[eedoga]

Ok, so My team was all sorts of in a panic over this one and then we really read and parsed the rules. The withholding allowance is tricky, especially if you are trying to "ride" the line. Now I feel like we didn't withhold enough.

Rule R32 says we can bring an unlimited amount of COTS items. So, basically anything in the kit of parts that is unaltered counts as a COTS item and falls under this rule, as does anything that is commercially available to all teams.

Rule R33 says 30 pounds of custom fabricated items. So we could have withheld the arm of our robot weighing 24 pounds and probably gotten away with our electronics as well. Of the 24 pounds that make up the arm, a bit of that is the 2 motors which are both COTS items and therefore don't count, as well as the linear sliders, pneumatic valves, nuts and bolts, and so on. Really with the exception of some wire, hose and the aluminum frame of the arm, not much counts against withholding.

Further this rule is incredibly difficult to enforce. Sure you could weigh the robot in its bag and subtract the weight of the bag. In our case the robot weighs just over 91 pounds out of the bag. Then you would have to weigh the custom fabricated parts we plan to put back on our robot at the event. You couldn't count any COTS items. so really that would be some wire, chain, and our bumpers. (If you really wanted to get technical you would have to not count the 8 bolts and woodnuts on the bumpers.) Can't imagine that adds up to 30 pounds given that the heaviest items withheld are all COTS items.

So lets say it does and our bumpers put us over the limit. We then have a few choices. We could bring unaltered bumper materials (COTS) and make new bumpers on site at a cost of $135 or so which is really more of a hassle than anything else, or we could set our maximum weight lower by the weight of the bumpers and lose some aspect of the robot (probably the arm or babybot deployment system) or, rebuild some part of the robot weighing the same as the bumpers from COTS parts at the venue. (Again more of a hassle and waste of money rather than anything else.) I suggest teams in this predicament just spent the money at Andy Mark and make bumpers on site...

Further what is the advantage of keeping your bumpers separate from your robot? As I see it, $135 or so dollars and 2 hours of time for a couple kids on your team. I guess that could make the difference in how many practice rounds you get...

I guess my point is this, My team is constantly striving to be as gracious and professional as we can. We work hard to give to other teams. We work hard to play fair, and we expect that other teams are doing the same. While we don't make the rules, any team that accidentally broke this rule by withholding their bumpers did not due so with the intention of getting some advantage over other teams.

Then again, if it wasn't for this thread I never would have thought about it.

Edoga