Quote:
Originally posted by Ian W.
well, you must remember that at anytime you think a robot had an unfair advantage over your team, or any other team, i think that you may call that, and then they will be subject to another inspection. if they pass, well, you look very foolish. if they fail, then i believe they are given a DQ. it's not the best system, but it works.
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Unfortunately, it doesn't. When we tried to exercise this system in LA we were told that all the inspectors were busy doing other things. Admittedly this was on Saturday, so the organizers figured that they could reassign people at that point.
Personally, I think that there should be multiple tech inspections. The robots should be inspected electrically, mechanically and for compliance with materials rules, in addition to the safety and dimensional checks. I also think that inspectors should come from other teams that are active that year, but are not competing at the event. The inspectors should also be experts in the area they are inspecting. ie, I shouldn't be doing electrical inspections, as I'm a mechanical sort of guy, but I sure know my motors. I know one team got away with using a van door motor because the inspector didn't know any better.
A second inspection for finals may be in order. They often do this in racing and other mechnical sports.
Finally, bring back the Bill of Materials. I know it was a pain, but it is helpful for determining just what is legal and what isn't. Include a column for jusitfication on each part, so the inspector knows why you think it's OK to use a particular item. He might even agree with you. We did that this year even though it wasn't required to ensure that all our stuff was legal. Actually it could be just an additional column on the weight spreadsheet you should be keeping anyway. (Unless you LIKE drilling thousands of holes)