Quote:
Originally Posted by chinckley
I am so confused on these bumpers. The rules seem much more nebulus than in years prior. Is there an upper limit as to how high the bumper can be placed? Bottom limit? In the past they could be between the 2 and 8 inch mark from the ground. Someone mentioned they thought it was the 7inch limit for top. Can anyone confirm?
Also, I am not understanding Figure 8-4. I do not understand the okay versus not okay drawing. If the backing is within the 38" limit what is the problem?
I have read and read and read all the chief Delphi posts and the Q&A posts and am really confused. Is there one thread that really explains all this. I have been working on bumpers all the years we have had them and this is the first year of confusion. 
Thanks for your patience. 
Carolyn |
Carolyn (et al) -
If there is still serious confusion about interpretations of the bumper rules, and how to apply the rules to your robot, please post specific, detailed questions to the
FIRST Q& forums.
Chief Delphi forums are wonderful resources full of great technical information, team organization ideas, event details, strategy discussions, and related/unrelated topics too numerous to recount. But one thing that you can not find here is a binding determination of what a rule means or how it will be interpreted by the inspectors or referees at a competition. For those questions, you need to resort to the official FIRST Q&A forums.
The different answers you have received in this thread offer an excellent example of why you should refer to the official Q&A system for these sorts of questions. Some of the answers here, as well-intentioned as they may be (particularly by a few self-appointed rules experts that seem to post in every single thread), are just plain wrong. The inspectors follow the official guidelines delivered from FIRST, which are based solely on The Manual, the Team Updates, and the FIRST Q&A forums. Any rules interpretations you may get here will not carry any weight with the robot inspectors once you get to a competition.
When posting to the FIRST Q&A, try to make your question as specific and detailed as possible. The Q&A can't be used for a design review, but can be used to ask for clarification and understanding of what a rule means and how it will be applied. For example, it would not be appropriate to submit drawings of your robot and ask "is our robot legal?" But asking "does Rule <R09-P> mean that the entirety of the bumpers must be contained within the Bumper Zone, and therefore be between one and seven inches above the floor?" would be a great question that would result in an equally specific answer.
-dave
.