come in with bumpers off and battery out. Bumpers get weighed separately, both sets need to come and get weighed. Then back to pits. There will be an Inspection Manager and team assigned to each division who will then take the data down and assign an inspector. Please check the First website under Section 8, there is a revised Champs inspection list to make things go a little faster. I would bring a pen and tape measure if you don't mind. Several teams are making bumper and ball intrusion templates to bring that we will use. If you plan on making changes but don't think you can get them done before your first match, come and inspect what you have on the robot. We don't want you to miss a match because you are not inspected. When in doubt, ask the LRI on your division. As of today, I will be on Curie, Ed Sparks will be on Archimedes, Jeff Pahl will be on Newton, Tristan Lall will be on Galileo.

A reminder to all teams: The Champs are the "Big Show" and we expect all robots to meet or exceed all robot rules. Due to the reduced inspection schedule, we will do random checks during the weekend. As always, following any modifications to the robot, you must be reinspected.
If you are or expect to be playing Saturday afternoon, final inspection can take place after your last qualifying match on Saturday morning. Take the battery out and leave your bumpers on. We will have calculated your final weight with bumpers. Any difference will trigger further inspection.

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Please check the linked thread and also check the revised Inspection Checklist for Champs on the First website. Inspectors will need to see a BOM to reference costs to items on your robot. You will not be submitting one electronically or on paper. It is for reference during inspections only.

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Please also remember that it is the team’s responsibility to provide supporting documentation for the PSI and Cv ratings for any non-KoP pneumatic components. All pneumatic components must be rated to a minimum 125PSI (except as defined in R72.C) and solenoids can have a maximum Cv of .32. Please don’t expect the inspectors to “just know” that your non-KoP pneumatic components are legal. Have your documentation ready!

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Al,
I definitely like the get inspected, then modify approach to inspections on Wednesday night. However, I am concerned about spending most of Wednesday night waiting in line to be inspected rather than making necessary modifications. If every team follows the procedure of uncrate, and head straight to inspection, I suspect a rapid backup will occur. What are your thoughts on this?

Brando

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Brandon,
Thus far we have over thirty inspectors working the four divisions on Wednesday night. Our top priority as leads will be to get Bag and Tag teams opened. The other inspectors will begin as the teams come in for inspection. An additional thirty inspectors will join the team on Thursday morning. Teams will weigh and size both the robot and the bumpers and then go back to their pit. We will catch up to you in the pit to finish inspection as inspectors are available.

Your priority will be to get the robot uncrated and get the crate off the floor. Then inspect and work. I am guessing that some teams will choose to work for Wednesday night and inspect on Thursday morning. That is OK too. Just don't wait too long. 277 teams have indicated that they will arrive on Wednesday. To inspect all of those teams in three hours would be a miracle.