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Originally Posted by toastergod
Our team is looking to use an ODroid on our robot in order to do on board image processing. We are unsure whether the ODroid would count as COTS if we put a purchased unmodified case around it, and put a purchased unmodified battery inside that as well. We are thinking that this should be fine, as nearly no embedded boards we could buy come with a built in battery.
We want to use a battery so that we can avoid any potential brownouts mid-match that would cause us to lose vision processing.
So, we want to buy a case, battery, and expansion board for our ODroid, is this COTS and legal?
Or, do we have to get a non-customizable board with everything included as one item?
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No the additional battery was not part of that COTS design.
See:
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Many rules in this section reference Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) items. A COTS item must be a
standard (i.e. not custom order) part commonly available from a VENDOR for all Teams for purchase. To be
a COTS item, the COMPONENT or MECHANISM must be in an unaltered, unmodified state. Items that are
no longer commercially available but are functionally equivalent to the original condition as delivered from the
VENDOR are considered COTS and may be used.
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See:
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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.
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ODroid nor their various distributors does not sell the battery so:
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R11 No individual, non-KOP item shall have a value that exceeds $400 USD. The total cost of
COMPONENTS purchased in bulk may exceed $400 USD as long as the cost of an individual
COMPONENT does not exceed $400 USD.
If a COTS item is part of a modular system that can be assembled in several possible
configurations, then each individual module must fit within the price constraints defined in R11.
If the modules are designed to assemble into a single configuration, and the assembly is functional
in only that configuration, then the total cost of the complete assembly including all modules must
fit within the price constraints defined in R11.
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I doubt any ODroid case and PCB would cost over $400 so...
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Additionally, batteries integral to and part of a COTS computing device or self-contained camera
are also permitted (e.g. laptop batteries, GoPro style camera, etc.), provided they’re only used to
power the COTS computing device and any peripheral COTS USB input devices connected to the
COTS computing device and they are securely fastened to the ROBOT.
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You'd probably have a heck of a hard time fitting battery in an ODroid XU4 stock case anyway.
You might fit it in the CloudShell but it still won't be legal.
Plus you'd likely need to put some regulation on there to make matters worse at very least to charge it.
We have used these rules to put a fully battery operated Gateway netbook on our robot in the past.
Key being it came with that battery we didn't fabricate anything.
You could probably (as in I am not positive) slip a cell phone on your robot if you turn off the wireless under these rules.