On photographs and FVC competitions...

[KathieK]

Originally Posted by Richard

But I wonder if, legally, teams may have already surrendered rights to likenesses of their machines to FIRST as part of registration? I know that FIRST requires human participants to surrender those rights (the link is to the 2006 Consent / Release Form) as a condition of participation -- not sure if that requirement extends to robots also.

Does anyone know the details of the FVC event registrations agreement? I didn't see any mention of this in the FAQ.

There is no such thing as an FVC event registration agreement, at least not for ConnVex.
Wow, while I understand and respect the decision not to want to reveal a robot's design via photos, it's seems a bit ungracious to me. FIRST isn't about the competition, it's about the inspiration so I agree that teams should not blatently copy but participate in the design process. However, I am letting teams that are coming to ConnVex know right now... I have worked hard to find a photographer to document the event, and have invited media to come to report on the event. There's no guarantee that your robot's photo will not be displayed somewhere. In fact, I hope it is, because then the word about FIRST will have spread!

[Steve W]

Originally Posted by KathieK

There is no such thing as an FVC event registration agreement, at least not for ConnVex.
Wow, while I understand and respect the decision not to want to reveal a robot's design via photos, it's seems a bit ungracious to me. FIRST isn't about the competition, it's about the inspiration so I agree that teams should not blatently copy but participate in the design process. However, I am letting teams that are coming to ConnVex know right now... I have worked hard to find a photographer to document the event, and have invited media to come to report on the event. There's no guarantee that your robot's photo will not be displayed somewhere. In fact, I hope it is, because then the word about FIRST will have spread!

Kathie I am really surprised that you say that this is not a competition when you are hosting a competition not a demonstration. VEX is totally different from FRC. The time between regional competitions is not 5 weeks but months apart. You can take your robot back home and build a completely new robot between events.
1114 has always been gracious and shared their knowledge, just not during build and competitions. Teams have been awed and inspired by them. They have become icons of the north. I am tired of our team members worrying about 1114. That said 1114 has come to our rescue and I know that events that I am at if 1114 is there they are the first team that I direct teams in trouble to. Ungracious? Definitely not!!!!!

[KathieK]

Originally Posted by Steve W

Kathie I am really surprised that you say that this is not a competition when you are hosting a competition not a demonstration.

I said FIRST is not about the competition, and I meant that the competition is a means to an end, and that end is being inspired.

VEX is totally different from FRC. The time between regional competitions is not 5 weeks but months apart. You can take your robot back home and build a completely new robot between events.

Yes, if you are inspired by another robot or strategy that you see at a Vex competition, you can go home and reconfigure the bot or your game strategy. And hopefully will learn something in the process. I think it's one of the plusses of FVC - the fact that you can (affordably) rebuild your robot and play the game all over again. It's not a one-shot-we're-committed-to-this-design-for-this-season like it is in FRC. I think that's why there is so much interest in Week 1 FRC regionals - everyone is watching to learn how the game strategy plays out, and what robot designs are out there.

1114 has always been gracious and shared their knowledge, just not during build and competitions. Teams have been awed and inspired by them. They have become icons of the north. I am tired of our team members worrying about 1114. That said 1114 has come to our rescue and I know that events that I am at if 1114 is there they are the first team that I direct teams in trouble to. Ungracious? Definitely not!!!!!

I apologize for implying that 1114 was not gracious in their actions. After reading Karthik's post after mine, I realize that they don't want to share their design and that's their right to do so. I was thinking it was a little odd to be asking other people to take down photos because they were in it.
And even if we end up seeing robots with similar designs (as we often do in FRC), there is always the human factor of drivers, coaches, alliance partners and pure luck thrown into every match.

[Mr. Lim]

There are many pictures of 1114 taken that day. In fact, I took many of those pictures myself...

I know there are a lot of people who are excited about 1114's robot, and with good reason. I question who would win a match if you put 1114 against ALL of our school's VEX teams in what would be an embarrasingly competitive 6 vs 1 match. They ARE that good! (And 3075 is no slouch either )

In good faith, I couldn't possibly post a picture of 1114's robot for a number of reason, none of which are meant to be ungracious to anyone in the FVC community.

Remember that time when you wanted to see that REALLY good suspense movie, and your buddy walked up to you and told you how it ended, ruining the entire experience for you?

If I posted a picture, I would be that guy...

There are plenty of pictures out there, and I suspect the reason there aren't (m)any posted is exactly why I haven't.

Be patient, kick back, grab a bag of popcorn, and enjoy the show in Atlanta =).

The wait will be worth it!