According to the answer to question 178 the bumper costs now have to be accounted for in the BOM. As a corollary wood robots, made from a priceless material, are effectively illegal.
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Actually, Bumpers were already in the BOM (not listed in R12), and were part of the CAW last year (not listed in R11).
There’s still no problem buying wood from a VENDOR, or even using the fair market value of the wood as established by a VENDOR. The changes to R13 and R14 in TU03 actually make this cleaner to calculate. The only priceless wood is that which is grown by a team who does not consider Mother Nature a team member.
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Just goes to show you that the inspectors really never look at the CAW, I’ve never put the bumpers in the CAW before…
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Another draconian move by FIRST made AFTER some of us have already started working on our robots. I guess we’ll keep using old growth redwood for our bumpers rather than plant new trees.
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As a follow up… if the tree was planted by a team member’s ancestor and handed down over the years, do you need to include the cost of the inheritance tax on your BOM?
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In the past, bumpers were not considered to be part of the “robot”
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Does this also mean that we have to account for batteries that are not from the KOP in the BOM? Do I need to resubmit a different BOM when I use red versus blue bumpers or when we use different batteries? I am very excited for this year.
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Me neither. I had always associated what counted for weight with what counted for CAWst. By the same token, all batteries and associated connectors used must be on the BOM (minus the few connectors and 2 batteries in the KOP of course). For teams who have upwards of 10 batteries at competition, this is about an 8-10 batteries non-KOP + 8-10 leads non-KOP, which sums to about $450, a substantial amount when doing the BOM
Edit: The operator console (computer as well as joysticks or whatever controllers used must also count according to R12 and R15. This is a HUGE dent into what teams can really spend on their robot if not corrected.
Only 1 battery on the robot at a time. If asked, I bet the GDC would say you only cost that one.
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But what if I use different batteries throughout the event? Do I need to resubmit every time?
According to the rule I4, you would only have to if the battery switched to was a different brand because this would require a new inspection.
I4DE means you won’t even have to get reinspected when you change the battery. And the cost of spares has never been part of the CAW/BOM as far as I am aware.
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Correct. But if not all batteries used are the same brand, then they are not identical COTS components and therefore this makes a new inspection and therefore a new BOM mandatory when switching batteries.
Edit: someone really needs to ask the GDC about this as well as the bumpers and operator console, and do it in a serious way @marshall
Also is a battery with custom length wire considered COTS?
Q178 and the GDC response make me wish the official Q&A was on Discourse. Then I could click the like button.
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I was not aware that the GDC had a sense of humor. I was wrong. 
YES, CHUTE DOOR. (Q163 from Recycle Rush Q&A)
Also see Q674 from STRONGHOLD Q&A.
Also, I meant I4E, not D. The battery assembly is not a COTS component.
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Who’s Marshal?
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You, after you’ve cut down the tree that sits at the end of your name 
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