2010 Game Hint #2

[Taylor]

The gate is standard issue from past years - it serves as an ingress/egress point for the robots and field crew. The "horizontal" part of the gate is external to the field; the "vertical" part flexes down to provide a ramp. However, I'm puzzled by the bar above the diamond plate. I know there is a hinge on the right side to allow it to flex vertical to let the robot(s) through, but I can't tell what that pin on the left side is. Was there a spring mechanism to lock it in place that I'm forgetting? As I recall, it was just a round pipe that the removable polycarb section would slide on.

I'm having trouble visualizing a wide gate in the middle of the field. Traditionally, that is where the scoring table would be. If robots enter/exit through the middle of the field, they would be going over a LOT of wires connected to the field. This leads me to two conclusions: either the field is completely wireless and the scoring table is somewhere completely different, or there is one main entry/exit point on one side of the field. Perhaps there is a large field component directly across from this gate that would take up too much space to allow gates on the other side. This gives me trouble, too - FIRST fields have been traditionally symmetrical both horizontally and vertically. Because there are so many different configurations of arenas that host FIRST events and offseasons, this has been a necessity.