Flying?
 

So, we are searching for a rule in the manual that specifically forbids creating a robot that has the ability to fly....my better judgement says that this is a bad idea, but I cannot find a rule against it. If you have found a rule please let me know, for it could change our entire design :)

Re: Flying?
 

The closest I have seen is G45.

Re: Flying?
 

Rule G17 says the robot cant be higher than 4ft 6in, may be it hard to keep within that.

Re: Flying?
 

Read the blue box of G17.

Re: Flying?
 

One could interpret G17 as not allowing it, but then it does allow for angling and the like...
interesting observation. Given the nature of the game and the new availibility of the 775pro, I could see an ultralight robot being made to fly. It would probably draw too much current though, especially given the weight of the battery and control system.

EDIT: just ran some quick numbers. You would need many, many 775pros to do anything. Each motor produces perhaps 1.4-3lbs of thrust, 1.6lbs of which goes to the weight of the motor itself (which weighs 0.8lbs, leaving between -0.2 and 1.4lbs thrust for the other parts of the robot. Chassis + battery + control system will run at least 30lbs, so you will need at minimum 21 775pros, not including any manipulators you might want to attach.

Re: Flying?
 

You'd need to fly low if you want to score points for CROSSING the DEFENSES.

Re: Flying?
 

Good luck making a robot fly with the 13 lb battery we use.

Re: Flying?
 

How do you figure? The requirement is to "traverses the DEFENSE such that its BUMPERS go fully between the adjacent SHIELDS/GUARDRAIL". The outer works have infinite height.

Re: Flying?
 

plus bumpers and control system!

Re: Flying?
 

G44 ... a ROBOT “leapfrogging” or “spider climbing” across a DEFENSE by applying force to the SHIELDS and lifting itself over the DEFENSE is a
violation of this rule

Leapfrogging is pretty much temporarily flying. It's mentioned in the rules, and pretty much says if you do it, do it without putting pressure on the defense shields. Just a thought.

Re: Flying?
 

I see no rule against it, and I say if you can find a way to create a flying robot with the parameters given, more power to you

Re: Flying?
 

Also,
G17 ROBOT height, as measured when it’s resting normally on a flat floor, may not exceed 4 ft. 6 in. This is saying that one edge/corner of the robot can be more than 4'6" off the ground, as long as the height of the robot doesn't exceed 4'6". This is also shown in the rule diagram.

Re: Flying?
 

See the sub-section on "Shields" in part 2 of the manual - they're only 2 feet tall.

Re: Flying?
 

He's got a point. The rules do allow for that this year!

Re: Flying?
 

Yeah, lets just let 148 work that one out, it would be a nice successor to Tumbleweed.