This is what I was think for the minibot standardized interface.
I was thinking maybe something like equipping the minibot with a simple tab toward the top of the minibot that it could rest on.
The tab is really simple just a 1x1 inch tab with a clearance hole for a 1/4 post that is centered on the cross bar. The bottom side of the tab is 2" from the top of the minibot envelope.
The example minibot(red) is 12x12x11 so that the tab extends to fill out the 12x12x12 box.
I drew this example in the simplest form so that people would have the greatest chance to innovate in their minibots and deployment mechanisms.
The minibot is not really allowed to interact with the hostbot much except for physical attachment so I feel that trying to tether or connect the minibot to the host bot would not be a good idea. My philosophy is make the minibot interface as independent as possible. Teams that want to use an onboard NXT controller for their minibot will need to have some sort of a limit switch that will switch the minibot on for climbing.
I would love to hear anyone else's ideas on this.
Thanks everybody and have a wonderful build season!