Quite the Happy Accident

[bEdhEd]

In this video from the 2014 Inland Empire regional, the blue alliance at time 1:50 does a human player inbound to a truss shot to a catch that immediately sends the ball into the low goal. It was not planned in the strategy, since I believe our alliance partner's catapult accidentally shot at just the right time and place, but it looks almost rehearsed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLN2j8JfbCY

[Abhishek R]

That was pretty cool. I wonder if it counted as a catch too...

[Caleb Sykes]

Wow, that was amazing.

[bEdhEd]

Originally Posted by Abhishek R

That was pretty cool. I wonder if it counted as a catch too...

I believe that the referees did count that as a catch.

[Christopher149]

It better've counted as a catch, since it was possessed by actively imparting motion to the ball.

[ThunderousPrime]

Originally Posted by Christopher149

It better've counted as a catch, since it was possessed by actively imparting motion to the ball.

Correct, by rule it is a "catch." A "Catch"is defined by the manual as "A CATCH occurs when a BALL SCORED over the TRUSS by a ROBOT’S ALLIANCE partner is POSSESSED by that ROBOT before contacting the carpet, the ROBOT which SCORED the TRUSS, or HUMAN PLAYER."

A possession is defined by the manual as:
“carrying” (moving while supporting BALLS in or on the ROBOT or holding the BALL in or on the ROBOT),
“herding” (repeated pushing or bumping),
“launching” (impelling BALLS to a desired location or direction via a MECHANISM in motion relative to the ROBOT), or
“trapping” (overt isolation or holding one or more BALLS against a FIELD element or ROBOT in an attempt to shield them).

This is a clear example of a "launching catch." You should've been credited for the catch. Also it possible to do a "trapping catch" where a robot trusses the ball and the partner robot pins the ball against the guardrail or any other robot except the trusser. By rule the trussed robot cannot contact the trussed ball for the catch to count.

[Zoneri]

That was a great moment. The energy off the crowd was like no other. W/o this video I think it would be hard to believe that this actually happens. Goes to so that one it is possible and two with alignment and position amazing things can happen.

[bEdhEd]

Originally Posted by Zoneri

That was a great moment. The energy off the crowd was like no other. W/o this video I think it would be hard to believe that this actually happens. Goes to so that one it is possible and two with alignment and position amazing things can happen.

I'm sure all our alliance members were in disbelief for a moment when it happened. The funny part of this clip is the few seconds when everyone at their operating stations lets go of their controls and waves their hands in the air in utter excitement and incredulity, then all three blue alliance robots just stop for that moment, and then after the short celebration, back to the routine. I was at the competition, but I must have been busy at the pits and I wasn't there for the moment. I really wish I was. I never knew this happened until our head coach showed me the video a few months after the competition season, and when I first saw it, I was shocked.

[Noah Beattie]

We've had cool incidences like this, like this one where the ball just so happened to land in our bot, trussed from 469 here as they were pushed right as they shot. At 1:12: http://youtu.be/tn_3nTzMXNU