Ouch that ruling hurts...

[Joe Johnson]

> Is it legal to DRAG an opposing alliance robot against its will
into your home zone for an additional 10 points?

A) Yes, becareful that the mechanism you are using to attach (or
drag) a robot can be easily released. Also remember that the 1
minute setup and resetting period will apply, see rule GM6.

Will this violate "PINNING" rules?

A) No. Pinning refers to holding a robot against the edge of the
field or against the side of the goal. See Team Update #1 for rule
DQ8.

What happens if you damage their robot while dragging them?

A) If the referees determine it was caused by malicious behavior, the
alliance causing the damage will be disqualified. If the referees
determine that the damage was due to "poor Robot design", then there
will be no penalty. In all cases, it will be a referee judgement
call.

Is is just me or does this new rule scare the bejebbers out of the rest of you too?

I am not sure if I should be designing THE CLAW or working on some other aspects of the game.

Time will tell.

Joe J.

[Jon Abad]

i was pretty worried at that too. we thought about it in brainstorming but since there isn't a standard "towing hitch" then we don't want to take the risk of hurting anyone.

(So keep your mitts off Gompei 2002!)

[Suneet]

If a team tries to use THE CLAW, there will surely be ways to escape it. Eventually, teams will know their strategy and find ways to avoid them, and the team can waste its time chasing after a moving 10 points with a drive system and intelligent controllers when they could be doing something more point worthy.

~Suneet who will be shocked when ChiefDelphi drags his robot to their side if he sees them at Nationals

[joe_balint]

I like it. We should definitely see some robust wiring schemes and streamilined, groud-hugging chassis coming out of the controls and Chassis CDTs respectively. If not, that will be cool too! -Joe note: CDT=Component Design Team

[Mike Norton]

the team can waste its time chasing after a moving 10 points with a drive system and intelligent controllers when they could be doing something more point worthy.

Have you not seen in the past what robots have done. it has always come down to one robot hitting others to stop them from doing what they would like to do.

so chasing after another robot is going to be a big factor in the finals.

just think if you are lifted off the ground can your robot fight back.

and if it does fight back will you be able to right yourself if fliped over.

just think of the points. both team robots are off the ground with no control the other team can place the points any where they need to get the most point.

[Eddie]

That is a good point; controlling the field is very advantageous. But remember that maximizing both teams scores will get you the most points, as long as you still win. If you focus on flipping other robots over, dragging them, or trapping them somehow, then you can do nothing but garauntee a win for your team. If you can garauntee a victory and still make sure that the opposing team has lots of points, then you will be much more successful.

Just some thoughts...

[Mike Norton]

If you can garauntee a victory and still make sure that the opposing team has lots of points, then you will be much more successful.

This is good only for the seeding round.

[Warren Boudreau]

Joe,
I'm with you. That ruling is opeing the door for disaster. Pushing a robot against it's will is a whole lot different that grabbing and dragging.
The entire ruling goes contrary to the gracious professionalism that we are supposed to be demonstrating to the students.

[Tom Fairchild]

I wouldn't sweat this one too much. Personally I don't think that many teams are going to spend time trying to build a robot that can/will pick up another robot. If anything, the physics of it would be difficult. 130 lbs that you're picking up vs. the 130 lbs that you weigh means that more than likely you'll tip over your wheels (yes, many ways around this, but will teams bother trying?) There are many other ways to score points that are easier than this.

~Tom Fairchild~, who thinks that its going to be like teams lowering their own score two years back - a problem that could have arised but never really did.

[Joe Johnson]

I won't give folks ideas, but let me just say that it would be easier than you might think to build a robot hauler.

I don't want to build one, but if I did, it would not have to worry about falling over as you describe.

Here's to robot haulers being rare and unsuccessful!

Joe J.

[kevinw]

I think robot haulers might actually add an extremely interesting dimension to the game. Just like the Naval Undersea Warfare Specialists robot in '97 which flipped the 2 opposing robots before scoring, it will be exciting to watch.

Here's to robot haulers that don't damage opponents' robots!

[Anton Abaya]

if i made my robot to push other robots at a height of 4ft or higher.... and robots end up tipping over, is this regarded as tipping another robot?

is it my fault that bot isnt robust enough to not tip over?

-anton

[Mike Rush]

Make your self hard to grab... Otherwise someone is going to try to do it to you... Yikes..

[Dindau]

I agree with mike.

But also dont take it to the extreme, in which you make a moving wedge which cant do any other function but move.

[Hubicki]

In response to Anton, it depends on the situation (and what the referee calls). I you're robot makes an obvious attempt to tip the other robot (ramming it and continue pushing when it's off balance or deploying a wedge that upends it, etc.), then it your alliance will be disqualified (which is really bad because the other alliance gets triple their own score!). However, DQ3 clearly states that accidental tipping of robots will be allowed at the discretion of the referees. So if you accidentally bump a robot with a high CG and it tips, you'll probably be fine. Of course, you should be careful with 'accidental ' tipping because you never know what the referees will call. Hope I helped you out.
~Hubicki~