Are we allowed to use helium?

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by Grim Tuesday

However, it wouldn't help as the dictionary definition of weight "A body's relative mass or the quantity of matter contained by it, giving rise to a downward force; the heaviness of a person or thing." would not change no matter how much buoyant force you had lifting it. The apparent weight would; the actual weight wouldn't.

The robot's true mass is not measured during inspection. The official method of weighing an FRC robot uses a force-sensing scale, so the property that matters is what you're calling the "apparent weight".

Originally Posted by EricLeifermann

Best place to get an official answer is the Q&A. Any answer you get here means absolutely nothing.

The answer to such a general question is likely to be something like this:

There are no rules specifically prohibiting helium or other nontoxic gases. However, the robot must still obey all rules.