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Originally Posted by Wayne C.
Actually the rep I spoke to personally told me that the inserts would change from year to year but you only get the base once.
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This is correct. The actual controller/backplane/chassis unit will only be given to teams once, but it's still unclear on whether the plug-in modules will be required to be "recycled/reused" from year to year - the current bet is that you will have to recycle everything. You will definitely get supplementary modules in the KOP when they are made available to teams.
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I would like to know how "heavily reduced" the price of the system will be for the offer to sell a "second controller" to a team each year? Does that imply we would get a new controller each year?
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You are NOT getting a new controller in the KOP each year. The price of the cRIO unit prevents that - NI is DONATING these units to FIRST, at a cost of several million dollars the first year and more the next several years for expected additional teams; to amortize the cost of the units we must ask teams to reuse controllers from year to year. The "additional" controller you will be able to purchase each year will be sold at a rate similar to what the current 2008 control system is sold for, so as to not be a hefty burden on teams. This price will almost be completely cost of goods (minus parts that are donated by other companies specifically for FIRST, such as the Xilinx FPGA and others) plus cost of manufacturing. Some of this is still up in the air, and as soon as we know the final number FIRST will make sure you know the final number.
-Danny