[E. Wood]

You will have to wait until this year rules are released but in previous seasons the answer has been no other power source besides the battery and energy stored by deformation of parts (like springs) or by changing the position of the robot.

2012 Rule Below:

The only legal source of electrical energy for the Robot during the competition is one MK ES17-12 12VDC non-spillable lead acid battery, or one EnerSys NP 18-12 battery, as provided in the 2012 KOP. This is the only battery allowed on the Robot.


Batteries integral to and part of a COTS computing device are also permitted (i.e. laptop batteries), provided they’re only used to power the COTS computing device and any peripheral COTS USB input devices connected to the COTS computing device.


Non-electrical sources of energy used by FRC Robots, (i.e., stored at the start of a Match), shall come only from the following sources:

A. Compressed air stored in the pneumatic system, stored at a maximum pressure of 120 PSI.

B. A change in the altitude of the Robot center of gravity.

C. Storage achieved by deformation of Robot parts.