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Re: Off robot air compressor
Further to Ed's comments, I'd like to point out to anyone who's interested that the inspectors do discuss controversial topics like the necessity of the off-robot pneumatic requirements. And sometimes, we, like many of you, feel that certain rules (and their interpretations) don't always stand up to close scrutiny. If that's the case, the concerns are relayed to FIRST itself, to be considered for inclusion in a team update.
The trouble is, we've got the added burden of maintaining consistency and legitimacy throughout all of the events; this means that we deliberately restrict our flexibility in making rulings, because we wish to avoid situations where rules are applied unevenly, especially when we know that the issue is unresolved.
But, as Richard stated, even if the rules themselves are constant, the interpretations can change over the course of a season. When dealing with some contentious issues, what was properly ruled legal at a Regional will not necessarily be again ruled legal at the Championship, primarily because the inspectors at the Championship will settle upon standards that reflect the most up-to-date experiences of the entire FIRST community, while still adhering to the letter of the rules.
Basically, though my initial study of the off-board compressor rules lead me to agree with Dave's interpretation, in the later weeks of the season, FIRST has repeatedly clarified, both in the unofficial Q&A, and in an official update, that the rules should be interpreted differently. The Championship inspectors have agreed to interpret the robot rules as being applicable to off-robot compressors, and teams will therefore be expected to make the necessary modifications, even if their robot passed inspection elsewhere.
Like many people, I feel that the pneumatics rules could use a thorough re-write, but FIRST couldn't reasonably make that sort of change during the season, even if it wanted to. At the moment, the best solution is to express your views at the team forums, and to the appropriate FIRST personnel, all the while bearing in mind that those views won't necessarily sway an inspector into ruling in your favour at this event.
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