[TDav540]

Originally Posted by GreyingJay

The problem is that I've seen stories where even though the operator consoles were attached with hook and loop tape, the force of a 120-pound robot hitting at 10 mph was still enough to send them flying. That kind of shock force is enough to damage hard drives and jostle hardware connections enough to cause BSODs. Just browse the threads here and you'll see teams that lost expensive laptops that fell down, or lost matches because their laptop was damaged after a hard shock.

Generally speaking the expectation that "it's going to happen" is warranted, for many of the reasons already stated. But look at the goals of auto this year compared to, say, last year. Last year one could certainly expect robots to bump and bang the driver station while trying to get a 3-tote auto stack. But you would not expect, except by freak accident, a robot to aim itself directly at the driver station wall and charge at it. But this year that's exactly what you're supposed to do.

If FIRST's answer going forward is "deal with it" then I would recommend at the very least adding more hook and loop tape to the operator console (not just one strip) or provide other options for mounting, like straps or bolts. They should also provide rookie teams with SSD-based netbooks.

I completely agree with this idea. Having more options to secure the driver station is always a positive.