[Peter Matteson]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Currently, elite teams have been able to nearly complete redo large amounts of their robot.

Within the current rules, they are the only teams really capable of doing so however.

I disagree. I think ANY team can do this. My team has proven this many times that if you design with as many COTS, super Vex, and standard stock as possible you can build/rebuild a robot cheaply at an event. In 2009 We replaced our entire frame because of a bad design forced by part availability.

We have believed for several years since that happened that if you go to 2 events you can completely convert your robot within witholding. This is why we joke about a Thursday robot build off to show how stupid the rules are. If you plan a modular design well anyone can do this.



Slightly of topic:

Originally Posted by Mark Sheridan

I thought the Spirit and Opportunity robots had exact copies on earth for NASA to test with (one could call it practice) before having Spirit and Opportunity try it for real. Someone correct me if I am wrong. With aerospace, one cannot afford to make mistakes. You have to test before to be sure (often many times before).

As an engineer at an aircraft engine company I can attest to how true this is. For commercial aircraft engines we build and test engines on the ground first. Then we put them on a flying test bed, by replacing an engine on a 747SP. We have to do all kinds of ingestion tests and structural tests to certify parts before we can even fly a plane powered solely by these new engines.

Even when I worked at a commercial industrial division of the company building power plants all upgrades and software was exhaustively bench tested then implimented on a company owned test unit before the customers ever saw anything. This is the way the real engineering world does business. You never risk hurting a customer asset or your reputation by trying unproven systems in the field.