Musing of a Robot Inspector

FIRST General Forum
#1

I know I will forget something so please add as you please.

  1. Remove all sharp edges. I don’t want to see blood…especially my own.

  2. One speed control = one motor

  3. 3/4" plywood backing on bumpers means 3/4" plywood backing on bumpers.

  4. Don’t wait until the last moment (right before you first match) to get your robot inspected.

  5. Have your BOM (my bad) available at inspection when requested. I’ve seen many a robot that wasn’t fully inspected because someone forgot the BOM.

  6. Get your robot weighed and measured as soon as you can. The biggest bottlenecks are the scales and box.

  7. During inspection, please just have your mechanical and electrical students answer the inspector questions. It gets confusing, for us, when different people are answering our questions.

The inspector is your friend and is trying to help you get the most out of the regional by having a totally legal robot. We may find things that are illegal and we will point them out to you. Please don’t get mad at us.

Good luck and have fun.

#2

Perhaps I’m a bit thick here, but why would we need to bring our entire KOP with us? Many things in the KOP are not used on any given year, so why bring them?

#3

While bringing your KOP to the competition is a great idea, I believe the intended acronym is BOM.

Make sure you have your Bill of Materials completed, in the format and template that FIRST requires, and available when you ask an inspector to come inspect your robot.

#4

Do you mean BOM?

#5

I don’t think anyone has mentioned this yet :wink: did you mean BOM?

(Seriously, has anyone said that yet? Thread is too long to read)

#6

Bringing the KoP is probably a better use as if a team might need a part you have that you didn’t use.

Do inspectors generally care about sharp edged zip ties like a mis-properly cut end?

#7

They do if it draws blood while inspecting.

#8

I have cut myself on a ziptie that was on the field border. After spending half an hour seeking out the on-site EMT, I took a pair of snips and cut the ziptie straight. Don’t bother with an ‘if’, just cut it so that no one can get hurt.

#9

Thanks Wayne, and I can’t agree enough.

It never ceases to amaze me that teams get mad at inspectors, because they didn’t read the rules, or are trying to make their own interpretations of them. We only want 2 things: a safe robot to all that may come in contact with it, and a ‘legal’ robot according to the rules, so that one team may not have an unfair advantage over another. We also want EVERY team to be on the floor to compete.

I’ll get to see 64 teams in 2 days at Alamo. Things are very hectic for inspectors during that Thursday, as we try to get all teams passed and ready for competition.

Good luck to all teams this year. It should be a very exciting competition!

#10

I DO! If you fail to cut them properly I will show you how. There will be no sharp edges prior to inspection completion.

#11

To keep a running dialog here…
The BOM is what Wayne is referring to must be in an electronic form and the inspector must be able to check the BOM against your robot during inspection. If you have a hard copy, great you get a gold star! If you have it on a reasonably sized and readable laptop in the pit, that is also good.

My $0.02 follows…
Partial inspections are frowned upon. They take more time to perform. Be prepared for full inspection when you come into get weighed and sized.
Please read the manual, not Rev_ but the latest Rev which is Rev K this week. Your inspector will use the latest version and will have looked at the Q&A as well. If you designed using a Q&A answer, be prepared to show it during inspections.
There are three big things that leave no room for interpretation.

  1. 120 lbs is a hard limit +/- 1/4lb for variations in the scale and how your robot is placed on it.
  2. The sizing box doesn’t stretch, you either fit or you don’t pass. Hardware, structure, even wire ties all must fit inside.
  3. Your bumpers must satisfy all the paragraphs in R07, R08 & R09, not just most. That includes team numbers, 4" high with a 3/4" stroke, in contrasting color able to be seen by my grandmother from 100’ in both colors.
#12