[UnknownMember]

I read in the FRC Manual that "ROBOTS may be in POSSESSION of a maximum of one EMPTY CELL, or may HERD a maximum of one EMPTY CELL at one time. A ROBOT may not be in POSSESSION and HERD EMPTY CELLS at the same time. A violation will cause a PENALTY to be assigned." (<G24>)

Herding is defined as "Controlling the position and movement of a GAME PIECE while the GAME PIECE is not supported by any ROBOT (i.e. supported by the CRATER or other GAME PIECES). Both continuous and intermittent contact between the ROBOT and GAME PIECE are considered HERDING. (e.g. bumping, plowing or dribbling a GAME PIECE)" (7.2 Definitions)

So, if I am reading this correctly, an alliance can receive a penalty if they are both herding and in posession of an empty cell at the same time, even though intermittently bumping the empty cell is considered herding? While there are only four empty cells, it still seems likely that one or two will land on the floor, and be nudged around by robots, even if unintential. So if one of those robots has an empty cell in their posession, they can legally be penalized?

I realize that it is highly unlikely that a ref would choose to penalize a bot for this unless it appeared obvious they were intending to hit the cell, but it still seems unfair to me...Any thoughts?