Bumpers and Team Number

[Bob Steele]

oops you are right...so anyone with a four letter number is screwed...
unless you are 1111... 4" letters 3/4" stroke...

Awfully skinny numbers to put on an 8" bumper segment..

they would have to average 2" width and that proportion will look funny..

I only can imagine team 3333... 3444...etc... 0's 8's 9's all have to be at least 2.25 wide to have any kind of proportion. (3/4 x 3).. and the letters should be at least 3/4" apart... so 3888 would be 9" for that number...

won't fit in 8" uinless you wrap it around...

Wonder what we need to do about this...

[Bill_B]

Bob,
When you say "we", whom do you mean? Here's a monochrome BMP for 1983. It's ten inches wide and the numbers are four inches high.

[Rick]

Has everyone forgot about the extra pool noodle that must go in the corners? This can make your 8 inch bumper facing up to 10.5 inches. More than enough for 2 inch wide numbers with half inch spacing.

[IKE]

Originally Posted by Bob Steele

...
I only can imagine team 3333... 3444...etc... 0's 8's 9's all have to be at least 2.25 wide to have any kind of proportion. (3/4 x 3).. and the letters should be at least 3/4" apart... so 3888 would be 9" for that number...
....Wonder what we need to do about this...

No need to imagine, I put a white paper out with 3333 fitting on the minimum bumper segment and meeting lettering requirements:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2633

I will totatlly agree that it is more difficult for 4 didigt teams, and there is a lot less flexibility than say 2 didigt team as far as font and style, but it should not hinder robot design (just aesthetics).

[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by EricH

You already can--in addition to the number on the bumper, of course. That would be pretty much a Non-Functional Decoration.

I think the GDC disagrees with you on that:

Q. Does R35 limit the team number quantity to exactly four locations? For instance, if one side of the robot has two short bumpers separated by a gap, can the complete team number be put on both of those bumpers? Thus, there'd be two complete team numbers on one side of the robot. FRC1619 2012-02-08
A. Rule [R35] requires that the team number be displayed in four locations, no more or fewer.

You can quibble over whether the R35 applies specifically to team numbers on the bumpers of anywhere on the robot, but I think the GDC is taking an extremely restrictive reading on this one.

[jvriezen]

Originally Posted by Ricksta

Has everyone forgot about the extra pool noodle that must go in the corners? This can make your 8 inch bumper facing up to 10.5 inches. More than enough for 2 inch wide numbers with half inch spacing.

Actually 11.25 -- you also have the 3/4 plywood, plenty of room.. We created a custom font that is specifically designed just for the purpose of putting 4" / 3/4" numbers in 9.5 inches of horizontal space.

[je2164]

According to the 2012 manual I can't find that it says the numbers can not be split up. Are you just saying that to make sure there is no confusion of what your number is? We have our number split up but if you are looking at the robot head on you'll see 43 76. I did not see that this isn't legal. Is it up to interpretation?

[EricH]

Originally Posted by je2164

According to the 2012 manual I can't find that it says the numbers can not be split up. Are you just saying that to make sure there is no confusion of what your number is? We have our number split up but if you are looking at the robot head on you'll see 43 76. I did not see that this isn't legal. Is it up to interpretation?

It is not up to interpretation. Well, if Q&A is up to interpretation, then it could be...

From 1/19:
Game - The Robot » Bumper Rules
Q. We have a u-shaped robot, so will have split front bumpers. Can we split the our numbers; say "33" on the right and the "52" on the left or do all of the numbers need to be on one side of the robot? It may be a tight fit with the new number size criteria.
A. Per [R35], team numbers must be clearly visible. This means that they may not be inverted, obscured, fragmented, upside down, etc.

From 1/13:
Game - The Robot » Bumper Rules » R35
Q. We are deciding to use a square U frame. So, we have to split the 4th bumper into 2 sections. Because of this, we can't decide how to place "3490" on our Bumper. Should we place the 4 numbers on 1 side, or should we split 34 and 90 across the Bumper. R35 doesn't explain how to handle this situation.
A. Per [R35] team numbers must be "clearly visible from a distance of not less than 100 ft, so that judges, referees, and announcers can easily identify competing Robots." Thus they may not be obscured in any way (disconnected, out of order, rotated, upside-down, mirror imaged, etc).


If you look at them from 100' away, with nothing in the way, you're just fine. But if you happen to be under defense, you could be mistaken for the Killer Bees (team 33), due to the other robot(s) blocking the "52" on the other bumper. This is why the GDC is being so persnickety...but I wish they'd make this clear in the Manual.

[princessnatalie]

After finishing bumper making last night, and getting ready to paint numbers on bright and early this morning, one of my fellow teammates directed me to this thread.

At first I was frustrated, but it is possible to make the numbers fit. Our smallest bumper is 9 inches and our team number is 2471 so not exactly small (length-wise) but not long either.

I suggest starting by folding a piece of paper to the exact dimensions and free handing numbers on to see how crowded they are going to look. Which disappointed me, since I am all about making things pretty.
However, using Arial Narrow font size 450 (I believe) and changing the stroke or the outline of the text, I got numbers that fit perfectly.
So while the task is daunting, it is doable