Why Hasn't first gone Brushless?

[Jeff K.]

One good thing about brushless is that they can come sensored, and extra encoders/sensors are not needed as the motor, tied with programming can precisely know its rotation or degree.

The brushed motors seen in these robots do not go through as many revolution in their lifetime as their similar counterparts in RC cars or in factory machines. These motors do not get to the point of maintenance that brushed motors usually require like new brushes or having the commutator cut. The maintenance of brushless motors in this case is unnecessary then.

Like Adam said, the motors we are given already are more than enough powerwise and efficiency wise for 2 minute matches, if designed properly. Races usually go at least 5 minutes up to 10 or even 20 minutes require brushless motors to last the longest and lipo batteries with huge capacities that do not start dipping until the last 1 or 2 minutes of the race.

These are smaller reasons of why they are not necessarily crucial to being in the KOP, but also because of costs. Brushed speed controller vs brushless and having 10,000+ motors. That would be a very generous donation as each motor would be at least twice the cost of a cim motor.

But to give brushless a fighting chance, motors and speed controllers have been getting cheaper. They could someday be cheap enough to make their way into the kits.