[EricH]

Jack, I think it is worth while to remind you that there was an NDA in place last year, too. That did not stop the flow of information; it merely directed it such that teams got the information they needed in a place that could be monitored by all parties.

After the beta test ended, some teams involved were asked to continue their beta work through part of the build season. The reason was so that they could more easily find and eliminate issues that weren't simply in teams' programming. (Not to mention stretch the system further...)

This time around, with the system already somewhat understood, they're probably going to be shooting for some of the capabilities that were not allowed to be used in 2009--the CAN, the Jaguar limit function, and some other similar items. As pointed out earlier, it's a lot easier to pull the plug on a beta program than to come out in mid-February and say, "Due to massive complaints, XYZ is no longer legal." The beta test can find the issues and attempt to resolve them, and failure is certainly an option under the "Fail more often to succeed sooner" doctrine during this time.

I'd rather go into an FRC season with stuff I know will work in actual conditions, rather than "Well, it worked in the lab, and theory says...". Hence, the beta test and the NDA to keep a little bit of a lid on the stuff that works in the lab but not on the field.