it's time for all of us to start thinking about quoting rules when referring to them, to ensure we don't give people wrong information.
From the 2010 rulebook, here are what I believe are all of the applicable rules:
Quote:
<R24> Individual COMPONENTS or MECHANISMS retrieved from previous ROBOTS and used on 2010 ROBOTS must have their undepreciated cost included in the 2010 ROBOT cost accounting, and applied to the overall cost limits.
<R25> Prior to the Kick-off: Before the formal start of the Robot Build Season, teams are encouraged to think as much as they please about their ROBOTS. They may develop prototypes, create proof-of-concept models, and conduct design exercises. Teams may gather all the raw stock materials and COTS COMPONENTS they want. But absolutely no final design, fabrication, or assembly of any elements intended for the final ROBOT is permitted prior to the Kick-off presentation.
Example: A TEAM designs and builds a two-speed shifting transmission during the fall as a training exercise. When designing their competition ROBOT, they utilize all the design principles they learned. To optimize the transmission design for their ROBOT, they improve the transmission gear ratios and reduce the size, and build two new transmissions, and place them on the ROBOT. All parts of this process are permitted activities.
Example: The same TEAM realizes that the transmission designed and built in the fall perfectly fits their need for a transmission to drive the ROBOT arm. They build an exact copy of the transmission from the original design plans, and bolt it to the ROBOT. This would be prohibited, as the transmission – although fabricated during the competition season – was built from detailed designs developed prior to kick-off.
Example: A TEAM developed an omni-directional drive system for the 2008 competition. Over the summer of 2009 they refined and improved the control software (written in C) to add more precision and capabilities. They decided to use a similar system for the 2010 competition. They copied large sections of unmodified code over into the control software of the new ROBOT (also written in C). This would be a violation of the schedule constraint, and would not be allowed.
Example: The same TEAM decides to use the LabView as their software environment for 2010. Following kickoff, they use the previously-developed C code as a reference for the algorithms and calculations required to implement their omni-directional control solution. Because they developed new LabView code as they ported over their algorithms, this would be permitted.
Example: A different team develops a similar solution during the fall, and plans to use the developed software on their competition ROBOT. After completing the software, they post it in a generally accessible public forum and make the code available to all teams. Because they have made their software generally available, under the terms of Rule <R67> it is considered COTS software and they can use it on their ROBOT.
<R33> COTS items from ROBOTS entered in previous FIRST competitions or COTS items that are no longer commercially available may be used under the following conditions:
A. The item must be functionally equivalent to the original condition as delivered from the VENDOR (e.g. a part that has non-functional label markings added would be permitted, but a part that has device-specific mounting holes added would be prohibited), and
B. The item must satisfy ALL applicable 2010 FRC materials/parts use rules.
|
So, <R25> clearly states you can purchase anything you want, you just can't assemble it (if we're using toughboxes as an example). Likewise, you can't use any unaltered designs from the off season unless you've published them for the rest of the community to use, and you can't pre-fabricate parts. a 5x5 sheet of aluminum can be used on the robot unaltered if purchased before the build season - you didn't assemble, fabricate, or design the part. It's a standard COTS part that was unmodified.
Now, what about R24 and R33? The way I read these rules, when taken all together, is that previously assembled items, like toughboxes can still be used... carefully. If you take a toughbox off of last years robot, disassemble it (thus it's now functionally equivalent to the original condition as received from the vendor), and reassemble it, you should meet both the letter and intent of the rules. You've gained the experience of assembling the gear box without actually having to spend extra money on a new one (money that is getting pretty tight with the current economy). The one caveat to all this is if you modified the gearbox in some way, such as drilling extra mounting holes.
As to how this all applies to the OP... under normal use, there really is no assembly for a cRio or Jaguar, and no issue at all with obtaining or using them prior to the season. In fact, the rookie versus veteran KoP encourages this type of reuse for certain parts.