Uniform rules and enforcers?

[Sam Fladung]

I volunteered as an inspector at the Houston Nationals, and the excuses teams tried to use to get around rules were mindbending. Accidental violations are what inspectors are there to detect, the intentional violations simply are against the spirit of FIRST.

One team attempted to use a piece of aluminum as a bumper, arguing that under the rules it was not a "hard material". (The term was defined two places, once as a material that hurt if you hit it, and once as any wood metal or hard plastic). It took about 15 minutes of discussion with the teams and other inspectors to resolve the dispute.

Another team used old 883 motor controllers in place of the 884s. They "cleverly" disguised these by placing tape over the names. However, two controllers flash differently when no oi is present, and are thus easily identifiable. Even after performing this test, the team denied that they had any 883s on the robot. (By the way, I was overruled on this and they were allowed to keep the 883s)

Another team wired twelve volts and ground to ajacent bolts extending through the bottom of the frame. They argued that they wern't custom terminal strips because they were only single wires, whereas a strip contained multiple. Either way, exposed power on the underside of a robot can be very dangerous. (The resolution that waas eventually agreed upon: tape over them. ????)

Teams ought to build their robots to conform with the rules, and be willing to modify them if it is found to be illegal.

And please don't use the excuse that "they allowed this at the last regional."