Color Coded Bumpers as Flag Replacements?

[Travis Hoffman]

Anyone in Pittsburgh knows that Team 1038 used red or blue color coded bumpers to designate their alliance during the qualifying matches. They were very visible to spectators at all times.

My question - can a similar bumper system be put in place to get rid of the flags/flag holders and all the complications they bring to the competition? They rarely stay put; they end up being ringer magnets; and they are often hard to see from all angles. Having color-coded bumpers would solve all that.

I wouldn't expect all teams to create 2 sets of red and blue bumpers for the event, but all teams COULD be required to set aside a square "alliance patch area" covered in velcro on each side of their robot, inside the bumper zones. Instead of flags, teams would be given four matching red or blue color patches to place in these areas for the match. Even if teams chose not to use bumpers, they could still make sure these patch areas were present on their bot in the bumper zones.

Opinions? Comments?

Anyway, kudos to Team 1038 for their creative bumper color coding.