Passing electrical inspection
How robot inspection works, what inspectors look at on the electrical side, how to use the official checklist and the Driver Station's self-inspect screens, and why you always check the current manual.
By the end you can
- Describe how inspection works at an FTC event and what you must bring
- Self-inspect the electrical system against the current official checklist
- Clear the Driver Station's self-inspect screens before an event
- Find the current season's limits instead of relying on last season's
Before your robot can play a qualification or playoff match, it has to pass inspection. Inspectors are volunteers checking that your robot is safe and follows the construction rules. A team that has self-inspected properly is usually through in minutes. A team that has not can spend its morning rewiring in the pits.
This video is from 2024
The workshop's approach to preparing is still sound, but specific rule numbers and limits change every season. Use the current Competition Manual and checklist for the actual numbers.
How inspection works
From section 3 of the 2026–27 Competition Manual:
- Students present the robot, every component that will be used on it (including decorations and alternate mechanisms), and the operator console.
- Inspectors review the safety and construction requirements with you. If something does not pass, they work with you on a fix.
- The Lead Robot Inspector has the final say on robot construction questions.
- You may need to power on and enable the robot to show it meets a rule — tell the inspector, and warn them about any stored energy such as stretched springs.
- Inspection is not comprehensive. Your robot must follow the rules even where nobody checks.
- Do not add uninspected parts later. New components need re-inspection.
Rules change every season
The rules inspectors check come from the Robot Construction Rules (section 12) of the current Competition Manual, which FIRST updates during the season. Even the basic limits move between seasons:
| Limit | 2025–26 inspection checklist | 2026–27 manual (update TU03) |
|---|---|---|
| Motors per robot | 8 | 8 |
| Servos per robot | 10 | 8 |
A rookie team copying last season's servo count would fail inspection this season. Never trust a number from a video, a forum post, an old checklist — or this website — over the current manual and its latest team update.
What inspectors check on the electrical side
FIRST publishes an official Inspection Checklist each season, and the manual strongly encourages teams to self-inspect with it before every event. Get it from the FTC resources site. At the time of writing (October 2026) the 2026–27 version still said "coming soon", so use it as soon as it is posted and work from the manual's section 12 until then.
The electrical section of recent checklists covers these areas. Each one is a lesson in this track:
- Actuators — only legal motors and servos, within the count limits, unmodified, and powered through approved devices (Motors, Servos).
- No relays, electromagnets or solenoids.
- Battery — exactly one approved pack, connected through the main switch and securely mounted (Power).
- Main power switch — exactly one approved switch controlling all robot power.
- Fuses — never replaced with a higher rating, never self-resetting.
- Other batteries — only for allowed self-contained devices, isolated from robot power.
- Grounding — only an approved resistive grounding strap on a fully off-the-shelf XT30 device (Troubleshooting).
- Custom circuits — limits on regulated voltage, and no changes to critical power paths.
- Wiring — legal wire sizes and colour-coded power wiring (Connectors).
- Robot controller — one Control Hub (or allowed alternative), with its status lights visible for inspection.
- USB — only allowed devices, such as webcams and vision sensors (Cameras).
- Video recorders — wireless turned off.
The manual also requires that all power regulating devices, their wiring and all fuses can be made visible for inspection (rule R606 in 2026–27). Design the robot so you can show the battery fuse and every hub without taking the robot apart.
The Driver Station self-inspect screens
The Driver Station app has built-in inspection reports for itself and for the Robot Controller. Recent checklists ask that they show no issues apart from app-version warnings. According to FIRST's self-inspect documentation, they check things like:
- device names in the format team number-RC and team number-DS, such as 12345-RC and 12345-DS (rule R705),
- matching Robot Controller and Driver Station app versions,
- only one FTC app installed on each device,
- Bluetooth off,
- the Control Hub's Wi-Fi password changed from the default (rule R711), and
- hub firmware up to date.
The report is a quick check, not an official ruling — but a red mark on it is something an inspector will ask about.
Self-inspect before you leave
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Download the current manual and checklist. Check the manual's version and read the latest team updates.
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Count actuators. Every motor and servo on every mechanism and configuration you will use counts toward the limit — even ones that are not on the robot at the same time.
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Walk the power path. One approved battery, mounted securely, into one approved switch, with the 20A fuse in place and visible, and the switch reachable but protected.
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Check every wire. Legal sizes, power wiring colour-coded, no exposed copper, everything strain-relieved.
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Check the frame isolation. With the battery unplugged, use a multimeter to confirm more than 120Ω between the switch's input terminals and the frame (FIRST's test).
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Clear the self-inspect screens on the Driver Station for both devices.
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Pack the evidence. If you have used unlabelled wire or a servo that is not on the pre-approved list, bring documentation of its specs.
Inspect at home first
Run the checklist yourselves a week before the event, with a teammate who did not wire the robot acting as the inspector. Anything they cannot see or understand quickly is something a real inspector will ask about too.
Check yourself
A video from two seasons ago says robots can have up to 12 servos. Your robot has 9. What should you do?
Check yourself
The Driver Station's Robot Controller inspection screen shows a problem with the Wi-Fi password. What is it most likely telling you?
You have finished the Electronics track
You can now name every part of the control system, power it safely, wire motors, servos and sensors to the right ports, keep it all connected through a match, find faults methodically, and pass inspection. Keep experimenting in the wiring simulator — try to break a robot in every way this track described, and read what the inspection report says.
Sources and further reading
- FTC Competition Manual — section 3.3 (Inspection) and section 12 (Robot Construction Rules)
- FTC Inspection Checklist — current season (check the version)
- 2025–26 Inspection Checklist — last season's, for comparison only
- FTC Docs: Self-Inspect
- FIRST Robot Best Practices — frame isolation test
- FIRST Robot Wiring Guide
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