Quote:
Originally Posted by marshall
Let's talk safety with alternative battery sources. If the concern is that something is going to catch fire then coin cell batteries and USB power supplies aren't likely to do it. I'm not saying they can't but they are common components (Sorry FRC fans but those crappy Chinese USB power supplies are a lot more common than FRC batteries) and I suspect the likelyhood of a fire is about the same as the chances of one from the standard robot battery we all know and love so can we ignore this facet of safety and move on? Not to mention that the same crappy Chinese batteries are legal provided they are "integral to" a COTS computing device.
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Coin cells aren't a concern as much as the others. If we allow even small USB li-ion packs, then what's to stop somebody from manufacturing a 60c lipo pack that can output 10 amps through the USB port? And that's not even including the inherent risk of cheapo battery packs that do catch on fir sometimes due to internal shorts. It's a lot safer just to use the existing battery which has proven to be extremely robust and safe IMO than to risk unknown, possibly dangerous components. The safest solution to avoiding sensor issues and brownout is just good power management. Unfortunately, that's definitely limiting, but safety is #1.
If FIRST partnered with Samsung or another reliable company to supply teams with a FIRST legal battery pack, that would be a good solution to the problem without allowing weird loopholes or dangers.