Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz
Guys,
The downward sloping ramp is still manipulated by a minibot using energy ... I think it is easy to realize that if the minibot deployment occurred within the correct time frame, these ramped designs would add feet to the travel distance encountered by the minibot.
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I agree with what Al says, but I have a few questions.
To those of us who are still scratching our heads about this, perhaps the questions should focus on what has been Deployed, and when Deploying ends.
If the Host bot is not supposed to impart any pole-climbing help to the mini-bot after the mini-bot is deployed (and if starting the mini-bot motors is one way to know that deployment is ended?), then a ramp that is part of the host-bot deployment mechanism(s) would seem to violate that rule; regardless of whether the mini-bot pays the universe back on the upward climb after reaching the bottom of the ramp.
If the mini-bots include both the parts that climb to the tops of the poles and the ramps that are left at the bottom of the pole, that might make a difference; but my instinct is that the ramps are parts of the host-bots, not part of the mini-bots
If the device that gets deployed (the mini-bot) is supposed to only use battery power and not begin with any other stored energy, then a ramp that is not part of the host-bot would seem to be a violation of the rules governing mini-bot construction and behavior (but maybe not).
If you can't spin up a flywheel during deployment and carry that angular momentum into the race, I don't see why you should be allowed to drive down a hill and carry that angular and linear momentum into the race.
On the other hand, if when the race begins you want to start off of the pole and then drive along a track to reach the pole, and if the time spent driving on that track is part of your total race time, and if you are allowed to race along things that are not the pole (such as a track you bring and keep below the line), then I can understand that a ramp would be legal.
I admit that I have not (re)studied every deployment, etc. rule before writing this; but I do hope that a careful examination of what it means to be deployed, and of when the state of "being deployed" ends for a mini-bot, will help clear this up. There are plenty of gurus who can cite the precise rules that apply. I'm just trying to think through how many of those rules need to be examined.
Blake