[dtengineering]

It would be great if FIRST would provide some guidance on this issue so that there is a uniform standard (as much as possible) at all competitions.

I will be inspecting in Seattle and Calgary, and while the Lead Inspector is the one who gets to make the final call, I'll certainly be looking for mechanisms to ensure that fingers, hair or other unexpected objects are not likely to come into contact with the wheel. Based on my experience in previous years, I expect to be able to reach agreement with most teams on what is reasonable. No one wants an unsafe robot.

One thing that I really liked was the plan for a team to bring ABS and a strip bender... perhaps teams that have the resources will set up a "shielding shop" to help less well-resourced teams improve their robot. Even 1/16" polycarb is likely enough to keep fingers out, and it can be cut and bent relatively easily if you've got access to the material and tools.

Jason