Quote:
Originally Posted by Boltman
How do you expect a ref to pay that close attention to your bot with 5 others on field?
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There are always 5 other robots (since 2005) that the refs have to pay attention to. My point was mainly that regardless of what a robot is doing, the OUTER WORKS is a protected zone. If my robot is near my opponents' OUTER WORKS, I expect the referees to be paying attention to it. Whether I'm shooting or traversing or just wandering aimlessly, being near the OUTER WORKS should invite the referees attention, just like any other FIRST game with protected zones. We haven't really had any in the last 2 years, but they used to be pretty common. 2011-2013 each had at least two different "protected" areas per alliance (loading zones and scoring zones).
Refs are human, for sure, but the OUTER WORKS protection is such a key part of the game mechanic this year that a robot anywhere near there should invite some attention from at least one ref, period. Perhaps FIRST needs to consider putting some kind of stripe on the edges of the plastic dividers so the refs can more easily see where the OUTER WORKS starts.