pic: illegal or not?
 

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

So what is it exactly? Does the bumper represent your robot, or another robot?

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

jsasaki,
Is it some sort of bumper clamp? Need more details.

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

Actually, I'd be worried about the bumper number rules. They must be white, or outlined in white. Those are white&black and the white is not the outline color. Also, from a rough guess, I'd say the white portion is not a 3/4" stroke assuming the numbers are 4" tall, and the black wouldn't count since it has hardly any contrast with the red so it does not add to readability.

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

If that is a clamp that you put out as an appendage and it is not over 14" from your frame... it is probably ok but remember that many robots have different bumper heights... not much... but a little... and this would not work..if it clamps from both sides..

There is no rule that says you may not clamp onto an alliance partner.

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

Also, clamping to a robots bumper wont be much of a sure thing.
I imagine that many teams bumpers weren't attached to the chassis with load bearing in mind.

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

Are they that strict on the bumpers nowadays? They're definitely white.... and very legible.

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

Yes, they're that strict -- either they follow the rules or they don't pass inspection. Lots of teams have had bumper issues trying to pass inspection this year.

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

One of the more common parts requests on Thursday at the Chesapeake regional was "Team X is looking for white fabric paint (and a brush)." Apparently a lot of people missed the whole number has to be white or outlined in white line that was different from last year.

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

If they're not a 3/4" stroke & 4" tall, redo them. I had a couple of robots that I inspected at GKC that had to re-do their numbers for this very reason. There may have been others. We also had a lot of other bumper issues that had to be corrected; the other big one was the 8" protection of corners.

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

Yes, they are that strict.

This past weekend at the West Michigan District, the measurers informed us half way through the competition that we were not legal. Our bumper hardware and backing was good, but in the corners where the bumper fabric was folded, it touched their measuring jig (the jig was 2 inches high).

We interpreted the rule differently, in that we believed if a 2 inch jig could easily slide under our bumpers then we were legal. They disagreed, and said our bumpers couldn't touch the top of their 2 inch jig.

A half pound of staples later, out bumpers are aesthetically disgusting, but the fabric no longer brushed the 2 inch jig.

Live and learn.

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

we used white numbers with a black outline on out robot and we passed bumper inspection easily.

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

You should not have passed inspection. Don't expect to pass if you go to another regional or the champs.

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

My guess is this is an appendage that extends to either top/bottom of the other bot's bumper plywood, thereby allowing the other bot to travel (or more likely be slowly pushed) to point where its COG is beyond the edge of the bridge (or at least prevent the bot from tipping when a couple wheels lose contact with the bridge)

If I'm right, you going to have to have a very trusting and willing partner to accept that this rig is the only thing hold them from falling a foot or two to the floor.

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

It depends on the stroke width of the white part - if 3/4" or more, then it would be OK IMHO.

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

Here are the direct rules on the bumper text color rule:

2011: “<R09>...The numerals must be at least 4” high, at least in ¾” stroke width and in a contrasting color from its background...”
2012: “[R35] ...The numerals must be at least 4 in. high, at least ¾ in. in stroke width, and be either white in color or outlined in white...”

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

As the lead inspector at your event, I can tell you that unless the white part is 3/4" wide, if I had seen them they would not have passed. However, I was much too busy looking at other problems.

And I can pretty much guarantee you they will not pass at your next event.....

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

Back to the OP. Legality of anything in competition is decided by the GDC and the officials at any competition. Chief Delphi is not the best place to ask about rules or legality because most people who read these forums have no direct influence on the actual legality of something, we can only speculate and offer personal opinions about the rules.

If you have any doubts about something, I suggest that you search for a relevant Q&A or post one of your own. These will be much more reliable than anything that you see here.

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

While true that legality is decided by the GDC, referees, and inspectors, that doesn't mean CD isn't the best alternative to inquire about legality. For one, the GDC has repeatedly stated that they will not offer any definitive ruling on the legality of the design; the format of their answers is consistent with this, as answers to a question often consist of the relevant rule(s) and nothing more, leaving the team in question to interpret the answer. For another, there are numerous inspectors (e.g. Wayne and Al) and referees (Gary) who can offer their own personal opinions on gray areas and how they would rule on such matters at a competition.

TL;DR: Q&A is certainly a good route to take, but depending on how gray the topic in question is, CD is certainly a good place to ask the question.

That being said, the OP should clarify his post and what exactly he's asking is legal or not.

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

Thanks for adding that.

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

sorry for my very vague post. fear not out bumpers are legal. those were last years. :D as for my OP, this was intended to be used in elims (if we make it) as a bridge tipper and grabber. as for varying bumper heights go this was made so the top was at 10 inches and the bottom clamped on. the clamp is more so for security whereas the main section of this is used to ensure robots dont "tip" over the edge when pushed close to the edge. all in all this is mainly for extra help. kind of like 148's stinger (using them as a reference) just wanted to see what the CD community thought.
thanks for your replies

Re: pic: illegal or not?
 

Psh, that's nothing like 148's stinger - more like 1114's bridge manipulator. You might want to take a look at Waterloo elims; their balancing strategy was to hook onto their alliance robot's bumper and drag them up the bridge.

In that case, I agree with your finding, as G37 only prevents intruding into the opponent's frame perimeter. That being said, make sure that if you use this method, that whatever you're latching onto has enough structural strength to withstand this linkage.