Bumpers & the Ramp

[Gary Bonner]

FIRST answered a question today and said that bumpers may not move vertically; that they may only move horizontally and stay in the bumper zone. Other Q&A answers state that there may not be notches or cut-outs, only complete vertical cuts. These rulings will make it difficult have bumpers and also go up the ramp. The weight allowance and contact rule gave great incentive to have bumpers this year. These rulings are taking it away.

I thought I recalled an answer to a prior question that would have allowed bumper movement out of the bumper zone to admit balls or to go up the ramp. I can’t seem to find it now. Does anyone else remember seeing it?

[Tristan Lall]

Originally Posted by Gary Bonner

FIRST answered a question today and said that bumpers may not move vertically; that they may only move horizontally and stay in the bumper zone. Other Q&A answers state that there may not be notches or cut-outs, only complete vertical cuts. These rulings will make it difficult have bumpers and also go up the ramp. The weight allowance and contact rule gave great incentive to have bumpers this year. These rulings are taking it away.

I thought I recalled an answer to a prior question that would have allowed bumper movement out of the bumper zone to admit balls or to go up the ramp. I can’t seem to find it now. Does anyone else remember seeing it?

The ruling has apparently been withdrawn. FRC1188 asked, and FIRST responded that bumpers may be raised during the match (which is inconsistent with <R35>). Now the ruling is gone.

[BillCloyes]

It seems to me that for teams with a limited design/machine capability, will just abandon bumbers that interfere with them climbing the platform ramp.

The use of basic Kit chassis/DT (depending on wheel size selection or addition of a special mechanism) almost rules out the use of bumbers in the front and rear (relative to robot movement) in order to hav any real chance of climbing the ramp.

I believe this will result in the overall bumber allowance being both less used and less useful than FIRST hopes.

Teams won't use front/rear bumbers if it impeides their robot on the ramp.

Sadly, it is those specific front/rear sides that will be used when their robot "contacts" other robots.

IMHO, I feel that FIRST should permit an exception to <R35> during the climbing of the platform (similar to <R13> beign the exception to <R8>). That being said, this would be at teams own risk, at the platforms will be a likely location of "contact"

-Bill