Legal ways of providing suction?

[dtgriscom]

A number of the example robots in the game animation seemed to be possessing the ball using suction. I just mocked up a rig with a small shop-vac and a 5-gallon bucket, and it grabs and holds a ball (with cover) very well. Now I'm wondering: how can I legally provide that suction?

Rule R29 lists the allowed motors, and includes the following category: "Drive motors or fans that are part of a motor controller or COTS". In the glossary, COTS has very few limitations beyond "off-the-shelf", so could I buy and use a small 12VDC vacuum cleaner, driven by a Jaguar? (I'm dubious, because if this is covered by COTS then it seems like an enormous loophole for powered devices.)


Thanks,
Dan