Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Fultz
My first sentence was a statement, not a question.
The update says that the protrusions are excluded in determining the perimeter. Therefore, they cannot be considered in voilation of the frame perimeter if they are not considered when defining it.
It is sort of like the weight rule and batteries. Your weight limit excludes the battery. If you pass weight without the battery, then you cannot be considered overweight when you put the battery in.
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Unfortunately, you can't think of it that way.
The frame perimeter is (by both the original and the amended definitions) determined based on things within the bumper zone—when determining the frame perimeter, you're therefore only considering fasteners within the bumper zone. Nothing outside of that zone is relevant to "the determination of the FRAME PERIMETER".
Checking for compliance with <R16> and <G30> is a process that is not changed in any way by the update. You take the defined frame perimeter (which excludes minor protrusions
in the bumper zone), and you find the extent to which the rest of the robot protrudes around it.
The key is that Update #6 only deals with the definition of frame perimeter. All of the rules that rely on that definition are
unaffected.
On the subject of intent, I don't think it's so self-evident that the GDC intended to allow minor, non-frame-perimeter protrusions. After all, the rationale from the update was "to permit a simplified definition of the FRAME PERIMETER"—mission accomplished—"and encourage a tight, robust connection between the BUMPERS and the FRAME PERIMETER"—which has nothing at all to do with fasteners outside the bumper zone.
I don't disagree that letting minor protrusions (anywhere on the robot) exceed the frame perimeter would have merit. But based on the text of the update, I don't see a compelling reason to assume that we should be expecting the rule to change, or that the GDC miscommunicated their intent.
In any case, this won't be a huge deal to solve (if the rules remain as-is). Since it's (hopefully) well-understood that none of this applies to the maximum robot size, presumably any team using non-frame-perimeter protrusions on their robot will also have space to include a series of shim plates behind their bumpers to extend the frame perimeter outward.