Tether rules?

[Dominick Ferone]

What are the rules for tethering to another robot exactly, does the second part have to have power supplied to it?

[Jacob Bendicksen]

Nope. As long as it's attached (regardless of power supply), it's considered part of the robot, but all other rules still apply. It has to fit within the transport config, be under 120 pounds, and it might require a re-inspection, depending on the scenario.

[cjl2625]

So does that mean 1114's ramp at the human player station would need to be tethered to be legal?

[orangemoore]

Originally Posted by cjl2625

So does that mean 1114's ramp at the human player station would need to be tethered to be legal?

Yes it would fall under G25

[DanielPlotas]

Originally Posted by Jacob Bendicksen

Nope. As long as it's attached (regardless of power supply), it's considered part of the robot, but all other rules still apply. It has to fit within the transport config, be under 120 pounds, and it might require a re-inspection, depending on the scenario.

It still needs to be powered by the robot battery, unless the power source is internal to a COTS device.

[JohnFogarty]

Originally Posted by cjl2625

So does that mean 1114's ramp at the human player station would need to be tethered to be legal?

Picture? We've been working on something similar for next week. I want to see how similar they are.

[PayneTrain]

Originally Posted by JohnFogarty

Picture? We've been working on something similar for next week. I want to see how similar they are.

It looks like a clear piece of polycarbonate bent into a ramp at a near identical pitch of the chute. I say looks like because the 10 pixels available on the GTRC stream left up a lot to the imagination before the stream broke entirely.

[Doug Frisk]

Originally Posted by cjl2625

So does that mean 1114's ramp at the human player station would need to be tethered to be legal?

At Northern Lights one of the robots tethered to a ramp with 30 feet of string.

[gpetilli]

Originally Posted by JohnFogarty

Picture? We've been working on something similar for next week. I want to see how similar they are.

picture of a ramp? Think inclined plane to guide the totes down gently (so they land flat).

Yes, it needs to be attached to be considered "one robot" and one robot can only have one battery and one roboRIO. A COTS computer on the ramp can not power anything other than itself - do not much use.

BTW: if it is a dumb ramp, the tether could be a string or even dental floss. Something the ref wont trip on while walking the field.

[nomad725]

We added a tether ramp to our robot at our first district. Unfortunately we didn't get it working till the end of our competition but we look forward to using at our next district.

The link to the picture is https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n...af88b13ccee e

[EricH]

Originally Posted by nomad725

We added a tether ramp to our robot at our first district. Unfortunately we didn't get it working till the end of our competition but we look forward to using at our next district.

The link to the picture is https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n...af88b13ccee e

And you probably should have been given a "non-inspected robot" penalty, if that picture is from qualifications or eliminations. Sound harsh? Yep, it does. I know, I was on a ref crew that told a team to remove their tethered ramp because it hadn't been inspected, and they admitted that fact to us when we asked. (They didn't get the penalty because they were able to get back to "inspected" without incurring a "delay of match"-by untying the string.) Trust me, I'm saying this so you don't hear it at your next event.

The only reason that I know that that particular ramp is yours is because you said it is. The refs on the field might see the tether. But if multiple robots on the field have those things... Please reference the Blue Box in R02, as modified by the 2/17 Team Update, and fix the lack of numbers on the ramp when you get the chance. Your referees and inspectors will thank you.

[ccresta1386]

Originally Posted by EricH

And you probably should have been given a "non-inspected robot" penalty, if that picture is from qualifications or eliminations. Sound harsh? Yep, it does. I know, I was on a ref crew that told a team to remove their tethered ramp because it hadn't been inspected, and they admitted that fact to us when we asked. (They didn't get the penalty because they were able to get back to "inspected" without incurring a "delay of match"-by untying the string.) Trust me, I'm saying this so you don't hear it at your next event.

The only reason that I know that that particular ramp is yours is because you said it is. The refs on the field might see the tether. But if multiple robots on the field have those things... Please reference the Blue Box in R02, as modified by the 2/17 Team Update, and fix the lack of numbers on the ramp when you get the chance. Your referees and inspectors will thank you.

We were inspected, the inspectors didn't catch that. Thank you for the heads up and we will be sure to add it for our next competition!

[GeeTwo]

There is no requirement that any specific part of a robot (in this case a tethered component) be powered at all. A COTS part with an internal battery could be used, but that battery is not allowed to power any actuators, just do sensing and processing. If you did need it to have a bit of power but didn't want to run wires, it could be powered by a spring or by harnessing the energy of totes falling on it. I can certainly imagine a stacker (similar to Robin) that built a stack without electricity, working entirely on mechanical triggering and powered by energy stored in a spring. If the spring only held enough energy to make one stack, you could include a windup powered by a CIM on your version of Batman.

[drwisley]

This game has officially jumped the shark.

[crake]

Originally Posted by drwisley

This game has officially jumped the shark.

Hey now, this is not a 2016 game discussion thread.