[Peter Matteson]

Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik

I'm pretty sure an offboard compressor has always needed to be powered by an onboard robot battery. Atleast thats how I've always read the rule.

I'm much more concerned about the fact that ALL robot prep must happen with the competition battery. I understand the logic there, but keeping track of whether you're testing and debugging or actually resetting devices on your robot for a match will be a real nightmare. What if you've been debugging over lunch with a non-comp battery and parts of your robot end up in reset position and then you forget that you did so over lunch and don't re-reset them with a comp battery? I'm thinking that they'll almost have to be a bit lenient with this one and only come down on blatant repeat offenders. It's not as if you can scan the robot with a tricorder and find out if the quantum wave stat of the last electrons to course through it match a competition battery...

(Begin Sarcasm) Does this mean we have to use the battery to reset all stored power too, sine power is work over time and work is a change in energy. I mean so many teams are using gas springs, springs, latex tubing, gravity, etc. to activate mechanisms on their robot that they must clearly follow this poorly worded explanation by creating a Rube Goldberg powered off their battery to reset any and all mechanisms just to follow the rule because you know power is power and since it has to come from the battery all power on the robot must come from the battery. (End sarcasm)

The wording in that was poorly thought out but the intent is clear. They don't want you to use the old batteries in a way that may allow for them to get in the robot for competition. Don't lawyer like I did above and don't do something stupid like showing up to the field with an old battery on your robot or cart, and you'll probably be fine.

Pete