Hey Tom - great idea!
I've thought about this for a bit. Regardless of which path we choose to go down in revising this rule, we must absolutely, positively
get rid of that arbitrarily-levied 10-point penalty that was wedged into G25 during one of the Team Updates. Basically, try to restore G25 to its original, kickoff-era glory. The *overagressiveness* penalty is a bane to well-meaning teams who like to play legal defense (79 comes to mind, and YES, 48), and it's a free pass for truly mischievous teams that lets them continue to execute their damaging strategies without any true punishment. It's a cop out for the refs, who must be required to deliver a swift, severe decision in such malicious intent cases to bring these teams to justice and quickly teach them never to do it again (unless they are truly off their rocker).
So, we've removed the "gray area" that the 10-point penalty brought to the table. The next question is to define the boundary line between black and white for the refs. I believe a question everyone asks when talking about writing such rules as G25 is, "Should we punish the
action or the
intent?" Well, as I've said all along, I truly believe that G25,
in its original wording, did a good job of separating and specifying which actions were legal and which were not. Intent is inherently implied by the actions teams choose to follow. Most refs don't have psychology degrees - they should not be asked to judge the intent of a student driving the robot, as the majority of the psychology professionals in the world probably couldn't figure out just what's going on inside a typical FIRST kid's mind. The question a ref must ask him/herself is not "What is that kid
thinking?" but "What did that kid just
do?" If he/she just engaged in a "normal game play", then that nets zero penalty. If he/she just engaged in "inappropriate robot interaction", that gets their team a warning or a DQ - that is the only area in which the ref's discretion should be called upon. All other decisions should already be made for them.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Extreme G25 Makeover, Trav Edition - Edited
Strategies aimed solely at the destruction, damage, tipping over, or entanglement of ROBOTS are not in the spirit of FIRST Robotics Competition and are not allowed. However, Triple Play is a highly interactive contact game. Some tipping, entanglement, and damage will occur as a part of normal game play, but no penalty shall be levied against teams in such cases. If the tipping, entanglement, or damage occurs where it is not a part of normal game play, the offending team/ROBOT may be disqualified from that match. Repeated offenses could result in a team/ROBOT being disqualified from the remainder of the Regional or Championship competition.
Examples of normal game play interaction include:
• Pushing low on another ROBOT without getting underneath it. The final resting place, orientation, or operational status of the robot being pushed in this manner has no bearing on the legality of the manuever as defined by this rule. However, other rules regarding pinning, safety, and playing field damage may apply.
• Blocking or pushing on a TETRA that is in possession of an opposing ROBOT.
• Establishing ROBOT position to block access to a GOAL by an opposing ROBOT.
• Using an arm or gripper to prevent an opposing ROBOT from placing a TETRA on a GOAL. This may include pushing high against another robot's arm, but tipping of that robot when this method of interaction is employed is prohibited. Playing the TETRA as described above is the best way to avoid penalty. --> I put this in there to cancel out the ambiguity created by "Using an arm or gripper to repeatedly strike an opposing ROBOT that is not in the process of placing a TETRA on a GOAL" shown in the inappropriate list below. That statement inherently implies that it is ok to strike the arm of a ROBOT that IS trying to cap a tetra on a goal. As stated below, however, tipping a robot while pushing an arm up high is still illegal.
Examples of inappropriate robot interaction include:
• Pushing high on a robot and tipping it over.
• Using an arm or gripper to ([delete] repeatedly) strike an opposing ROBOT that is not in the process of placing a TETRA on a GOAL.
• Actively placing any part of your ROBOT under an opposing ROBOT, ([delete] and then lifting) causing it to ([delete] flip it) tip over. This includes getting under a robot during the course of a normal low pushing interaction described above. Do not continue to push if your robot gets under another. Back off, for if that robot tips over while you are underneath them, you will be subject to disqualification.
• Using an arm ([replace with "or"] and) gripper to pull a ROBOT by ([replace with "snagging"] grabbing) electrical cables, hoses, etc. or disabling a
ROBOT by tearing out wires or hoses.
• Grasping or attaching to a TETRA that is in the possession of an opposing ROBOT, and using it to
pull over the opposing ROBOT.
• Ramming another ROBOT ([delete] at high speed) from a distance of more than 1 Robot Unit [1 R.U. = 3 feet] away.
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Here's the final version:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Extreme G25 Makeover, Trav Edition - Final
Strategies aimed solely at the destruction, damage, tipping over, or entanglement of ROBOTS are not in the spirit of FIRST Robotics Competition and are not allowed. However, Triple Play is a highly interactive contact game. Some tipping, entanglement, and damage will occur as a part of normal game play, but no penalty shall be levied against teams in such cases. If the tipping, entanglement, or damage occurs where it is not a part of normal game play, the offending team/ROBOT may be disqualified from that match. Repeated offenses could result in a team/ROBOT being disqualified from the remainder of the Regional or Championship competition.
Examples of normal game play interaction include:
• Pushing low on another ROBOT without getting underneath it. The final resting place, orientation, or operational status of the robot being pushed in this manner has no bearing on the legality of the manuever as defined by this rule. However, other rules regarding pinning, safety, and playing field damage may apply.
• Blocking or pushing on a TETRA that is in possession of an opposing ROBOT.
• Establishing ROBOT position to block access to a GOAL by an opposing ROBOT.
• Using an arm or gripper to prevent an opposing ROBOT from placing a TETRA on a GOAL. This may include pushing high against another robot's arm, but tipping of that robot when this method of interaction is employed is prohibited. Playing the TETRA as described above is the best way to avoid penalty.
Examples of inappropriate robot interaction include:
• Pushing high on a robot and tipping it over.
• Using an arm or gripper to strike an opposing ROBOT that is not in the process of placing a TETRA on a GOAL.
• Actively placing any part of your ROBOT under an opposing ROBOT, causing it to tip over. This includes getting under a robot during the course of a normal low pushing interaction described above. Do not continue to push if your robot gets under another. Back off, for if that robot tips over while you are underneath them, you will be subject to disqualification.
• Using an arm or gripper to pull a ROBOT by snagging electrical cables, hoses, etc. or disabling a
ROBOT by tearing out wires or hoses.
• Grasping or attaching to a TETRA that is in the possession of an opposing ROBOT, and using it to
pull over the opposing ROBOT.
• Ramming another ROBOT from a distance of more than 1 Robot Unit [1 R.U. = 3 feet] away.
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