Quote:
Originally Posted by jvriezen
The video at the AndyMark field page clearly shows that the partitions between the alliance stations have elliptical holes cut in them. Is this for communication between drivers? Or to get all you guys talking, could there be some object that needs to be passed from station to station, such that only one alliance partner at a time is permitted to do something, perhaps? Or maybe, if there are three alliances of two bots each, and the holes are so that you can cooperate with your opponents 
Could this be related to the 'something different' that Frank alluded to a couple months back?
http://www.andymark.com/Field-p/am-2800.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C9rKZAxsu8#t=71 |
My interpretation was that it was to facilitate communication.
The current field has nothing there. My best guess is that it was added to help minimize noise between teams, allowing coaches to talk to their drivers with less shouting perhaps. The hole would allow the drivers to still talk to each other when needed.
Keep in mind that the not every event will be using the new fields. Last I heard, FIRST will be slowly rolling out the new field over the next few years to avoid dumping a metric boatload of cash on new fields all at once. I won't rule out the possibility of retrofitting existing fields with those pieces, but I wouldn't count on anything in the new field being a clue for the game.