Answered: <R1> Interpretation: The "Swiss Army bot"

[AppleDavidJeans]

According to <R1>,

<R1> Only one (1) robot will be allowed to compete per team in the VEX Robotics Competition. Though it is expected that teams will make changes to their robot at the competition, a team is limited to only one (1) robot. As such, a VEX robot, for the purposes of the VEX Robotics Competition, has the following subsystems:

Subsystem 1: Mobile robotic base including wheels, tracks, legs, or any other mechanism that allows the robot to navigate the majority of the flat playing field surface. For a stationary robot, the robotic base without wheels would be considered Subsystem 1.
Subsystem 2: Power and control system that includes a VEX legal battery, a VEX control system, and associated motors for the mobile robotic base.
Subsystem 3: Additional mechanisms (and associated motors) that allow manipulation of game objects or navigation of field obstacles.

Given the above definitions, a minimum robot for use in any VEX Robotics Competition event (including skills challenges) must consist of 1 and 2 above. Thus if you are swapping out an entire subsystem of either item 1 or 2, you have now created a second robot and are no longer legal.

a. Teams may not compete with one robot, while a second is being modified or assembled.
b. Teams may not switch back and forth between multiple robots during a competition.

My interpretation of the bolded part is that a team could swap out, for example, a catapult, for a dumper during a competition in between matches as long as the drive train and power & control system were left alone, like a “Swiss Army bot” on BattleBots. These modular mechanisms would be built before the competition and the team would go back and forth among the mechanisms to account for a match’s opposing alliance, as well as the alliance partner.

Is my interpretation correct?

[Karthik]

@AppleDavidJeans

According to <R1>,

My interpretation of the bolded part is that a team could swap out, for example, a catapult, for a dumper during a competition in between matches as long as the drive train and power & control system were left alone, like a “Swiss Army bot” on BattleBots. These modular mechanisms would be built before the competition and the team would go back and forth among the mechanisms to account for a match’s opposing alliance, as well as the alliance partner.

Is my interpretation correct?

Yes, this is legal provided that all configurations are inspected and that <R1> is not violated, especially with respect to the different defined subsystems.