[Kims Robot]

Jason,
Thanks for those Q&A, I had been dilligently hunting the Q&A until the last week, and in looking through the Q&A I figured it would be in Section 8 Fabrication Schedule (since thats what seems to deal with the fabrication period after ship). But it still seems fuzzy:

Q3: The CRio, each 9201 & 9403 module, each analog bumper, each DB37 cable, each Jaguar, each Spike, etc from the KOP is a COTS (or exact KOPS replacement item for itself), so R35 applies to them in unassembled form, but not in assembled form, right?
A: Yes.

Here is a simple litmus test: if you were purchasing the item with your own money, and it was presented by the vendor as "brand new," would you accept it and pay for it as a "new" item or identify it as a "used" item (and ask for a discount)?

So if we disassemble them, but the vendor wouldnt take them back as "new", the control modules do count towards the 40lbs... It still seems fuzzy, and doesnt fit with the FABRICATED definition that I pulled out... here are the rules that I originally based my thought on:

WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCE – A limited amount of FABRICATED ITEMS that are permitted to be
withheld from the ROBOT shipping requirements (specified in Section 4.10 and Rule <R25>) and
retained by the team following the shipping deadlines. These items may then be hand-carried to a
competition event by the team. The OPERATOR CONSOLE is automatically included in the
WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCE. Beyond that, the incoming material maximums specified in Rule
<R36> limits the amount of FABRICATED ITEMS included in the WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCE.
FABRICATED ITEM – Any COMPONENT or MECHANISM that has been altered, built, cast,
constructed, concocted, created, cut, heat treated, machined, manufactured, modified, painted,
produced, surface coated, or conjured into the final form in which it will be used on the ROBOT.
• Example 1:A piece of extruded aluminum has been ordered by the team, and arrives in a 20-
foot length. To make it fit in their storage room, the team cuts it into two ten-foot lengths. These
would not be considered FABRICATED ITEMS, as they have not been cut to the final length in
which they will be used on the ROBOT.
• Example 2: A team designs an arm mechanism that uses gears with a 1/2-inch face width.
They order a 12-inch length of gear stock and cut it into precise 1/2 inch slices. They do not
bore out the mounting bores in the center of the gears. The slices are now considered
FABRICATED ITEMS, as they have been cut to final size, even though all the machining
operations (the center bore) may not yet be completed.

<R26> During the period between the shipment of the ROBOT and the competitions: During this period, all teams may manufacture SPARE, REPLACEMENT, and UPGRADE PARTS, and develop software for their ROBOT at their home facility.

A. Teams may manufacture all the SPARE, REPLACEMENT and UPGRADE PARTS theywant.
B. There is no limit to the amount of time that may be put into this effort, other than via the realities of the calendar.
C. Teams may continue development of any items retained under the WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCE, continue to work on them during this period, and then bring them to the competition events.
D. The total weight of the FABRICATED ITEMS (SPARE, REPLACEMENT, and UPGRADE
PARTS, plus all WITHHOLDING ALLOWANCE items) worked upon during this period and
brought to the competition event(s) must not exceed the limits specified in Rule <R36>.
The primary intent of this rule is to allow teams to withhold the ROBOT control system, the
OPERATOR CONSOLE, and selected relevant subsystems, and access them after the
shipping deadline. This will allow teams to have the maximum time possible prior to each
competition event to develop and complete the software for their ROBOT while maximizing
the potential to understand and use the capabilities provided by the new control system.

<R36> Teams may bring a maximum of 40 pounds of custom FABRICATED ITEMS (SPARE
PARTS, REPLACEMENT PARTS, and UPGRADE PARTS, plus all WITHHOLDING
ALLOWANCE items) to each competition event to be used to repair and/or upgrade their
ROBOT at the competition site. All other FABRICATED ITEMS to be used on the ROBOT
during the competition shall arrive at the competition venue packed in the shipping crate with
the ROBOT.
• Exception: the OPERATOR CONSOLE is not included in the incoming parts weight restriction.

OPERATOR CONSOLE – the Driver Station unit provided in the FIRST Kit Of Parts, and any
associated equipment, control interfaces, display systems, structure, decorations, etc. used by the
PILOTS to operate the ROBOT.

I guess I see from Bills blog that they were intending the control system to be part of the weight, but I was going by this part of the definition:

COMPONENT or MECHANISM that has been altered, built, cast,
constructed, concocted, created, cut, heat treated, machined, manufactured, modified, painted,
produced, surface coated, or conjured into the final form

To me, the cRio hasnt been altered, built, cast, constructed, created, cut, heat treated, machined, manufactured, modified, painted, produced, surface coated or conjured into its final form by our team... so it seems to be a COTS item... Plus if a team buys a second controller, leaves it in its box, and brings that to competition, its considered a COTS item, isnt it??

I guess I thought this 40lbs was simple until I really read/reread it and saw those Q&A posts... I guess at any rate, our cRio weighs 3.12lbs, and the lexan I held back weighs about 2.5lbs, so we have 36.38lbs to go if all signs are pointing at the cRio being included.

And Joey, I totally agree... the wheels are definitely not good enough for a vendor to resell after a team has used them, and if the disassembled wheels, bearings, etc are COTS, then why wouldnt the cRio be?

I posted questions about the cRio in the Q&A, hopefully we get a speedy response...