[FRC Blog] Orlando Incident

[magnets]

Here's my interpretation of the rule.

"If a ROBOT is modified after it has passed Inspection, other than modifications described in T8, that ROBOT must be re-Inspected. "

T8 "At the time of Inspection, the ROBOT must be presented with all MECHANISMS (including all COMPONENTS of each MECHANISM), configurations, and decorations that will be used on the ROBOT during the entire competition event. It is acceptable, however, for a ROBOT to play MATCHES with a subset of the MECHANISMS that were present during Inspection. Only MECHANISMS that were present during the Inspection may be added, removed or reconfigured between MATCHES. If MECHANISMS are changed between MATCHES, the reconfigured ROBOT must still meet all Inspection criteria."

So, here's a few questions. Does wear and tear on bearings, belts, the stretching of chain, etc count as modification? What about tightening a loose fastener? Making a change to software? Swapping the battery? I sincerely doubt there is a winning alliance anywhere who didn't tighten something or adjust something on their robot between matches. Does that mean that everybody is disqualified? I watched a kid from 118 bend in/adjust the flappy arms on the side of their robot. They did not get reinspected, and no inspector signed a reinspection form. Should they be disqualified too?

(I'm not trying to pick on 118, but it was just an example I remember watching. I'm sure every team has done some last minute repairs on their bot during finals)