Quote:
Originally Posted by techhelpbb
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Maybe some years it will be, maybe not, at least as long as the game each year remains secret it will block perfect matches from multi-year COTS builds.
Oh wait the market has recently floated letting the supply side know the game early - how early? Like a year or so ahead?
Surely the suppliers wouldn't build perfect COTS parts for 1 year once they know the game early.
I mean it's not like a very particular drive train element (ahem treads) would just appear at the start of a game that fits it perfectly!
No that would never happen. 
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Two things.
First, some folks at AndyMark definitely have some information about the game before the kickoff. This should be news to exactly zero people who think about what it takes to have AM ready to ship game pieces to us FIRSTers the Monday after a Saturday kickoff.
Second, I think you are suggesting a level of information leak / collusion that is just not justified by the facts. I am quite sure that that tank track product has been in development at AM for years and that this is finally the year that they figured out how to make something that they could stand behind as a product. Andy and Mark have been designing FIRST robots with tank tracks for years, before many of you reading this post were even born. It shouldn't be a surprise that they've been looking for a way to make an AM tank track product.
What is more, I was in NH at the kick off and ran into Andy in the gym on game field. Practically the first think I noticed was that he was worriedly looking at the field and scratching his head, genuinely concerned because he knew that there was no way AndyMark was going to be able to meet the demand for those AM 8" pneumatic wheels yet alone AM's newly announced tank track thingy (Both predictions have been borne out by subsequent events, FWIW). But back to Andy, I am telling you, he's not that good of an actor; I don't think he'd seen that field any sooner than I had.
Bottom line... ...I'm asking you to be careful before you go casting aspersions on some good folk, least of all Andy whom I consider something close to a brother.
Dr. Joe J.