[philso]

Originally Posted by EricH

Actually... They do just meet the specifications. However, they set their robot specifications higher than FIRST does.

In the real world, I need to meet or beat specs. But, at the same time, I might be the one setting some of the specs based on what the customer wants. If the customer says, "I want up to three robots on this place" and that place is big enough for three and not four (and barely big enough for three at that), then if I design for 4, 5, or 6 robots, I may be able to meet the customer's specification--but it's not a good solution, because it's outside the customer's needs/wants, and the time I spend engineering that solution can be better spent for other things, like putting as many basketballs as possible into a hoop 10' high, which the customer also wants.

You are totally correct if the objective is to "deliver a product". People are not discussing this because balancing more than three robots on a bridge gives an advantage in this year's game. They are discussing this to explore what is possible.