https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=128.187.97.22explain xkcd - User contributions [en]2026-07-09T21:13:40ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=689:_FIRST_Design&diff=29822689: FIRST Design2013-03-05T16:36:18Z<p>128.187.97.22: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 689<br />
| date = January 15, 2010<br />
| title = FIRST Design<br />
| image = first_design.png<br />
| titletext = Pool on the roof must've sprung a leak.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete}}<br />
Two members of a team are designing a robot for the 2010 {{w|FIRST Robotics Competition}}, in which teams design robots to push soccer balls into their team's goals. The final design for this team's robot is a trailer with a matchbook on a telescoping pole and the actual robot, a mobile platform with an umbrella on top and pusher in front.<br />
<br />
This is an underhanded design, exploiting the presence of a heat-activated {{w|sprinkler system}} at the venue and lack of water resistance in the opposing team's equipment.<br />
<br />
When the event starts, the robot moves off and deploys its umbrella. The trailer extends its arm, causing a lit match to set off the sprinkler, which causes the opposing robots to short out and malfunction. This causes the umbrella-protected robot to score goals without opposition.<br />
<br />
The title text is an excuse presented by the umbrella robot team, presumably because they won but are facing disqualification. This excuse seems weak because none of the venues have a rooftop pool. The comment "the pool on the roof must've sprung a leak" is a quote from the 1995 movie "Hackers".<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:Team Member 1 (out of panel): Wow, this is a much better design.<br />
:Team Member 2 (out of panel): Let's build it.<br />
:[A blueprint depicting a robot design for the FIRST competition. It consists of a standard mobile platform, with a pusher blade at the front. Additional parts include an umbrella on top and a trailer unit consisting a telescoping pole with a matchbox and match on top.]<br />
<br />
:Referee (out of panel): Go!<br />
:''CLICK''<br />
:[A FIRST competition field, with teams at opposite ends. Various robots appear on the field, and the team whose design appears above activates their robot.]<br />
<br />
:[The robot's trailer unit detaches as the telescoping pole begins to extend, and the mobile platform with umbrella rolls forward.]<br />
:''VRRR''<br />
:''CLICK''<br />
<br />
:[Telescoping pole extends further.]<br />
:''VRRRR''<br />
<br />
:[Telescoping pole extends further.]<br />
:''VRRRR''<br />
<br />
:[Telescoping pole extends further, approaching a sprinkler head fixture.]<br />
:''VRRR''<br />
<br />
:[Telescoping pole stops extending, placing the matchbox and match very near the sprinkler head fixture.]<br />
<br />
:[The mobile platform stops moving.]<br />
<br />
:[The umbrella deploys, extending beyond the dimensions of the mobile platform.]<br />
:''FWOOMP''<br />
<br />
:[The match box and match are lit beneath the sprinkler head.]<br />
:''FWOOSH''<br />
<br />
:[The heat from the match triggers the sprinkler's valve, and water sprays out of the sprinkler into the room below.]<br />
:''PSSSSHH''<br />
<br />
:[Water pours from the sprinkler onto the competition field, causing the electrical components of the opposing team's robotics platform to short and malfunction. The opposing team appears distressed and confused.]<br />
:''FZZZT''<br />
:''BWooooooo!!!''<br />
<br />
:[The initial robot, still protected by its umbrella, pushes along the balls toward the goal zone without any difficulty.]<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
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[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]</div>128.187.97.22