1986 2-Ball Autonomous

[Alpha Beta]

Originally Posted by MamaSpoldi

It could just be because of the perspective of the video but it looks like your pickup roller enters "the volume above the midline" when you pickup the ball. Wouldn't this draw a foul based on G13?

We have about 3/8" of tolerance between being too far away to grip the edge of the ball and being over the line. Since the intake is pneumatically actuated the drive team can force it to the down position temporarily during set-up to make sure they are in that zone. We checked the line with a right angle tool when designing the auto routine to make sure we were clear. The drivers are familiar enough with it now to eyeball it accurately.

It is certainly close to the line and the movement happens quickly. I don't envy the referee who has to consider the legality in the heat of the moment, and we would love the opportunity to flex the intake down during the pre-match set-up to any curious ref.

One of the easier ways to judge is to picture a 1" stripe on the crown of the ball and see if the intake encroaches on that stripe. If the word FIRST that is printed on each ball is placed at the top in line with the center stripe it is even easier to judge.