Legality of Halogen Bulb on Bot.

Competition Rules/Strategy
1

I have been looking through the rules and have not been able to figure out if it would be legal to put it on our bot. There is one rule that says you can’t blind the drivers but does this count as that. I recall 230 in 2009 had flashing lights on their bot and I don’t see this being more blinding. We are a little concerned that some inspectors just won’t allow it. Is there anything specific about halogen bulbs that I just missed?

2

Why not ask the Q&A?

3

Why would you use a Halogen Bulb over an LED or something of that nature?

4

Joe,
There are several rules that would come into play here. First,
<R02> ROBOT parts shall not be made from hazardous materials, be unsafe, or cause an unsafe condition. Items specifically prohibited from use on the ROBOT include (but are not limited to):
A. Shields, curtains, or any other devices or materials designed or used to obstruct or limit the vision of any DRIVERS and/or COACHES and/or interfere with their ability to safely control their ROBOT

C. Any devices or decorations specifically intended to jam or interfere with the remote sensing capabilities of another robot,including vision systems, acoustic range finders, sonars, infra-red proximity detectors, etc.(e.g. including imagery on your robot that, to a reasonably astute observer, mimics the VISION TARGET)

There is the issue of safety, is the bulb protected from damage, from damaging other parts of the robot, or from setting your robot on fire?

We then move to electrical rules as to where the bulb is connected to electrical supply, wiring and possible control. To answer some of those questions, you will need to show specifications on current. The Spike is limited to 20 amps for instance.

5

Any halogen bulb over 5 watts or so will be too bright in my humble opinion. The retroreflective tape will reflect really well even with a small LED, so no need to illuminate the ceiling of the arena!

6

One thing I forgot to add before. You do realize you are going to be shining the light in your alliance’s eyes?

7

Not if they’re using it defensively to blind the cameras on the other end with excess reflected light.

8

Ya that occurred to me a few minutes before I saw your post. Someone wanted to see if we could do it and I was just seeing if it was legal. Thanks for all the help everyone.

9

Read again.