Team update #11

[gburlison]

Since this is a safety issue, I expect FIRST to enforce the rule about shielding the shooter. I expect a lot of teams will be adding guards when the get to the competitions. Hopefully FIRST will not penalize teams that read the rules and designed a shield in from the beginning.

[nehalita]

Can you imagine the weight problems that sprout from fixing these robots?

Edit: Yea, KTorak brought this up, too

[Scott Shaw 237]

Maybe Im not reading it correctly but doenst the rule state

and must be shielded such that the mechanism cannot make contact with
other ROBOTs.

which means that if your shooter wheels don't exceed past the edge of your robot, then technically you are ok? I understand this can cause some protection for pickup devices, but the shooter itself shouldn't be too bad as long as its not at the very edge of your robot.

[BoyWithCape195]

Originally Posted by Team Update # 11

Please note that just having your shooting mechanism contained inside the starting
envelope is not sufficient. The mechanism must be both contained AND shielded. A good
shield would prevent a bystander from inadvertently touching the mechanism.

The bystander part is new

[B. Flaherty]

Maybe I am just naive, but I don't see how this is such a problem given the fact that the rule was there since the beginning. The only parts that are able to be touched by a human on our bot are the two exit paths of the ball. One of them someone would have to go out of their way to touch, and the other is still guarded pretty well. We added a "face mask" onto the front of the wheel. Pictured here. This should comply with the rule about our mechanism not being able to make contact with another ROBOT.

[nehalita]

umm, you can't exactly see it clearly here, but our robot is on the right:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/pi...&quiet=Verbose
and the wheels are expose but they're essentially inside of the robot. would we still need guards over the wheels?

[Joe J.]

The rule has been there since Kickoff, It isn't FIRST's fault if the shooters arn't gaurded. Our shooter wheel is mounted in a cage that will have screen door material (pet-proof Plastic stuff) covering it. So its protected from hits and fingers.

[ttedrow]

I seem to remember this subject in the kickoff video. The example used in the video did not have shielding but they used that as an example of something to consider.

As an inspector, I will consider a high speed spinning parts without shielding a potential safety hazard. As such, these robots will not be allowed to practice or compete untill they are safe.

[BoyWithCape195]

What if they are spinning, just not fast at all?

[henryBsick]

This thread has been around for 2 weeks now. It talks about this Q&A and involves rule <S03>

Rule <S03>:
Shooter Mechanism must remain inside the ROBOT - Any mechanism used to throw balls must be
contained within the original 28” x 38” x 60”starting envelope of the ROBOT and must be shielded such
that the mechanism cannot make contact with other ROBOTs. A ROBOT that violates this rule will be
considered unsafe per <S01>.

[s_forbes]

It seems that the main problem with this new rule is the bystander part. Most robots are already sufficiently shielded to prevent spinning parts from running into another robot, but parts have to be somewhat exposed in order to do their job.

How shielded does it need to be to prevent a bystander hurting themselves? Are the bystanders being safe themselves? Our robot has some holes that you can get at the rollers through if you try. Would this be in violation?

[Nita]

I knew about the rule, but wasn't sure of how much needed to be shielded...

[AmyPrib]

Here's my interpretation.... If a robot cannot come in contact with it, then it's probably likely that a bystander cannot inadvertently touch it. That's the key word.

I think they threw everyone for a loop with the bystander part in that the original rule only states that it cannot come in contact with other robots. But I would think that if it's within your starting envelope, and it's not able to come in contact with another robot, then you're probably safe with the bystander. Think of it as... if a bystander falls over, or gets off balance and accidentally bumps into it, puts their hand down and comes in contact with it, get hurts, etc.... If not, then you're probably ok.

Guess we'll find out what the inspectors interpretation is.

[KenWittlief]

Bystanders? what if your shooter wheel rips apart and pieces go flying? do you have enough shielding to keep nearby refs, ball spotters, camera crews.... from gettting hit by flying chunks of plastic or metal?

can parts fly off your bot into the stands, where spectators are not wearing safety glasses?

what about the teams who stand next to the field during the matches? if your bot shooter self destructs will they be hit in the face?

I think that is what they mean by 'by-standers'

[BoyWithCape195]

In this picture, would the whole thing be considered the shooter, or only the bottom roller. The bottom roller is what gives the balls the "final impulse" so I would assume that that would be the only part considered the shooter and therefore the only part that needs to be shielded.