Vex contest from Exploding Bacon
 

Hi Everyone:

Team 1902 announces our first shot at a vex game. We are inviting anyone in Central Florida, or anyone who wants to come visit to participate. Please go to our website www.team1902.com for all the rules. This is a very laid back competition. We are planning to hold the competition sometime in late Aug or early Sept. possibly in Dans garage if we can't get another place.

Re: Vex contest from Exploding Bacon
 

This oughta be an interesting game. It seemed easy at first (really, where's the defense?), but the more I look at it, the more I realize that it'll take a great robot and driver to get the top scores.

It seems like the tennis ball will be a beast to score, given the lack of field barriers (you can't just spit it out like the bottles, or it'll roll out), but that might just be the speculation of someone who's never tried. ;)

This might be reason enough to break out the ol' Vex kit...

Re: Vex contest from Exploding Bacon
 

That should be easy. Here's a hint. Grab the tennis ball last.

Re: Vex contest from Exploding Bacon
 

I believe this contest has put me and my new roommate (CD Name: George1902) in a "We can't talk about VEX to each other" mode for the next few weeks while we work with our victims, I mean students, to design/build our robots.

Who says the college mentors can't have as much fun? :)

Re: Vex contest from Exploding Bacon
 

I haven't seen a definition of an object being "in" the scoring area. Does it have to be touching the ground, or can you load it on your robot and leave it?

Re: Vex contest from Exploding Bacon
 

Good question and it was vague in the rules. I better defined the rules adjusted the rules to allow part of an object is inside the robot home base but still be inside the robot.

Thanks for your input, it made the rules better.

Re: Vex contest from Exploding Bacon
 

Bill sent us an email about a bot that reached across from the robot base to pick up the object. I have updated the FAQ to specifically allow that to happen, I would love to see this bot in action. The FAQ says:

Q. Can a robot stay in home base and reach out to the objects and transport them across?
A. There is nothing in rules against that so it is legal. If someone can build a robot to stretch that far (about 12 to 14 feet) without falling over in the process and come up with a mechanism, that person should be rewarded, more power to them and I would love to see it in action.

Re: Vex contest from Exploding Bacon
 

Since I can't quite resolve the conflict in my head, I'll ask a question or two.

-If an object being held by the robot is within its home base, is it still considered as an object being transported by the robot (and thus the robot can't get a new one)?

-Can a robot move objects within the object area while transporting an item?

Re: Vex contest from Exploding Bacon
 

So I guess we need another FAQ:

Q. If an object being held by the robot is within its home base, is it still considered as an object being transported by the robot (and thus the robot can't get a new one)?
A. Correct robot can not get another one. The idea was a robot wasn’t going to grab 2 or more objects at a time and transport them. So the spirit of the rule is that you can only have one object at a time. Thus the robot can not pick up and hold more than one object.

Re: Vex contest from Exploding Bacon
 

Q. Can a robot move objects within the object area while transporting an item?
A. Yes. Robot can touch, push objects in the robot home base or starting location while holding another object.

Re: Vex contest from Exploding Bacon
 

BIll,

Good questions. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Let me know if you think my answers might be out of line.

Are you really going for the robot that reaches to the other side from home base?

Re: Vex contest from Exploding Bacon
 

It's the idea that comes to mind. The idea is somewhat hero-or-zero, but it might just be crazy enough to work. (And I might just be crazy enough to book a ticket down to Winter Park to prove it. ;))

Alright, a couple more and I might just shut up.

-Given the natural predisposition of the game objects to roll if not perfectly upright, can a well-placed shoe, leg, buttock, or starter kit box camp out just beyond the edge of the tape?

-If a flopbot succeeds in doing the whole match without touching outside of the hard path, does it still get the 20 points?

And one field layout question: At the corners on the hard path, how far is it from the apex of the turn to the edge of the field?

(By the way, the revised rules on the website are a broken link.)

Re: Vex contest from Exploding Bacon
 

Alright, a couple more and I might just shut up.

NEW FAQ:
Q. Given the natural predisposition of the game objects to roll if not perfectly upright, can a well-placed shoe, leg, buttock, or starter kit box camp out just beyond the edge of the tape?
A. No. If it rolls out then and is touching the outside of the arena at end of game no points. It will be played on carpet which help in the roll see rule 1.

-If a flopbot succeeds in doing the whole match without touching outside of the hard path, does it still get the 20 points?

Yes!

And one field layout question: At the corners on the hard path, how far is it from the apex of the turn to the edge of the field?

I don't know. Haven't built it yet. But the sides of the hard path are parallel. One side is defined by it being 3ft from corner. Other side by it being parallel. I am not good enough in math to figure that out without building it.

I loaded the rules so you can get to it. Try this one, let me know if you can get to it:

https://www.mygcx.org/file/roboticsy...e%20V1%203.doc

Re: Vex contest from Exploding Bacon
 

I ran some math, and I figured I'd be nice and post this before it shocks everyone when they run on the field.

The width of the hard path is 1.5 feet. The path takes up 1.5 feet of the edge of the field. This creates an equilateral triangle--they're all 1.5 feet. You can then find the height, and thus how much space you have to get around the curve, using the Pythagorean Theorem. With a little calculating (or by looking at the attachment), you'll see that the distance is only a smidge under 1.3 feet!

Don't say I didn't warn 'ya. ;)

Re: Vex contest from Exploding Bacon
 

I knew it was something under 1.5ft wide for the path. Had to be since it was at an angle. So Now we can tell people what it is.

BTW, Bill where do you live?