Internet at Competitions

[philso]

Originally Posted by yash101

I mean a small difference, just in the antenna, like 2.6GHz instead of 2.4!

How would changing the antenna will change the bandwith that the radio operates in. In the radio systems that I worked on (precursor to WiFi), one would have to make a change in the radio itself to make that happen.

The FCC, a US government agency, manages the radio frequency spectrum in the US. The ISM bands that WiFi operates on are well defined by FCC regulations. By straying outside of the defined bandwidth, you may be interfering with some other radio system, possibly with very serious consequences for the operator of that system. Do it for long enough and someone from the FCC may visit you and slap you with a fine.

Originally Posted by antimatter_john

Well it's a good way to scout with the possibilities of it.

Also it allows teams to make something cool with their app or web app using the internet.

Why is it a superior way to scout?

Is the purpose of the team to compete at a tournament or to make cool phone apps or web apps?

Originally Posted by EricH

Interference. That's why no WiFi. Field working properly is HUGE! You weren't around in 2012, I don't think--get your hands on a copy of the Einstein Report from that year, and see just what can go wrong if either the field or the robots aren't working properly.

The radio band can carry only so much data at any particular time. Would you rather it be data for controlling your robot on the field or data for scouting?