Robot to robot contact?

[DanT-4198]

Hello!
We are planning to add a new design for the canbuglar for an off-season game.

We want to add a mechanism that remove the opponent team can burglar from the can as our own can burglar will grab the can. Just pushing the opponent arm up, away from the can. The game manual ( page 26) doesn't have any rules against it. Do you think that it will be legal?

[g_sawchuk]

Hello!
We are planning to add a new design for the canbuglar for an off-season game.

We want to add a mechanism that remove the opponent team can burglar from the can as our own can burglar will grab the can. Just pushing the opponent arm up, away from the can. The game manual ( page 26) doesn't have any rules against it. Do you think that it will be legal?
What some teams have done is have little shields on the ends of the grabbers, so once you're in, nobody else can get in. Pulling them out would probably be really dangerous, not to mention hard to do.

[DanT-4198]

What some teams have done is have little shields on the ends of the grabbers, so once you're in, nobody else can get in. Pulling them out would probably be really dangerous, not to mention hard to do.

Yeah, we did saw that at St Louis. But for the shield system to work, our arm have to reach the can first. Our design is suppose to work in both case: if we get to the can first, or the opponent bot gets to the can first.

[jajabinx124]

What some teams have done is have little shields on the ends of the grabbers

Like this (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hkxifvyk403f1mt/AACH9S44amxSvK5euiteNWdwa/P4185789.AVI?dl=0).

[GeeTwo]

Off-season events may change, but the game rules state:
ROBOTS may not contact anything beyond the STEP. Momentary contact as a result of ROBOT to ROBOT interaction, direct or indirect (e.g. via a RECYCLING CONTAINER), over the STEP is an exception to this rule. If a ROBOT becomes inoperable or “stuck” while some portion of the ROBOT is extending beyond the STEP, the ROBOT will not receive multiple FOULS.

VIOLATION: FOUL. If egregious or strategic, RED CARD.

Strategies aimed at the destruction or inhibition of ROBOTS via attachment, damage, tipping, or entanglements are not allowed.

VIOLATION: FOUL and YELLOW CARD. If egregious, RED CARD

So, if it's momentary, you should be OK on G18. With G26, it's more of a judgement call. Would removing another robot's hook qualify as "inhibition" via "attachment" or "entanglement"?

Also, check the rules of your off-season event. I saw the rule change summary for IRI today, and this mechanism would be all-but-useless there. They allow alliances exclusive contact with the RCs on the step to their right (as viewed by the drive team) during auto. Unless you're counting on a robot not driving away autonomously, and getting in your switcheroo before they can fire up the drive system, there will be nothing much to do.

[jdunston94]

I would sooner just put a shield on it.