Climb up the fender?

[savetheworld17]

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone had any insight on whether it would be possible for a robot to climb up and/or attach itself to the fender.

According to the game manual, its purpose is to "protect the hoops from damage done by robots," and the robots also cannot damage any part of the field. Also, the fender "measures 8-1/4 in tall at the front, and 10-1/4 in tall at the back against the Alliance Wall," meaning that it is curved, so it would definitely be difficult to do. Moreover, in [G11] it states "Robots may not become entangled in the Arena elements."

However, it would take a lot of the aiming out of scoring baskets if you could climb up onto the fender.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

[Ninja_Bait]

The fender is underneath the hoops and prevents balls from getting stuck in that corner.

[savetheworld17]

Okay, so I'm guessing that would mean the if you did not make your basket, the ball would likely hit your robot.

But just because it is meant to prevent hoops from being damaged by robots, does that explicitly prevent robots from climbing it? I'm guessing that would defeat the purpose of the fender. I just brought it up because there was no rule I could find prohibiting climbing up onto it.

Also, you could also potentially get the ball stuck in that corner too if the robot climbed up onto the fender, defeating its purpose also.

Thanks for the response, by the way :)

[Sean M]

There are no rules that explicitly disallow contact or climbing on the Fenders, or contacting the Hoops, as far as I can tell...although, I would expect some clarification or ruling on this to come out with a Team Update or in Q&A...with their purpose being to protect the Hoops, I would personally discourage climbing on the Fender.

I don't see what you mean about a ball getting stuck in "that corner?" If you climb up on it and block a ball that has rebounded (note, missed the hoop -- if a ball goes through the hoop, it goes into the Corral), it will be released as soon as you move off the Fender.

[savetheworld17]

Okay, thank you.

I agree, I don't think it would be wise to climb up onto the fender, because not only could you damage the hoops, but it is on a slant and it would be very difficult to climb up for not much advantage. Plus, you wouldn't be able to use the sensors to shoot and it'd be a very difficult angle for shooting at.

And by being stuck in that corner, I meant if the robot was still on the fender. The robot blocking the ball would be the only way it could be stuck.

[mdiradoorian]

There are no rules that explicitly disallow contact or climbing on the Fenders, or contacting the Hoops, as far as I can tell...although, I would expect some clarification or ruling on this to come out with a Team Update or in Q&A...with their purpose being to protect the Hoops, I would personally discourage climbing on the Fender.

I don't see what you mean about a ball getting stuck in "that corner?" If you climb up on it and block a ball that has rebounded (note, missed the hoop -- if a ball goes through the hoop, it goes into the Corral), it will be released as soon as you move off the Fender.

That is good to know

[cbeavers6790]

Cant quote exacts but I would not advise climbing on the fender if you look at G(10) in the game section it gives you more specifics.g11 also says you are not allowed to become entangled in arena elements.

[Karibou]

What would you do if you missed a shot, and the ball ended up below the hoops? There would be a high risk of entanglement in the net if you were to try and retrieve it. The fender seems to be there to prevent that problem: if you miss a shot, the ball will bounce or roll off the fender, so you don't have to try and navigate around the nets to try and retrieve it.

While there aren't any rules (yet) that prohibit climbing on the fender, I wouldn't suggest it.

[GaryVoshol]

The field drawing shows the fender is only made of 1/2" plywood. Deliberately climbing on it would result in severe risk of damaging it, in my opinion. Potential disablement per [G12].

[savetheworld17]

Okay, that makes sense.

Question: what about a part of your robot utilizing the fender? Instead of having your entire robot climb up it, you can have a part of your robot attach to the fender to shoot.

As long as this part isn't that heavy to prevent damaging the fender, I can't see anything to prevent this.

Thoughts?

Thanks for all the input everyone! I really appreciate it :)

[ratdude747]

Okay, that makes sense.

Question: what about a part of your robot utilizing the fender? Instead of having your entire robot climb up it, you can have a part of your robot attach to the fender to shoot.

As long as this part isn't that heavy to prevent damaging the fender, I can't see anything to prevent this.

Thoughts?

Thanks for all the input everyone! I really appreciate it :)

::rtm::

[G10]
Robots may not grab, grasp, grapple, or attach to any Arena structure. (Robots may push or react against any elements of the Arena that is not protected by another rule.)
Violation: Foul

you can't "attach" to plywood w/o grabbing it in some say... you can drive up to it but that's all you can (legally) do.