[Tim Arnold]

Our rookie bot had a similar outrigger system. We mounted hinges on the back of some metal screen enclosure post material and started the match with the outriggers upright, roughly vertical. At the start of the match, we would shake the robot and gravity would bring down the outriggers which landed on a cable that pulled a pin on a spring loaded rod, which shot out above the outriggers, locking them down.

It sounds a lot more complicated than it really was, and it didn't require any extra pnumatics or motors.