[David Brinza]

Originally Posted by Henry_222

... On of which was from a member of team 4 who asked if an appendage broke and was the first part of said robot to contact another robot (being outside of the bumper zone) would there be a penalty. There answer was yes, a penalty would ensue. I don't know why I typed that entire question out, just an example I guess of one of the good questions.
...
Teams, drivers, coaches, read the rules and play with gracious professionalism in mind. I understand that the game is the game, but lets not turn this game to a 2005 who gets the most penalties.
...
-$.02 de Henry

I think the question by our team captain was more general and the answer, perhaps, more disturbing:
If something breaks on a robot such that it becomes an appendage, would penalties be incurred by contact with an opposing robot outside the bumper zone? Answer: Yes.

So, if you design and build a robot that is not intended to ever extend beyond the bumper zone, but a mechanical failure occurs such that now your robot has a loose piece that could contact a opposing robot outside of the bumper zone, you are now vulnerable to being penalized should the opponent drive into your broken part...
So the guy who was worried about his camera getting whacked better hope that it falls to the floor, because if the opposing robot who knocked it loose in the first place now comes back and hits it as it swings around by its cables might be able to collect penalty points for his alliance. It can't be this twisted, can it ?

Probably not. However, I could imagine a portion of a shooter, or a piece of lexan coming loose from a robot and creating the potential for this penalty. So if this happens to your robot, you need to go on the defensive to prevent robot contact with your broken part. Get up your ramp and camp!