[EricH]

Originally Posted by Madison

What difference does it make that a gravity-lowered lift no longer works when the robot's been tipped over? Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees.

If a gravity-lowered lift is up, and the robot is tipped over, that lift is now blocking the field. Because it's gravity-powered, it can't go down (robot-relative) any farther. This can lead to penalties (the 84" cylinder, for example--a gravity-lowered lift that falls over while trying the top peg could easily be over 84" from the floor, causing a cylinder violation) or difficulty in getting the robot upright (longer moment arm, so more motion needed to go the same rotation).

If it could be pulled down relative to the robot (not the floor), then there is less chance for penalties, it's easier for a partner to get the robot upright, and depending on design, the robot itself may be able to assist the righting process.

There have also been some comments--some time back--that dirt could jam the guides, or some other such things, that would interfere with gravity.

Can you mitigate it? Sure. But Murphy says that the problem will happen when the mitigation isn't happening right.