Please read R17

[Karthik]

Originally Posted by Section 5 of the Manual

<R17> During the “FIX-IT WINDOWS” following the shipment of the robot: During this period, all teams may utilize one or two 5-hour FIX-IT-WINDOWS to manufacture SPARE and REPLACEMENT PARTS and develop software for their robot at their home facility. Fabrication of UPGRADE PARTS is not permitted during this period. The timing of these “FIX-IT WINDOWS” is at the discretion of the team, but all work must be completed by 5:00pm on the Friday following the robot shipment deadline. Teams may manufacture all the SPARE and REPLACEMENT parts they want, but the amount of parts they can bring to the competition event is limited (as specified in Rule <R29>).

I know there are many teams out there who may have broken this rule without knowing. Hence, why I'm drawing it to everyone's attention. By violating this rule, you're punishing all the teams who are staying within the rules. For seemingly unenforcable rules to work, it depends on the honesty of all teams out there. Since Friday at 5:00pm has passed, I urge all teams to put their tools down until the opening of the next Fix-It-Window. We need to work together to uphold the honour code. I can't tell anyone to obey the rules, all I can do is ask.

I know the teams of NiagaraFIRST have put all our tools down, and will spend the next week working on drive team practice, and strategy. There may also be some time spent on poker.

Also, when it comes to the restrictions outside of the Fix-It-Windows on mechanical and software development, please read these Q&A's

http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=680

Originally Posted by FIRST Q&A

Q:
http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=647

The above linked Q&A refers to the restrictions on software development outisde of the Fix-It-Windows. The described analogy also deals with restrictions on mechanical components.

"Consider an analogy to hardware development. The “put your tools down” policy after the FIX-IT WINDOW means that no fabrication of any hardware component is permitted during this period. You are allowed to think about how a part is to be fabricated, sketch out designs, collect raw materials, prepare tools, etc. But you cannot actually engage in work to create the physical item."

Am I to take this to mean, that I cannot build a prototype of a future mechanism for testing purposes, with the intention of building the mechanism from scratch at a competition site?http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=647

The above linked Q&A refers to the restrictions on software development outisde of the Fix-It-Windows. The described analogy also deals with restrictions on mechanical components.

"Consider an analogy to hardware development. The “put your tools down” policy after the FIX-IT WINDOW means that no fabrication of any hardware component is permitted during this period. You are allowed to think about how a part is to be fabricated, sketch out designs, collect raw materials, prepare tools, etc. But you cannot actually engage in work to create the physical item."

Am I to take this to mean, that I cannot build a prototype of a future mechanism for testing purposes, with the intention of building the mechanism from scratch at a competition site?

A:
After the robot has shipped, spare or replacement parts (including prototypes) may be fabricated during the Fix-It-Window periods, but only during these periods.

http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=647

Originally Posted by FIRST Q&A

Q:
To what extent are teams allowed to do any software work (planning, design, coding, parameter adjustments, and/or testing) with their practice robots or dashboards outside of the Fix-It windows?

A:
After the robot has shipped, and outside of the FIX-IT WINDOWS, software development is prohibited.

FIRST acknowledges that software development is a thought-intensive process. Teams cannot be prevented from thinking about their software implementations, and it is not our intent to do so. However, the amount of activity permitted for the development of the final product is severely restricted during this period. Pondering software issues that remain to be resolved, researching general case solutions, discussing solutions with teammates, and outlining algorithms at a high level are all reasonable activities. But developing detailed pseudocode, writing actual lines of code, verification of syntax, final debugging, etc. would be considered development of the final software implementation, and are all prohibited.

Consider an analogy to hardware development. The “put your tools down” policy after the FIX-IT WINDOW means that no fabrication of any hardware component is permitted during this period. You are allowed to think about how a part is to be fabricated, sketch out designs, collect raw materials, prepare tools, etc. But you cannot actually engage in work to create the physical item. By analogy, you can think about and prepare for development of software for your robot, but you cannot work on the creation of the final product (your customized software program).