R4 clarification
 

When strategizing with my team, the question came up whether or not we could have a piston, for example, that would extend in front of the bumper. I've crudely drawn a together a couple of diagrams to demonstrate what I mean.

Before the match started, the robot would start like this:


and at some point during the match, to pick up a boulder, for example, the pistons would extend and form something like this:


When checking the rules, I came across R4 which states
However, this only states that the robot can't start with something extruding past the bumper. Would I be able to extend something below the bumper like that?

Thanks so much!

Re: R4 clarification
 

Keep reading. BACKWARDS in this case, to R3B. You're just fine, provided that it's retracted to start and <=15" past the Frame Perimeter when deployed.

Re: R4 clarification
 

Bumpers do not count as part of the frame perimeter. You can't start the match with anything outside your perimeter. But otherwise yes, you may extend 15 inches outside your frame perimeter DURING the match.

Re: R4 clarification
 

Hah! I was debating putting that in my post to begin with. So just to confirm, it's fine, even though it would extend in front of the bumper?

Re: R4 clarification
 

The rules you want to review are those regarding the Frame Perimeter (mainly R2-R4) and those regarding bumpers (mainly R19-R28). It's generally helpful to get in the habit of thinking of the rules in the language used in the manual, so you can be descriptive when asking about specific configurations.

Looking at your illustrations, it's hard to tell where the retracted position is relative to the Frame Perimeter, but the general concept seems to be within the scope of the rules.

Re: R4 clarification
 

Yep. I checked those but I wasn't wholly sure.

The retracted piston would be within the frame perimeter, yes.

I'll be sure to keep that in mind for next time. :)

Thank you!