Re: Flipping bots
 

EDIT: Never mind, one should remember to refresh when posting responses to questions in case they've already been answered... >_>

Re: Flipping bots
 

The bumper rules killed all the 'fall over to become bigger' robots, limiting all robots to the max config of 38x28 up til 2013

The perimeter rule made robots even smaller still, but allowed for some more creativity. If you scale the the old max config into the the current perimeter, it ends up being something like 26x30"

Last year we needed some extra space to fit all the 'stuff'. Like this year, we needed a wide pickup, it was out thinking that if we could pick up 2 frisbees wide auto would be a piece of cake.

By chamfering the corners by 3.5"x4" we were able to save 8.75" of perimeter, directly translating into an extra 4" of length making our robot 32"x28". 3 of those inches made it possible for our pickup to deliver disks from our pickup to our hopper.

Only downside was bumpers were a pain to make, but isn't that always the case? ;)

Re: Flipping bots
 

Instead of articulating, you could have two sets of hard mounted bumpers, one for each orientation. The ones for not in the starting configuration would "not be bumpers" and would count in your weight allowance. Thats my interpretation of the rules, but i would certainly post an official Q&A before adopting that strategy.

Re: Flipping bots
 

Your bumpers wouldn't be in the bumper zone while you're in the act of falling.