Re: Week 2: Any new lessons learned?
 

Just had a question. I apologize if it was already answered before...

What if your opponent robot rams you with full speed resulting your robot lift off the ground and your arm break the plane of the lane, should you get a penalty?

Re: Week 2: Any new lessons learned?
 

By the rules? Yes.

Will it be called? I'm not sure.

Re: Week 2: Any new lessons learned?
 

They sure called this in Wisconsin. Here's an example. In match 22 we took a pretty big hit at 0:34. This is an example of what I would call incidental contact. Neither robot was trying to push the other into the lane. 2039 got in our way, we made contact and bounced into the lane (we sheared drive shaft during the collision...watch the front left wheel bounce up just after contact). We immediately left the lane and continued with the game. They called a G33 on us for entering the lane.

Logically does it make sense to throw the flag in this case? Probably not. By the intent of G33 should the flag get thrown? Probably not. By the letter of G33 should the flag get thrown? Probably.

The rules clearly state that we are not to break the plane of the opponents lane with anything for any reason even if we're forced into that position. Those are the rules that we have been given, and those are what we have to play by. There have been much worse rules in years past ;)

Re: Week 2: Any new lessons learned?
 

As to the minibot part, remember that ties are solved by the team whose minibot makes it up first! Not match score.

Re: Week 2: Any new lessons learned?
 

I'm a little late to this thread, but the bolts are NOT NEW as Kara's photo points out. I took THIS PHOTO at the actual Kickoff, AND shared it in this thread. It clearly shows the four bolts that were there on the day of kickoff.

Re: Week 2: Any new lessons learned?
 

Why isn't it logical to throw the flag? The intent of G33 is very clear there is no probably about it.

Re: Week 2: Any new lessons learned?
 

Because it was inadvertent, caused by contact with another robot, and they got out right away, plus there wasn't anybody in the lane at the time.

According to the rule, yes, flag. But that kind of thing is what <G61> would prevent if it wasn't specifically excepted from the rule.

Re: Week 2: Any new lessons learned?
 

Every single "1 sec" bot I have seen impacts the trigger plates within 2 inches of the pole, far from the bolts on the outer perimeter. Our 1.5ish minibot triggered every time with impact about 2 inches from pole on same tower faster minibots sometimes didn't trigger in San Diego. To me this suggests contact time does play a role...but why trigger one run and not another if same minibot, same speed, same basic contact area? Suggests the variable is part of the trigger mechanism, right?

Re: Week 2: Any new lessons learned?
 

Just to be clear, we were correctly given a penalty based on the text of the rule. I'm not debating that. I'm also not making excuses. Our drivers know the rules and play the game with those in mind.

I agree that the intent that is spelled out in the blue box in the manual is very clear.The point that I was trying to get at was that based on that intent alone, I don't think that we were hindering a robot from getting tubes from the feeder therefore we were in compliance with the intent of the rule.

The reason that I think that it isn't logical to throw the flag is because it was an incidental contact situation. There was no intent by our driver to enter that lane. There wasn't even an accidental movement that caused us to cross the line. It was purely the physical reaction to a collision (not even a pushing match).

I've always been against ticky-tack rules like this that have no bearing on the outcome of the game. Look at how many matches ended up with one or more alliances having 0 points because of lane violation penalties. How many of those matches actually had robots hindering another getting to/from the feeder. I would guess very few.

The same goes for DQs of teams that bump an opponents tower during endgame when there isn't even an opponent trying to deploy a minibot or if the a tube that they're picking up brushes against the opposite side of the tower from where deployment is taking place. As long as there is no intention to interfere or contact with a robot, I don't see why this is a DQable offense (I'm fine with just a penalty).

Re: Week 2: Any new lessons learned?
 

One thing I learned in week 2.
Those stupid bodysuits are already played out.

Re: Week 2: Any new lessons learned?
 

Tubes in Florida were much, much less inflated than the tubes I saw in Week 1 in New Jersey. (The Florida tubes were apparently blown up so that they fit in the jig, rather than blown up all the way and then forced in the jig...)

Re: Week 2: Any new lessons learned?
 

Really? :ahh:

Much of our issues at FLR were tube-inflation related. What worked perfectly at home -- floor loading, handing, holding on, autonomous -- wouldn't work at all at FLR because of tube inflation, and we had to modify and remodify and remodify to finally get it to work right -- indeed, it cost us much of the competition as a non-scoring robot (except for minibot) because we spent the whole time playing catch-up.

If we get off the wait list and actually go to Championship, I hope we don't have to re-modify our claw back to the way it originally was.

Re: Week 2: Any new lessons learned?
 

I feel you! After seeing marshmallow-looking tubes in NJ, we hurriedly built a taller claw as a spare just in case Florida was more of the same. With two more official events and then offseasons, it looks like "Normal Tube Claw" and "Ginormous Tube Claw" will have to be traveling with us everywhere...

Re: Week 2: Any new lessons learned?
 

WPI was generally a little overinflated. I didn't see jigs anywhere. No horror stories, but still a bit much.

Re: Week 2: Any new lessons learned?
 

In reply to the points for a logo on the top row, I know this is redundant to other threads, but the points for a completed logo with 0, 1, 2, or 3 Ubertubes is 18, 30, 42, 54, respectively. You do not get to double the 6 points you get for the Ubertube scored in autonomous.

Basically, if used properly each ubertube is worth 12 points.