While I personally like the idea of a field that reacts to the presence of a robot, I don't think we'll see anything mechanically actuated on the field anytime soon.

Last year's interactive element (the bridge) relied on one of the most reliable things known to Man to operate, gravity, and there were still occasional problems. Bridges getting knocked off the pivot, hanging up, etc.

If you have mechanically actuated elements then the organizers have to deal with the question "What happens when it doesn't work?". Especially when the non-function is not the fault of one of the teams on the field. Do you give them a replay? If it's not vital to the conduct of the game, if it doesn't affect the final score then why have it at all? But if teams need it to score big and it doesn't work as designed, can we fault the teams for being upset?

It just opens too many cans of worms to have active field elements. Passive elements, such as the bridge, the puck, or the tower from Torrid Terror are a whole different ballgame. I expect to see more origninal ideas in that catagory.

ChrisH