Question on rule S03

[colt527]

Rule S03 Under "The Game" pdf states that

Shooter Mechanism must remain inside the ROBOT - Any mechanism used to throw balls must be
contained within the original 28” x 38” x 60”starting envelope of the ROBOT and must be shielded such
that the mechanism cannot make contact with other ROBOTs. A ROBOT that violates this rule will be
considered unsafe per <S01>.

My question is does the "shooter mechanism" apply only to the mechanism that imparts the kinetic energy to the ball or does it apply to the entire firing structure. Lets say for example you have spinning wheels that give the balls their velocity and they stay inside of the robot's initial bounds, but you have a barrel that extends out wards past the original 28" x 38" inch box (not above 60" tall though) after the start of the match. Does the barrel count as part of the "shooting mechanism" or just the wheels that touch the ball? I will post this on the Q&A when I get our teams p/w but just wanted to know some opinions on the rule.

[DonRotolo]

I think the key word is "Mechanism" - look at First's definition for that.

"MECHANISM – A COTS or custom assembly of COMPONENTS that provide specific functionality on the
robot. A MECHANISM can be disassembled (and then reassembled) into individual COMPONENTS without
damage to the parts."

Seems to me that the barrel or whatever would be a part of the 'machanism'. So the answer would be no, that wouldn't be allowed (my opinion).

Don

[Heretic121]

for the best answer i would head over to the FIRST Q&A forums...

http://forums.usfirst.org/forumdisplay.php?f=23