So here we are. Week 6. One week until stop build day. By now we have all seen a slew of videos of teams shooting balls, picking them up, autonomous detecting the goals, and even a few of teams auto-balancing on bridges using nothing but sensors and code. We have all seen 179's incredible outside-the-box concept and the word Einstein came up more than once in their teaser thread.
But I am here to say that I believe there is a strategy/concept even more game-breaking than any we have seen (posted publicly on this forum) so far. At least in one aspect of this game. Potentially reminiscient of 469's legendary Breakaway concept (hence the title of this thread, an homage to
this).
Anyway, here's the concept...
EXHIBIT A:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by G40
When the final score is assessed per [G37], a Balanced Alliance Bridge will earn points based on the number of Alliance Robots completely supported by the Bridge, per Section 2.2.5, as follows (...table...)
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Okay, so a robot must be completely supported by the balanced bridge, per Section 2.2.5, in order to score bonus points.
EXHIBIT B:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Section 2.2.5
A Bridge will count as Balanced if it is within 5° of horizontal and all Robots touching it are fully supported by it.
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Alright. Seems straightforward. Now all we need is a definition of what constitutes the bridge....
EXHIBIT C:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Q&A Response to team 2826 from 01-17
Q: What physical parts make up the bridge by definition? Essentially, where does the bridge begin and end? For example, does the welded structure under the bridge that the top connects to count as the bridge? Does the lateral bar that rotates with the bridge that count as the bridge?
A: The Bridge consists of all components included in the Bridge Assembly drawing, GE-12017
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Alright, let's look there...
EXHIBIT D:
Take a look for yourself:
http://www.usfirst.org/sites/default...wings_rev2.pdf
The drawing starts on page 22 of the PDF. Notice Item #9 on Sheet 1 of GE-12017.
The Ball Ramp Assembly.
Now put it all together.
A robot that is 8" tall at maximum (the minimum height from the carpet to the bottom of the bridge platform; see the next page in the Game Drawings PDF). Bumpers at the minimum height (2"-7" off the floor). All it has to do is drive under the bridge platform, park on the ball ramp, and it is considered "fully supported", given all of the information we have so far. On top of that, it is basicaly impossible for the bridge to come down on the side where the robot is now parked; you have a robot in the way!
QUESTIONS:
Does it meet all of the required criteria to be scored as a fully supported robot? I believe so.
Does it break any other rules? I do not believe so. The robot is not grabbing/grappling/grasping any field structure. The bumpers appear to be legal.
Is this what the GDC intended? I don't know, but I have submitted a Q&A question (albeit one with a couple of typos, sorry GDC!) in order to find out.
How many teams are planning on exploiting this? We'll find out. I am sure it is nonzero. My team is not one of them; we didn't see the loophole until we had already designed and built a shooter tower that is far taller than 8".