[Al Skierkiewicz]

Kara,
I am not surprised, inspectors can do some serious looking when you think they are looking at something else. You would be surprised how much I can check out while a team is hooking up their driver's station and powering the robot.

Andrew,
Many teams use commercially available belting for tread. This belting is available through McMaster and has 'teeth' that are 3/16-1/4 long. If a small diameter rivet is used, the head can easily fit between these 'teeth' without danger to the floor. On other material it is possible to counter sink the belt since the substrate is as thick as the teeth. Again the rivet would never touch the carpet, even if the teeth were worn off. Many (most) teams also compress the substrate while inserting the rivet which is akin to counter sinking. All of these methods prevent 'traction' contact with the carpet and the possibility for damage is minimal. We are seeing less custom wheels now that there is commercially available wheels that are easy to obtain and designed specifically for driving on carpet.