What a great story!  Thanks for sharing!

On Sat, Nov 15, 2014 at 4:54 PM, Robot Bill <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Kelly,
>
> Thanks for asking this question. This gives me an opportunity to tell a
> bit of a story.
>
> First of all, my answer: *Yes, your robot can make all of the sounds it
> wants.*
>
> The answer to your question comes from Rule #2, bullet #2:
> http://www.firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Challenge/FLL_WORLD_CLASS/FLL-WORLD-CLASS-Challenge-FINAL-v2.pdf
>
>
> *2 - Interpretation *- Robot game text means exactly and only what it
> says, so take it literally whenever possible.
>
>    - Do not interpret text based on your assumption about intent, or on
>    how a situation might be in "real life."
>    - If a detail isn’t mentioned, then it doesn’t matter.
>    - There are no hidden requirements or restrictions. If you’ve read
>    everything, then you know everything.
>
> There is no mention of sound from the robot anywhere in the rules, so "it
> does not matter".
>
> Now the story. I was at a FIRST LEGO League tournament where at team from
> the Maryland School for the Blind was participating. The students were, for
> the most part, not completely blind, but had significant visual handicaps
> that it made it extremely difficult for the team to read the robot screen
> during the competion. They overcame this obstacle by programming the robot
> to give it sounds in various stages of the robot programming. When their
> team came up to the competition tables, we turned down the music and
> requested that the teams and audience keep the noise down for that match to
> enable the team to hear the robot. It was a great experience for both the
> team and those that saw them compete.
>
> Best of luck for your team this season!
>
> Bill
>
> On Sat, Nov 15, 2014 at 2:00 PM, Kelly Abramson <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>> Last minute rookie question:  My team is very focused on music (in fact,
>> their research/project deals with learning music).  In programming the
>> robot missions, they made the robot make a sound (a beep) after it
>> completes several missions.  I don’t see anything against this in rules,
>> but wondering if it might be considered a distraction to the other team at
>> the robot table. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether I should
>> encourage them to remove the sound from the robot missions?
>>
>> Much thanks,
>> Kelly Abramson
>> Redstone Robotics #9433
>>
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