Re: Al's Annual Inspection Thread
 

I have a request. Can the inspectors urge teams to make their robot radios visible. It is a lot easier to diagnose connection problems on the field if the lights on the radio are visible. It can make the difference in maintaining match timing.

Mark

Re: Al's Annual Inspection Thread
 

Having volunteered both as an LRI and an FTA, I can really appreciate Mark's concern above. Field volunteers will be doing their best to maintain a quick (~6 minute) match pace, and every second spent diagnosing non-communicative robots will cut into that goal.
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The excerpt below is from Championship Information A-Z (p. 11)(emphasis mine)

How will a team get a valid inspection sticker on their robot? If the only way to get the "valid" sticker is by passing full robot inspection, then it appears that teams must complete robot inspection before they can participate in practice matches. Or, will robot inspectors be putting "valid" inspection stickers on robots that have been partially inspected, and are deemed safe enough for practice matches?

Re: Al's Annual Inspection Thread
 

From the Robot Inspection Checklist on the FIRST website:


Emphasis mine

So if the teams run through their own inspection, and inspectors follow the checklist, we should be good.

Re: Al's Annual Inspection Thread
 

I think the Filler Line is copied and pasted from regional events, but the Championship rules were changed to require full inspection before even practice matches.

Re: Al's Annual Inspection Thread
 

Please note that the A-Z guide is not the game manual... can anyone point to some place in the game manual that states you have to be inspected before playing practice rounds at Championships?

For the Regionals, it seems that this is governed by <T03>:
You can play practice matches without being fully inspected because you don't receive qualification, ranking, or Coopertition points for those matches. Likewise, you can't play qualification matches without being inspected for the same reason - you earn those points in qualification matches.

Section 5.6 clearly states:
(emphasis mine)

Wouldn't that apply to inspections and practice/qualification round eligibility?

I know some Regionals have had confusion over whether or not teams could play practice rounds without being fully inspected (in fact, I've heard it announced by the pit admin myslef)... If at all possible, we should try to avoid that same confusion and make sure it's perfectly clear whether or not we need to be inspected before taking the field for next Thursday's practice matches.

Re: Al's Annual Inspection Thread
 

I'm thinking the statement that each division plays 'exactly' like a regional only applies to the portions that are relevant to the competition. The practice matches are not part of the formal regional competition. With the number of teams requiring inspection, there really does need to be an emphasis on getting inspections done as soon as possible so that all bots and mini-bots can be inspected before qualifications begin. Obviously there are many aspects of regionals and CMP divisions that are different, outside of the formal competition aspects, practice matches would be one of those. Other examples would be queuing logistics, whether mascots are allowed near the field, time allowed for sensor calibration, etc.

Re: Al's Annual Inspection Thread
 

Although there are several rules relating inspections, this one from "At the Events" is the one I believe takes precedence in practice matches...

Teams may practice on the first day of the event without completing the inspection process; however, if field personnel deem a robot unsafe, it will not be allowed to practice until the unsafe condition is fixed;

Field personnel will be able to contact inspection areas in each division, inspectors will walk the pit when not otherwise occupied and LRIs will make spot checks both in the pit and on the field during the weekend. Do not be afraid if you see a black vest checking over your robot. We like to see new ideas as much as the next mentor. However, often we are reassuring a ref that something on your robot is in fact in compliance. We do that all the time.

Also, one of us may tell you to take care of a drooping bumper skirt or loose bumper hardware or that we noticed something else. We want you to play as long as you can and that is why we are watching. You don't want to be DQ'd for something that we can have you fix before it becomes an issue.

Re: Al's Annual Inspection Thread
 

For reference, the passage that Al quoted above is from the Manual, section 4.9.4 Inspection.

Section 4 of the Manual is a summary of what to expect At the Events:One of my personal favorites in Section 4 is this:(emphasis mine)

Re: Al's Annual Inspection Thread
 

Thanks, Rich. That last quote reminded me that LRIs from regional events can be wearing their black vests and hopefully all inspectors will have an identifying hat as you remember from regionals. I will be wearing mine if I remember them.

Re: Al's Annual Inspection Thread
 

I have also been asked to remind teams that are shipping from Bag and Tag events (Bag in Crate for Champs) that B&T rules still apply. Teams have been told they will not be able to unbag their robots until an inspector has approved their Robot Lock-Up Form. Getting these teams signed off will be inspectors top priority at pit open on Wednesday. Teams cannot work on their robot until the paperwork is complete and an inspector has given the authorization to open the bag. A B&T list will be in the LRIs hands soon for use next week.

Re: Al's Annual Inspection Thread
 

Thanks for this note AL. It is good to know that inspectors will have this as a priority. As a B&T team with important work to do on our robot, we will be very anxious to get a visit from an inspector as soon as possible.

Re: Al's Annual Inspection Thread
 

Al,

At last year's Championships, I was doing spot inspections on the field to make sure all cables were attached, driver stations were booted, etc. to keep things running on the field. I found one team using a spare battery plugged into their robot in order to charge their pneumatics without pulling power from their competition battery which was already installed on the robot. I objected to this on the grounds that it violates the spirit of the rule which says all power must come from ONE battery. Other inspectors disagreed, saying it was a good practice to extend the on-board battery.

How would you call this one?

Dr. Bob

Re: Al's Annual Inspection Thread
 

<R35> Items specifically prohibited from use on the ROBOT include:

A. any battery other than, or in addition to, the one primary battery permitted by Rule <R34> the MINIBOT battery, or a battery contained in a COTS computing device

I'm not sure if this rule would apply to a team using an external battery to maintain their pneumatics.

Re: Al's Annual Inspection Thread
 

We talked about this before in this thread. I had the same thoughts you did. I don't think we resolved the issue and Q&A never got back to me.

Re: Al's Annual Inspection Thread
 

Bob,
There is no rule that prevents a team from charging pneumatics off the field at this time. I oppose it as an unsafe practice knowing that many teams deploy software while in queue. The chance for a unexpected pneumatic operation while in queue can be disastrous for one of our participants. I know that some venues have imposed some restrictions but there is no universal rule covering this. I would prefer to go with Wayne's quoted rule above and it is the basis for the rules governing 'off board' compressors.
That being said, I believe the use of a second battery pushes the intent of the one battery rule. If the battery is used without Crio control of pneumatics then that is a violation of several rules and an unsafe practice.