Bumpers and the bridge

[Mr. Pockets]

So something odd just struck me: The bumper zone this year is from 2" to 10" meaning the entire bumper must fit within the vertical space between those two dimensions from the floor.

The bridge is 12" off the ground. Is anyone concerned about the potential for the bridge being unable to lower due to the bumpers getting caught in the space. Is this concern ungrounded? What are some initial ideas on how to avoid this (or is it just going to be largely a matter of good driving?)

[EricLeifermann]

You can extend up to 14 in beyond the frame perimeter which after adding bumpers gives you a reach of about 11 in past the bumpers.

Teams should be able to lower the bridges no problem with that...

[frasnow]

The driver will have trouble seeing whether the bumpers are under the bridge, especially when the robot is on the far side of the field. The 11 extra inches do give the driver extra space, but the driver will make mistakes. Adding an alignment mechanism to position the robot a repeatable distance from the bridge should make getting over the bridge more repeatable and possibly faster.

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally Posted by EricLeifermann

You can extend up to 14 in beyond the frame perimeter which after adding bumpers gives you a reach of about 11 in past the bumpers.

Teams should be able to lower the bridges no problem with that...

In other words it's just a matter of keeping ones distance from the bridge and dropping the bridge from a distance?

[Bill_B]

There is also the danger of traveling by the corner of an un-lowered bridge. It will be above your bumper protection and possibly engage some critical mechanism aboard your machine. That's not to say you couldn't have some protection installed inside the frame perimeter to handle that situation.