Lesson 11.3: Passing Robot Inspection on the First Attempt
Technical Context
Inspection happens early in the event, alongside setup and practice. A failed item sends the robot back for correction and another check, so issues found at the venue reduce the team's practice time.
Use the official checklist in the shop before the event so the team can correct problems without that time pressure.
The Rules Are the Authority
Sizing limits, expansion rules, legal components, motor and servo counts, battery requirements, and electrical specifications are all defined in the current season's game manual and change between seasons.
Work from the current manual and the official inspection checklist. This lesson covers the process of preparing, not the specific numbers.
Sizing
Sizing problems often come from measuring the robot in a convenient configuration instead of the starting configuration defined by the rules.
Prepare properly:
- Build a sizing fixture in the shop from the current season's dimensions. A simple box or frame you can lower over the robot is worth the hour it takes and can be reused every season with new dimensions.
- Measure in the starting configuration, with every mechanism stowed exactly as it will be at match start.
- Include everything. Bumpers, cable runs that bulge, a battery strap, an intake that does not quite retract, and zip tie tails all count.
- Check every orientation the rules measure.
- Leave margin. A robot that measures exactly at the limit will fail, because measurement is not perfectly repeatable and parts shift.
A new bracket, thicker cable, or added guard can change the robot's envelope. Measure again after late changes and once more in the pit before queueing.
Self Inspect Twice
Run the official checklist in full, twice.
Once in the shop, a week before the event, so there is time to fix what fails.
Once in the pit, before queueing, because travel and last minute changes break things.
The routine from Lesson 9.4 applies: one student reads each item aloud, another checks the robot physically, results are recorded in the notebook, and after fixing anything you start the list again from the top.
Recording the self inspection in the notebook is also process evidence for judges.
The Mechanical Items That Fail
| Item | How it fails | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| Starting size | Measured in the wrong configuration | Sizing fixture, measure stowed, leave margin |
| Sharp edges | Freshly cut aluminum not deburred | Deburr every cut, run a hand over the robot |
| Loose parts | Fastener backed out in transit | Marked fastener check before queueing |
| Entanglement hazards | Exposed loops, hooks, protruding cables | Review the robot for anything that could catch |
| Energy storage | Sprung mechanism not restrained or labeled | Restrain and label anything storing energy |
| Missing team number | Not displayed as required | Check placement and legibility against the rules |
The hand test finds most of it: run your palm carefully over every exposed surface of the robot. Anything that catches, snags, or feels sharp is a finding.
The Day Before
A short list that prevents most event morning problems:
- Full self inspection completed and recorded
- Robot measured in the starting configuration with margin
- All batteries charged, and the charger packed
- Spares packed: fasteners, cables, compliant wheels, printed parts, tubing, one of anything that has broken before
- Tools packed, including the hex sizes your robot actually uses
- Port map document printed
- Notebook packed
- Robot driven for a full practice match to confirm nothing loosened after the last repair
The final practice match checks the current assembly after its last repair. Do not treat an earlier test as evidence for a version that has since changed.
- Game manuals and the current inspection checklist: FIRST Tech Challenge Game and Season Info
Fill-in-the-Blank Practice
- The robot must be measured in its
__________configuration, with every mechanism stowed as it will be at match start. - The full inspection checklist should be run twice: once in the shop and once in the
__________before queueing. - Running a hand carefully over every exposed surface finds
__________edges and snag hazards.
Show answers
- starting
- pit
- sharp
Exercise
Build a sizing fixture from this season's dimensions and check your robot in its starting configuration. Then run the official inspection checklist end to end and record every result in the notebook.
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