Quote:
Originally Posted by Bharat Nain
What if arms are used to break arms? How about ramming an arm? The refs did NOT call ramming. There is a clear difference between bumper to bumper CONTACT and RAMMING. RAMMING consists of a team driving at a high speed towards another robot. Bumper to bumper contact consists of one team pushing another robot. I like it when the refs allow the game to be played and don't call ramming on EVERYTHING, but ignoring the rule is just ridiculous. The rule is there for a reason, and if a teams arm has to break, there is no point trying to even score. Why even build a robot that can score if you can simply break another robots arms and win?
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1> Arms are specifically not allowed to be used to block, so arm-to-arm interference is not allowed.
2> contact (even hard contact) with an arm that is outside the bumperzone is legal. Arms that exceed the bumperzone (IE most arms) must be built for vigorous action.
3> Ramming and pushing are allowed within reason. Highspeed ramming is not allowed. I saw many 10-point penalties assessed for high speed ramming at BAE GSR. The refs are definately not 'ignoring' this rule. To show the forces involved, we never high-speed rammed anyone while at BAE but we did break our 'FIRST approved' front bumper ..... twice.
4> Many arms survived the rigors of a regional with little damage. When I walked the pits at BAE GSR one of the things I looked for was the robustness and flexability of the arms that were being used, because I knew they would be seeing forces that they were not designed for. For the most part, I was able to pick out the arms that would not survive the weekend.
5> Intentionally breaking another robots arm is grounds for disqualification. Rigorous defense that unintentionally breaks a robots arm is within the rules.
As always, the above is JMHO.