Quote:
Originally Posted by Cory
... I wish the bumper rules were changed a little bit to allow methods of retaining the bumpers that are strong and quick to be released, yet are not strictly bolt and nut interfaces.
|
I do, too. It is not fun for robot inspectors to tell a team that has devised a clever solution that it must be changed to match the less-elegant one that is required by the rule book.
However, I have also seen some quick-release bumper mounts that were not-so-elegant, nor very robust. Teams that built them were better served by changing to the standard mounting method shown in the rules. IMO it will be a challenge for FIRST to write a new standard bumper rule that allows cleverness in the mounting scheme, while preserving safety, robustness, and fairness.
The worst kind of specification is "I'll know it when I see it" (IKIWISI). I'd rather enforce a rule that is clear, even if it disallows some solutions that I think are cool.
__________________
Richard Wallace
Mentor since 2011 for FRC 3620 Average Joes (St. Joseph, Michigan)
Mentor 2002-10 for FRC 931 Perpetual Chaos (St. Louis, Missouri)
since 2003
I believe in intuition and inspiration. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. It is, strictly speaking, a real factor in scientific research.
(Cosmic Religion : With Other Opinions and Aphorisms (1931) by Albert Einstein, p. 97)