What questions will you ask in the Q&A?

[Petey]

Update 1 has been released, answers many of the questions posed below, read before posting!

The Q&A forum opens tomorrow. I know a bunch of us have questions we want to ask the GDC.

Dump them here, and that way

A) If it's already answered in the manual definitively and you somehow missed it, someone can point that out, and;
B) People don't ask the GDC the same question twice, and;
C) People are made aware of questions they may not have realized they had!

Here are some from our team:

<R08> reads:

"If implemented as intended, a ROBOT that is driven into a vertical wall in any normal PLAYING CONFIGURATION will always have the BUMPER be the first thing to contact the wall."

Does this mean that robots may not break the vertical plane described by their bumpers, even the component which breaks the plane remained within the 28x38x60 footprint?

For the purposes of interpreting <R08>, will the trailer be included in the evaluation of a "PLAYING CONFIGURATION"?

For example, suppose a robot possesses a component on its rear that both breaks the vertical plane described by its bumpers and remains within the 28x38x60 footprint. This component, however, would never touch a wall in a normal playing configuration (i.e. during gameplay), because the trailer stands between it and the wall.

One example, posted to chiefdelphi, is this:

http://img301.imageshack.us/img301/7...ocking4ha6.jpg

Would such a component be allowed under <R08>?

Does Rule <G32> Clause E preclude any contact with any trailer outside the bumper zone? In other words, does it forbid a mechanism which may make passive or incidental contact with (i.e. without attaching to or climbing on) the PVC pipes of any trailer?

Provided that it neither breaks the 28x38x60 footprint nor attaches to/grabs onto a trailer, may a robot include a defensive component with the purpose of blocking or descoring shots into a trailer?

[Bongle]

I'm curious about the legality of fans in all their configurations: vacuums, downforce generators, and as horizontal thrust producers.
-Do they count as traction-enhancers?
-Are they safety hazards?

[Greg Needel]

I want to know if descoring is legal presuming that you still comply with the 28x38x60 rules.

[KF987]

Originally Posted by Greg Needel

I want to know if descoring is legal presuming that you still comply with the 28x38x60 rules.

Descoring has never been in the spirit of FIRST, i doubt it will be legal even if you stay w/ in the dimensions.

-Keaton

[smurfgirl]

<G07> Scores are determined based on the state of the GAME PIECES at the end of the MATCH.
...
B. If a TRAILER tips over, the points SCORED for that TRAILER at the time it was tipped will be preserved for the remainder of the MATCH.

Assuming a trailer tips and game pieces fall out, can they be scored again? If not, would they have zero value, or would you be penalized for using them? How would you be able to keep track of game pieces that have fallen out of a tipped trailer.

<G14> CELL Count Modification – If the assigned ALLIANCE score for the last non-surrogate MATCH played by the TEAM was more than twice (2x) the opposing ALLIANCE score, then one EMPTY CELL or SUPER CELL will be withheld from the initial set of GAME PIECES made available to the PAYLOAD SPECIALIST for the TEAM. If the assigned ALLIANCE score for the last non-surrogate MATCH played by the TEAM was more than triple (3x) the opposing ALLIANCE score, then a second EMPTY CELL or SUPER CELL will be withheld from the initial set of GAME PIECES made available to the PAYLOAD SPECIALIST for the TEAM.

(One of the things we've all been wondering.) In the event of a score of 0, will a numerical score by the opposing alliance count as 2x or 3x the 0 score, resulting in cell count modification? Is cell count modification based on pre-penalty or post-penalty scores?

[Petey]

Originally Posted by yoshibrock

We're planning on asking whether or not you can have the trailer attach sort of inside the robot, but still on the outside perimeter so that the trailer is right up against the back of the robot, preventing it from sliding around a lot:

----------
|_ Sorry, really bad at ascii art, but if you can't exactly
/ / \ see it ( I don't blame you) the sorta octagon shape
|-| | is the trailer and the box is the robot. So the bumpers
\ \_/ on the robot are right up against the bumpers on the
| trailer.
----------

you may find this thread of interest

[yoshibrock]

Thank you for that link, i guess someone understood my post even though my art was really messed up. That clears things up Well, not really since we'll still have to ask in the Q&A....

[The Pre]

Originally Posted by KF987

Descoring has never been in the spirit of FIRST, i doubt it will be legal even if you stay w/ in the dimensions.

-Keaton

not only what was said before but 2007 had pieces that the ability to descore




as far as questions...

FANS
BLOCKING OWN TRAILER (or touching own trailer)

[R2D2DOC]

Originally Posted by KF987

Descoring has never been in the spirit of FIRST, i doubt it will be legal even if you stay w/ in the dimensions.

-Keaton

Beging to differ:

2007: descoring via spoiler
2008: descoring by knocking a track ball off the overpass

[Petey]

Originally Posted by KF987

Descoring has never been in the spirit of FIRST

Huh?

[Petey]

Per Gary's thread:

<R08> defines the bumper perimeter as the polygon described by a string wrapped around the vertices of a robot. Suppose one side (comprising a third or less of its perimeter) of the robot is concave and lined with bumpers. These bumpers do not fall along the line of the bumper perimeter but are otherwise legal.

May a robot be designed such that the trailer nestles inside this concavity, directly against these bumpers, which lie on the outer edge of the robot but within the bumper perimeter?

[tjwoodin]

We will most likely ask if using a fan or vacumn for traction is allowed because yes it is another form of traction other than the wheels but it does not touch the ground

[Petey]

Originally Posted by tjwoodin

We will most likely ask if using a fan or vacumn for traction is allowed because yes it is another form of traction other than the wheels but it does not touch the ground

It's not.

[Nuttyman54]

Originally Posted by KF987

Descoring has never been in the spirit of FIRST, i doubt it will be legal even if you stay w/ in the dimensions.

-Keaton

See 25 in 2000, and any robot that knocked over stacks in 2003

On topic my questions are:

1) What happens to the trailer of a no-show robot

2) Will a penalty be assessed and if so, to whom, for an Empty Cell thrown into (on accident or on purpose) a robot hopper by a human player to a robot that already has possession of an Empty Cell?

3) What is the tolerance on the 2-13/16 height specification for the trailer hitch centerline?

4) In what matches will G-14 apply? If Alliance 1 beats alliance 8 in match two of Quarterfinals by 3x score, do they lose Empty/Super Cells in Match 1 of semis?

[MattLi]

I have a question that perhaps someone here can answer. In the manual in years past it has stated that your maximum dimensions cannot exceed a certain amount. This year it gives a specific length and width. The rules say that your maximum length is 38 and your maximum width is 28. Does that mean no wide robots this year?