Team Ri3D 1.0 got together to take a look at some of the best and unique ideas that came out of this years’ build. We also introduce some lessons learned by the teams and some additional recommendations as you build for 2024’s FIRST Robotics Competition challenge: “CRESCENDO"
I’m looking at 4:44 “Buddy Climb”, I think bringing such a mechanism to attach to another ‘bot runs afoul of I101, the “no more cheesecaking” rule.
I think it’s very important to not change rules. No part of the rule literally says no cheesecakeing. What part of I101 do you feel that it breaks? It’s important to read the text of the rule and not the meaning because that is how the rulebook says to read it. “The intent of this manual is that the text means exactly, and only, what it says.”
This seems to indicate that adding a piece of velcro and string isn’t prohibited. I don’t think it would construe a major mechanism, especially since the hardest part would be the tie down.
My read of I101 is that the mechanisms a team brings to competition can go only on their own ‘bot. The cases of cheesecaking I’ve seen involved teams bringing mechanisms specifically intended to be placed on another ‘bot.
Note I101 doesn’t prohibit teams from providing replacement parts to another team, nor a team helping another team fab mechanisms.
Is a piece of velcro and string a “MAJOR MECHANISM”?
Somebody actually asked about this on the Q&A yesterday:
https://frc-qa.firstinspires.org/qa/69
I will be very interested to see what the decision is on this one 
It also specifies Major Mechanisms, which does fit the climbing and movement parts in this case, but again, a piece of string is a COTS item anyone can buy and tie, if a team just gives it out I wouldn’t count that as a violation or else the battery strap we gave to a team is also a violation
Velcro with string does not enable “robot movement or performance of a scorable task without the assistance of another robot.”
I wonder who asked that question.