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Originally Posted by [b
KenWittlief[/b]]I think after spending 6 weeks building these machines hands-on most drivers have a pretty good understanding of what will get entangled, how hard you can ram someone before you break them, how hard you can push a bot before it will tip over
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After 6 weeks you
should know how your
own robot will perform against rammming, crashing, bumping etc. But that does not mean that all other robots will be as robust as your own.
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Originally Posted by [b
KenWittlief][/b]I saw a LOT of matches this year with bots getting rammed, pushed over, knocked over, disabled and seriously damaged, and I never once heard an announcer say the team was disqualified
does anyone have information to the contrary? Clearly many bots have been tipped and damaged this year - if no team was disqualified for these actions at any regional, then you might as well delete those rules from the manual
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It is possible (but unlikely) that the refs ruled that none of these incidents were intentional and were thus fully protected by the rules of the game. Removing these rules just makes the situation worse.
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Originally Posted by [b
KenWittlief][/b]its not a rule unless its inforced - or maybe they should take the 'weasle words' like 'intentional' out and state that any action that CAUSES damage or tipping will result in disqualification?
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If you take out the words "intentional" the competition would not be what it is today. Drivers would be scared into not playing the game (and utilizing their robots) to their full capability. For example, a completely un-GP team creates a robot that barely sticks together. Everytime they're touched, the bot falls apart and the team wins by default. This is an extreme, but extremes must be taken into account.
It also removes most of the willingness and need to make a robust robot. Our team puts robustness at the top of its priorities in building the 'bot. With any machine, shouldn't robustness be super-important? FIRST would not be supporting this at all if it prohibited all damage.
Finally, don't forget that this is also a spectator-friendly competition, no one wants to see robots avoiding contact in fear of "the law."