From FRC Game Manual Glossary
COTS: a “Commercial, Off-The-Shelf” COMPONENT or MECHANISM, in its unaltered, unmodified state. A COTS item must be a standard (i.e. not custom order) part commonly available from the VENDOR, available from a non-Team source, and available to all Teams for purchase.
Code:
Example 1: A Team orders two (2) ROBOT grippers from RoboHands Corp. and
receives both items. They put one in their storeroom and plan to use it later.
Into the other, they drill “lightening holes” to reduce weight. The first
gripper is still classified as a COTS item, but the second gripper is now a
FABRICATED ITEM, as it has been modified.
Example 2: A Team obtains openly available blueprints of a drive component
commonly available from Wheels-R-Us Inc. and has local machine shop “We-Make-It,
Inc.” manufacture a copy of the part for them. The produced part is NOT a COTS
item, because it is not commonly carried as part of the standard stock of
We-Make-It, Inc.
Example 3: A Team obtains openly available design drawings from a professional
publication during the pre-season, and uses them to fabricate a gearbox for
their ROBOT during the build period following Kickoff. The design drawings would
be considered a COTS item, and may be used as “raw material” to fabricate the
gearbox. The finished gearbox itself would be a FABRICATED ITEM, and not
a COTS item.
Generally available software modules obtained from open sources (e.g.
professional publications, commonly used FRC community-accessible web resources,
industry source code repositories, etc.) that are not specifically affiliated
with individual FRC Teams are considered COTS items.