[ChrisH]

On the contrary, I'd much rather see a more restricted list of components. Maybe it's just the industry I work in, (aerospace vehicles) but if it ain't in the spec book, it doesn't go on the bird.

Only tested, proven, well known technologies or materials are allowed. Any testing pretty much has to have been done by my company or one of our partners or it is ignored. Which means that often worthwhile devices or materials are excluded because we don't feel like spending the money or effort to test them. Qualifying a new material, or even an old material made a new way, takes a minimum of $1M. So our material list is pretty darn short.

So much for throwing it wide open so "we can be like industry". In real life there are often restrictions on materials etc. that are even more stringent than those in FIRST.

Is it easier to be able to use a wide variety of "stuff" to build your dream robot? Heck Yah! But a major thrust in FIRST is innovation. Innovation is a sister of Invention, which is born of Necessity.

If you really need that function on your robot, you will figure out a way to make it happen. But you may have to make innovative use of a component to do it.

In my opinion, if the rules don't pinch, they aren't doing their job.