[FRC Blog] Rogue Robots

[Andy A.]

Originally Posted by EricH

I have, but BEFORE the panels. In 2003, there were no panels. A team hung a left off of the ramp at a West Coast* regional in auto (in practice rounds) and was under the bleachers before someone E-stopped them.

And the panels are secured with zip ties. We lost one in San Diego; field fault was declared and the match was replayed.


*Well, close enough for those of you on the East Coast. It was actually in Arizona.

Weird. In my mind the panels have always been there. It's all become a big blur.

Anyways, I took a quick look at the field drawings. There's about a 14.25" gap between the bottom of the aluminum tube that makes up the top of the barrier and the top of the angle that makes up the bottom. The angle is a 3 inch leg, and there's what I think is 72 inches between uprights give or take.

Basically, a lot of teams made robots perfectly sized to slip through that space and drive trains that'll pop over that angle like it's not there. The field barrier just looks like another defense to a robot in auto mode.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by Andy A.

Weird. In my mind the panels have always been there. It's all become a big blur.

Yeah, I know the feeling. I think it was AFTER that match that steel cables were strung, or was that the previous field? Anyways, the Lexan made its appearance shortly after that year.

[Toatekua]

Originally Posted by qscgy

This happened again today at the Greater DC event. During auto, our robot crashed through the side of the field, drove over a spare field element, and tried to attack people in the bleachers. Well, we did name it R.O.U.S...

Your team's robot and my team's robot should get together. Maybe have coffee. They both seem to like to think outside the game boundaries.

But seriously, was anybody hurt?

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by EricH

Yeah, I know the feeling. I think it was AFTER that match that steel cables were strung, or was that the previous field? Anyways, the Lexan made its appearance shortly after that year.

The steel cable was on the 2004 field, except at the gates where lexan shields were in place: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/18152

The 2005 field (which is the same generation of field in use today at regionals) had lexan on each segment: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/22339

[qscgy]

Originally Posted by Toatekua

Your team's robot and my team's robot should get together. Maybe have coffee. They both seem to like to think outside the game boundaries.

But seriously, was anybody hurt?

Unfortunately, yes. Someone got a cut on their leg. It wasn't serious, but there was some blood.

[ehfeinberg]

https://t.co/WufCIrt5VX

Video link of the aforementioned incident of the 449 robot escaping the field.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by EricH

And the panels are secured with zip ties.

Zip ties break when shock loaded. While I was reffing at St. Joe this weekend, a teleoperated robot slammed the lexan just in front of my tablet, sending zip ties flying and the panel crashing. I kept counting the crossings while field reset volunteers quickly re-installed the panel -- only took a few seconds, and the robots stayed clear. If the game action had been different, our FTA might have called a field fault. I'm glad that was not necessary.

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by Richard Wallace

Zip ties break when shock loaded. While I was reffing at St. Joe this weekend, a teleoperated robot slammed the lexan just in front of my tablet, sending zip ties flying and the panel crashing. I kept counting the crossings while field reset volunteers quickly re-installed the panel -- only took a few seconds, and the robots stayed clear. If the game action had been different, our FTA might have called a field fault. I'm glad that was not necessary.

We caused a foghorn in our last match; the driver was a little exuberant to get into our secret passage in pursuit of blocking 386, and just smacked the lexan clean off the wall. The panel was sitting in the secret passage and blocking traffic, which combined with a flustered ref nearby (sorry, Melissa!) led to a lot of refs on radios and us wondering how long they were gonna take to hit the button. (Felt like about 10-15 seconds? We didn't know whether to gun for the courtyard or just hold position, so we played it safe.)

[Zebra_Fact_Man]

Week 0? Aren't they a little late with this post? It's Week 3.

[Toatekua]

Originally Posted by qscgy

Unfortunately, yes. Someone got a cut on their leg. It wasn't serious, but there was some blood.

Ouch. I'm sorry to hear that someone got hurt.

[yonip]

interesting note we found while watching our video is that when our bot it the wall at first it bounced back and started to turn away from the castle wall, but was then immediately hit by 4099 and cause us to break through.
That said, I dont know if we wouldnt have broken through in the end, and i know that if this incident incurred a foul on us, this proof wouldn't have been accepted by the refs.
video: http://youtu.be/8JBopYnhjKQ?t=9s
it's easiest to see the "breach" unfolding at .25 speed.

[protoserge]

Originally Posted by yonip

interesting note we found while watching our video is that when our bot it the wall at first it bounced back and started to turn away from the castle wall, but was then immediately hit by 4099 and cause us to break through.
That said, I dont know if we wouldnt have broken through in the end, and i know that if this incident incurred a foul on us, this proof wouldn't have been accepted by the refs.
video: http://youtu.be/8JBopYnhjKQ?t=9s
it's easiest to see the "breach" unfolding at .25 speed.

No, you would not have been issued a foul. It would have been a field fault and replayed. Your robot exiting the field was not the fault of your team.

Thanks for your patience this weekend!
Tim (FTA)

[Toatekua]

Well, it happens... Robots want blood, they get blood. Arena not properly secure, robot going to try to leave.

[yonip]

To clarify: if the FMS/estops were not broken, would our team have been penalized for breaking the arena (eg disabled for the match) or would the arena breaking be an arena fault, causing a replay of the match anyway?
Also, any word from FIRST HQ about any FMS problems? Or was this a venue problem with the estops?

[protoserge]

Originally Posted by yonip

To clarify: if the FMS/estops were not broken, would our team have been penalized for breaking the arena (eg disabled for the match) or would the arena breaking be an arena fault, causing a replay of the match anyway?
Also, any word from FIRST HQ about any FMS problems? Or was this a venue problem with the estops?

It depends on the scenario. It would need to be discussed between the head ref and FTA.

There is no new information from this weekend. The match 30 e-stop button is suspect. Sunday's issue is being investigated.