Quote:
Originally Posted by Scenario
Redateam begins the competition season by brainstorming ideas regarding this years challenge. They cannot choose between two excellent ideas and decide that their resources will allow them to pursue both. They design the robots such that the same electronics board (including a mount for the battery) can be used on both. As build season raps up they still cannot decide which machine is better suited to the task. In a stroke of genius Redateam removes the electronics board from Redabot2 and jams Redabot1 and an electronic-less Redabot2 into their crate for shipping to the Magnolia Regional.
Between ship and the Magnolia regional, Redateam decides they will go with Redabot1. They arrive at the regional, unpack their crate and proceed to have Redabot1 inspected. It weighs in at 119.5 lbs and passes all inspection criteria. They begin participating in practice matches and decide to reverse their decision and use Redabot2.
Redateam returns to their pit and begins by unbolting their electronics board from Redabot1. They then attach it to Redabot2. As they have modified their robot they ask for and receive a complete reinspection of their robot. It is inspected by a different inspector than the first. Finding Redabot2 to be in compliance with all robot rules, the inspector clears it for play.
As Redabot2 as shipped was not a remotely operated vehicle, it would not qualify as a robot under the 2008 manual. Thus, Redateam did not at any time possess 2 robots at the regional.
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This scenario is illegal because the two "mechanisms" together must make the weight limit--which is the limiting factor preventing teams from shipping 1000 robots and what made this such a design challenge for 1519. If your above scenario the sum of the masses of the two robots is well about 120lbs making it illegal. The two robots 1519 had weight 120lbs together.
I agree that squirrel's idea that we know what a robot looks like is flawed--such an approach encourages making the same first robot continuously rather than branching out and changing with time. I'm sure there is nothing innovative about every team building a 6wheel drive rectangular robot which is what your description would create a robot.