Answered: Subsystems Clarification

[Electrobotz]

Upon seeing this thread, I thought about another question regarding the same topic.

The following is rule <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.

Based on this rule, my question is the following:
Is it legal to move multiple “subsystem 3” to another “subsystem 1” that is 100% identical to the original subsystem 1 solely for the reason that the original subsystem 1 is no longer functional due to extreme damage that can not be repaired at the event?

To clarify, an example would be to have 1 extra drive train that is in every way 100% identical to the original drive base. Now if the drive base of the original robot was damaged beyond repair at the event, would it be legal to simply move the rest of the robot to the new drive base in order to be able to continue competing?

If that is not legal, would it become legal if the robot is inspected in both configurations?

My assumption would be that this is not legal because it says that you may not switch out subsystems 1 or 2, but I was wondering if it changes based on this scenario.

I apologize for this long question and greatly appreciate your time and effort to provide an answer. Thank you.

[VEX_GDC]

Yes, swapping out an entire drive base for a replacement one would be considered a complete swap of Subsystem 1, and would not be legal. Depending on how complete the replacement robot is (e.g. if it also had a control system or associated other mechanisms), this could also be considered having a second robot at a competition, and thus a violation of <R1b>.