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Originally Posted by Kevin Sevcik
... The first example being a ramp that starts several feet above the top of the pole, and a deployment mechanism that's smart enough to trigger far enough in advance that the falling minibot crosses the cylinder just after the endgame starts.
That said, I think it's patently obvious that said minibot gains an advantage from dropping from such a height.
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This is clearly illegal since after deployment not all of the energy came from the batteries - some of the energy came from the potential energy of having the minibot well above the deployment line.
If the minibot starts below the exit point of the ramp, then ZERO potential energy is used in the speed of the minibot at the end of deployment - even if the minibot travels all the way down to the floor before starting upward. Thus ALL energy comes from the batteries, which is 100% legal.
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Similarly, I think the argument could be made that nearly ALL ramp systems are illegal by a (very) strict reading of the rules. G19 etc. state that the minibot must move up the pole with electric energy provided by the battery AFTER deployment. Deployment starts when the minibot crosses the cylinder. Ergo, any ramp system where the minibot starts a significant distance away from the cylinder is putting significant energy into the minibot system before deployment starts. It's kinetic energy stored in the inertia of the battery and frame, but it's stored energy all the same, and it would still provide an advantage.
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I agree with you here. Our ramp was constructed so our minibot starts on the edge of the cylinder (at least as close as can be repeatable). Starting the minibot a long distance from the the cylinder does provide an advantage as kinetic energy is stored before deployment begins.