Thread: COTS parts that were in the kit?
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Unread 03-03-2005, 08:16
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Re: COTS parts that were in the kit?
This rule needs to be clarified to say if all KOP components are required to be shipped or not. I guess the issue is that I do not understand the "spirit" of the rule - what is FIRST trying to accomplish with this rule if these are COTS parts. They have stated that we can substitute identical parts for kit parts. So, can you ship the spare and keep the original from the KOP?

If they are trying to make it fairer for the lesser funded teams, they got it wrong. A well funded team can buy spare cameras and RC's (which we have), and thus gain an advantage over teams who cannot keep these anyway. This is especially true because of the extra couple days we get for the fix-it window.

This reminds me of another rules question I have never asked in the Q&A:
If a COTS part or assembly breaks, can you just fix it at any time or only during the fix-it window, since you can buy the same part at anytime? Again if you only are allowed to buy it, not fix it, then the better funded teams again have an advantage.

And finally, is FIRST really going to disqualify a poor team or make them buy another RC because they did not know the rule and did not ship it with their robot - geez, that's brutal; I thought we were trying to inspire new, poorly funded teams.
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Warning: this reply is just an approximation of what I meant to convey - engineers cannot possibly use just written words to express what they are thinking.