Role of Sponsors at Competition

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by Oblarg

I wonder what sort of sponsor sees the FRC robot (rather than the team) as an investment.

The robot is a tangible short term way for them to see a return on investment.

If a $10,000 sponsor asks you to demonstrate your autonomous, you can explain it doesn't work, but still ask your partners if it is okay to demonstrate it on the field. It is up to the team to teach the sponsor why they are/are not running it.

In my opinion, not a huge deal. If it was someone on my alliance, I would understand their rationale for wanting to try out auton in front of a sponsor.

Edit: in this particular incident, since the other partners aren't confident they can make the balls in quickly after a missed auton shot, it obviously isn't the smartest choice. But if the partners are confident, it isn't a big deal.