My question: Are you allowed to fix a laser to your remote, to help guide where you're pointing it? I haven't seen anything in the rules specifically prohibiting it, however FIRST does seem opposed to laser radiation.
<G16> Alignment devices (laser pointers) that are not part of the robot may not be used with positioning the robot
-I'm not aligning the robot, and its not used to position the robot at the start of the match
<R02> ROBOT parts shall not be made from hazardous materials, be unsafe, or cause an unsafe condition. Items specifically prohibited from use on the robot include:
...
lasers of any type
-I don't want to put a laser on the robot.
<R65> SIGNALING DEVICES shall be designed to communicate signals from the ROBOCOACH to he ROBOT. SIGNALING DEVICES are excluded from rule<R64>. SIGNALING DEVICES SHALL:
-be hand held and completely supportedby the ROBOCOACH when operated
...
Active SIGNALING DEVICES shall:
-use visible light, infrared communication, or sound as the transmission method - no other form of electro-magnetic radiation is permitted
b. All laser-based communications by any device classified by the U.S. Departmet of Labor Occupatinal Safety and Heallth Administration (OSHA) as a laser are explicitly prohibited.
c. All communications must satisfy Rule <S01>
-I'm not looking to communicate to the robot with the laser. I'm just looking for help aiming my remote. I'm not looking to transmit anything to the robot with the laser.
<S01> If at any time a ROBOT's operation or design is deemed unsafe, it will receive a PENALTY and be disabled for th remainder of the MATCH. If the safety violation is due to te ROBOT design, the Head Referee has the option to not allow the ROBOT back onto the TRACK until the design has been corrected. An example of unsafe operation would be uncontrolled motion that cannot be stopped by the drivers.
So - those are all the relevant rules I could find. I looked through the FIRST Forums, and found these questions
-
http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread...ighlight=laser
-GDC doesn't want anything to interfere with the other human players. That Isn't my goal, but I understand their concern. If this is the reason, I understand (but I don't agree with it).
http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread...ighlight=laser
which is the closest to my question, but isn't exactly it.
I don't have my team's password to ask, so if anyone would please ask it, I'd greatly appreciate it. Also any input is appreciated.
(And I'm aware that a CD post doesn't constitute as, its allowed.)
I'm going to speak with the head referee tomorrow at St. Louis Regional, and see what he says (but a universal answer from the GDC would be better).