Robot Defensive Strategies

[om23]

Defense this year will be basically trying to jam/block the opposite alliance from getting balls on the ground and/or from taking shots.
That is probably the best strategy to ensure the opposing alliance does not get get a high score during teleop.
It's critical for teams to have a way to pick up the ball from the ground! Imagine all the missed shots!

[R.Irick]

Defense this year will be a 'tight squeeze' to avoid penalties.

See rule..

[G20]
Robots in contact with the carpet on their Alliance Station end of the Court are limited to 60 in tall. Otherwise,
Robots are limited to 84 in tall.
Violation: Foul; or Technical-Foul for repeated or continuous violation.

When you are on the side of the field with your opponents goals(aka the closest side to your alliance wall), you are still limited to the 60in height.

...along with the key, alley, and bridge no touch penalties.

And..

[R08]
Robot parts shall not be made from hazardous materials, be unsafe, cause an unsafe condition, or interfere with the operation of other Robots.

*underlined part*

Also, personally I feel that a defensive robot that is solely for the purpose of blocking points is against the message of FIRST. They want teams to be able to score as much as possible. Along with that, it is more if a challenge to create a shooting robot, compared to one the drives around with a big wall. FIRST is all about a challenge and learning from it.

[chi-town-biker]

Many of the comments on defensive strategy mention the alley as a danger. But a defensive robot is on the half of the court with their alliance’s alley. That is, their safe zone. A defensive robot can “patrol” their alley and score points by touching robots that come too close.

In fact, the key and the alley are only 59 inches apart. In theory, a red robot in contact with the red key could touch a blue robot in contact with the blue alley. How is that scored?

[Tuba4]

Originally Posted by chi-town-biker

In fact, the key and the alley are only 59 inches apart. In theory, a red robot in contact with the red key could touch a blue robot in contact with the blue alley. How is that scored?

No theory there at all. A robot can be 38" in length. Plus a robot can have an appendage that extends an additional 14" outside the frame perimeter. That would 52" alone. Multiplied by 2, could mean 104" of robots and appendages trying to occupy 59" of space!!! I would assume a foul or technical foul on each, so they would offset

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally Posted by Chi-town-Biker

Many of the comments on defensive strategy mention the alley as a danger. But a defensive robot is on the half of the court with their alliance’s alley. That is, their safe zone. A defensive robot can “patrol” their alley and score points by touching robots that come too close.

Shoot, I forgot the lanes were opposite color to the nearest key. Good point.

Not too sure about the whole penalty tactic. I feel like there will be some sort of rule update to deal with that. Trying to intentionally penalize the enemy just isn't in the spirit of the game, and even if it's permitted under the current rules, I wouldn't count on it staying that way.

[Frank C]

One thing I noticed that will be a killer defensive move is to be the first robot to tip the middle bridge toward it's side. All the balls that aren't on the robots or on the other two bridges will be placed on this bridge... all your team has to do is scoop 'em and shoot 'em, while the other team has to cross the bridge, pick up the ball (or go to the feeder) and return to it's side before it can shoot!! to me, that is a huge advantage!!!