Bumper bracket and weight considerations

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Cory

... I wish the bumper rules were changed a little bit to allow methods of retaining the bumpers that are strong and quick to be released, yet are not strictly bolt and nut interfaces.

I do, too. It is not fun for robot inspectors to tell a team that has devised a clever solution that it must be changed to match the less-elegant one that is required by the rule book.

However, I have also seen some quick-release bumper mounts that were not-so-elegant, nor very robust. Teams that built them were better served by changing to the standard mounting method shown in the rules. IMO it will be a challenge for FIRST to write a new standard bumper rule that allows cleverness in the mounting scheme, while preserving safety, robustness, and fairness.

The worst kind of specification is "I'll know it when I see it" (IKIWISI). I'd rather enforce a rule that is clear, even if it disallows some solutions that I think are cool.