Manual placement of tetras

[Petey]

I cannot find this mentioned anywhere in the rules:

May a human player place their tetra on the floor? May they not "load" their robot, but just enter a tetra into play as long as they do not touch the robot or anything else?

It is doubtful whether or not our robot can be loaded manually with our gripper system. So, can we get around it this way if our robot can pick stuff up off the floor?

--Petey

[DarkJedi613]

I'm pretty sure it has to go on the robot, but I can't remember where I read that.

[AIBob]

<G13> Following the AUTONOMOUS PERIOD, HUMAN PLAYERS may deliver TETRAS to their team’s
ROBOT when the ROBOT enters the LOADING ZONE on their side of the field (i.e. the “manual”
LOADING ZONE). Once the ROBOT is in the LOADING ZONE, the HUMAN PLAYER may step off the
pressure pad sensor and safely approach the LOADING ZONE with a TETRA. While the ROBOT is
disabled the HUMAN PLAYER may place the TETRA on or in the ROBOT, or any ROBOT mechanism
designed to grasp the TETRAS. The HUMAN PLAYER must then return to the pressure pad sensor before
the ROBOT will be re-enabled and resume play. The DRIVER and HUMAN PLAYER have a shared
responsibility to ensure that the ROBOT has entered the LOADING ZONE. If a HUMAN PLAYER loads a
TETRA onto a ROBOT that is not in the LOADING ZONE, a 10-point penalty will be assessed, and the
TETRA will not be SCORED.

It does not state that you may place them on the floor, so I would assume no. I belive that they would not allow it because of saftey issues also.

It is always a good idea to read the rules.

[Rick TYler]

More interestingly, the rules do not cover the case where the human player puts the tetra on the team's robot and it then falls off. Set the tetra on top of your chassis, move quickly, it falls off, you pick it up, and then score. It's not very fast or efficient, but it does not violate the rule as written. It's better than not being able to play at all.

[AIBob]

I am sorry, I did not mean to sound rude if I sounded so, but I am fairly certain that they would not allow it, but I guess the best way to make sure is by using the Q&A section.

[jimfortytwo]

I believe has already been Q&A'd, so if you're interested you can perform the search and find the answer immediatly. My recollection is that no, you may not place the tetra on the ground.

[Ian Mackenzie]

From Rule S06:

"The HUMAN PLAYER may reach across the Playing Field border while holding a TETRA solely for the purpose of loading it on a ROBOT that has been disabled."

Since the only reason you're allowed to reach across the playing field border is to load a tetra on a robot, no, you cannot place a tetra on the field. You might be able to make an argument that you could slide a tetra over the field border without ever actually reaching across it, though.

[AmyPrib]

Originally Posted by Petey

I cannot find this mentioned anywhere in the rules:

May a human player place their tetra on the floor? May they not "load" their robot, but just enter a tetra into play as long as they do not touch the robot or anything else?

It is doubtful whether or not our robot can be loaded manually with our gripper system. So, can we get around it this way if our robot can pick stuff up off the floor?

--Petey

1044 Section: 4.3.2 Status: Answered Date Answered: 1/12/2005
Q: Can the human player set the tetra on the floor next to the robot so the robot can pick it up? Or must it be placed on the robot itself?
A: Must be on or in the robot. It cannot be placed on the carpet next to the robot.

ID: 1345 Section: 4.3.3 Status: Answered Date Answered: 1/28/2005
Q: If the human player places a tetra on the robot, and the tetra falls onto the floor, are they able to pick it up while the robot is still disabled or not?
A: If it falls on the field, you can NOT pick it up. If it falls off the field (outside of the field border), you may pick it up.


ID: 1428 Section: 4.3.3 Status: Answered Date Answered: 2/3/2005
Q: Regarding <G13>, may a human player place a scoring tetra on a robot so that it is only leaning against the robot, and a part of the tetra is touching the floor? more specificly: what is regarded as "on the robot"?
A: No. The tetra may not touch the floor.


I was looking to see if there is a penalty for placing a tetra on a robot, and then if it falls off accidentally, if that's a problem, I don't think so. I know that the HP cannot pick the tetra up off the floor, as stated above. But, I think if it was obviously placed and stayed on the robot, and then got knocked off, or something, then the robot could just pick it up. However, the robot must be able to hold onto the tetra that the HP places. I don't think it would be legal to set it on there, and let it slide to the floor as you let go and run away. The robot was never holding it.