[Official 2007 Game Design] Autonomy And Other Technology Discussions

[987HighRoller]

Originally Posted by Jherbie53

If the field is as open as this years was, then during autonomous could there be a max Feet Per Second rule? The max FPS could be 8-10 FPS or something, but that all depends on the game and the field setup. I was watching web cast's of qualifying matches of Nationals and in three straight matches my teams robot was knocked over in autonomous. In the first two of those matches it looked like there should of been a high speed ramming called.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the high speed ramming penalty was for defensive autonomous robots who rammed into stationary robots. If both robots are in motion, then i guess it's just the luck of the draw.

[Kristian Calhoun]

Originally Posted by 987HighRoller

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the high speed ramming penalty was for defensive autonomous robots who rammed into stationary robots. If both robots are in motion, then i guess it's just the luck of the draw.

Originally Posted by RULE<G22>

Intentional ROBOT - ROBOT Interaction - Strategies aimed solely at the destruction, damage, tipping
over, or entanglement of ROBOTs are not in the spirit of the FIRST Robotics Competition and are not
allowed. However, AIM HIGH is a highly interactive game, and some appropriate contact is allowed
subject to the following guidelines:
• Rule <R35> in Section 5.3.4 establishes ROBOT bumper zones. Any contact within this zone is
generally acceptable, with the exception of high speed long distance ramming. If two ROBOTs
choose not to use bumpers, and they contact such that simultaneous contact occurs both in and out of
the bumper zone, then this contact is considered within the bumper zone.
• Contact outside of the bumper zone is generally not acceptable, and the offending ROBOT will be
assessed a 5-point penalty, and may be disqualified from the match if the offense is particularly
egregious or if it results in substantial damage to another ROBOT. Incidental contact will not be
penalized. Contact outside the bumper zone that is a result of tipping caused by contact within the
bumper zone will be considered incidental contact.

There's the rule about robot contact/ramming. So what I infer from it is that as long as there is no robot damage/tipping caused intentionally by a defensive "juggernaut" robot during autonomous, no penalty will be assessed. At the regionals that I attended, no penalties for ramming in autonomous were given (that I can remember). However, I do not know what the calls were at the other regionals/divisions at the championships.

[=Martin=Taylor=]

Give a wieight bonus (30%?) to teams that build a "true" walker.

This means that robots that walk, without the use of rotating cams or wheels (that touch the floor), can wiegh a total of 156 lbs.

This would be a cool rule because it would encourage innovation in the drive train, which for many teams has gone virtualy unchanged since the creation of FIRST.

It would also spawn a wide range of unique designs never before seen or imagined.

[lukevanoort]

^ I really like this idea, but I'd be worried that the walking system would eat up that additional 30% and much more, without much of a benefit. So, there wouldn't be much of a motivation. Maybe a game too that gave walkers an advantage along with it would work nicely.