Articulating chassis???

[Jon Stratis]

That could be a good question for the GDC. The problem comes with the definition of the bumper zone, from page 3 in section 8 The Robot:

the volume contained between two virtual horizontal planes, ten inches above the floor and sixteen inches above the floor.

and <R07>A:

BUMPERS must provide complete protection of the entire FRAME PERIMETER of the ROBOT (i.e. BUMPERS must wrap entirely around the ROBOT). The BUMPERS must be located entirely within the BUMPER ZONE when the ROBOT is standing normally on a flat floor, and must remain there (i.e. the BUMPERS must not be articulated or designed to move outside of the BUMPER ZONE).

So, for example, if you have a 6 wheel robot with front and back wheels fixed, but a passive suspension on the middle wheel, you might me fine - when you're starting up the incline (or finishing coming down) the suspension would push the middle wheel down to maintain contact - at the top, it would let the middle wheel ride up to give better stability/contact - but the key is that, at all times on level ground the bumper remains within the bumper zone. That's pretty easy to prove with a passive suspension, and may be allowed

What if the suspension is active?In that case, you may have an issue, as the suspension could push out, increasing the height of the bumpers outside of the bumper zone.

What if the suspension is on all wheels? Then you might also have a problem, as any adjustment could cause your bumpers to leave the bumper zone.

I would recommend asking the GDC about the legality of suspension on wheels and how that comes into affect with regards to traveling over the bump and the bumper zone before getting too far in your design process.