[Alan Anderson]

We "finish" working on the robot 45 days after kickoff. Why would one stop improving a robot before the clock and calendar force it to be sealed at the Stop Build deadline?

We usually have a working robot that can pass inspection and play the game sometime in build week 5. We often have a driveable practice chassis in week 2 or 3, with various mechanisms being finished and tweaked and integrated constantly. The competition 'bot is typically a week or two behind the practice one.

Of course, we aren't really finished working on it until a little before Halloween (CAGE is in mid-October).