FAQ for Q&A

[Waffles]

Originally Posted by EricH

I don't have access to that, so someone else will need to.

One that I forgot: If a minibot is moving upwards at the end of a match, does it still get the 10 seconds to finish for points?

Personal suspicion is yes, but never hurts to confirm.

<G02>At 10 seconds before the end of the MATCH, when HOSTBOTS may DEPLOY their MINIBOT without penalty, BASES will illuminate with the appropriate ALLIANCE color, while TARGET lights will show a green ‘chase’ sequence. This chase sequence will continue until a MINIBOT TRIGGERS the TARGET, or time expires, whichever comes first.

So from 2:05 to 2:15 (or the last ten secs of the match) the minibot has that allotted time to get up the pole. It must trigger before the timer is 0.

Also worth noting:

The MATCH ends if all TOWERS are TRIGGERED or when the ARENA timer displays zero seconds, whichever comes first.

A question for the Q&A is:

How will the field management disable the minibot after the match has ended?

[DavidGitz]

Originally Posted by Jack Jones

Another for the Q&A:
{RE}
<R92> The following items are the only permitted materials for use on the MINIBOTS:
...
C. exactly one 12V rechargeable NiMH battery pack identical to those supplied in the FTC kit of parts (PN W739057)
...
E. No more than one NXT controller with the Bluetooth functionality disabled,

QUESTION: How are we supposed to power the NXT controller without using its self-contained batery(ies)?

To continue on this thread...
<R03> Custom circuits and COTS electronics are expressly prohibited if they:
A. Interfere with the operation of other ROBOTS.
B. Directly affect any output devices on the ROBOT.

ROBOT – ... ROBOT = HOSTBOT + MINIBOT
What (if there exists) requirements are there for the electrical (power and signal) systems of the MINIBOT?
i.e.
Is it legal to have a the required 12V FTC Battery on the MINIBOT, directly wired through switches to power wheels to CLIMB? (Assume not, for now)
If not, what requirements do we follow for power and signal distribution as the Power and Signal Distribution Diagrams can not obviously be followed for the MINIBOT.

[h1n1is4pigs]

How high are the different levels of the scoring rack?
i looked through the manual and technical drawings but could not find a specific number. thanks in advance

[EricH]

Hold on a second, guys.

HPs: There are 3 HPs per alliance. One Analyst and 2 Feeders. <G08>.

The reason for the minibot moving upwards is that any scores within 10 seconds after the end of the match count as scored--but does that also apply to Minibots that are obviously on their way up?

Different level heights can be answered once somebody gets their hands on the field drawings.


So, here is the condensed list:

1) Launching minibots--is it legal under a) free flight or b) tethered to the pole?

2) Minibots at the top of the pole: Do they have to stay there until after the match, or can they slide down during/after the match under their own power or via gravity to make retrieval easier?

3) Are you allowed to move your own tubes, other than ubertubes, around after they are in scoring position?

4) If a minibot is moving upwards at the end of a match, does it still get the 10 seconds to finish for points?

5) How many minibots can one hostbot deploy?

6) NXT power, if used--is there some form of schematic or something?

7) What methods are acceptable for removing the Minibot from the post? For example, could it drive itself down autonomously? Could someone bring a long pole out and activate something on the robot to make it come down?

8) For determination of "above the line" during deployment, is the top of the Minibot supposed to be below the line, or just the hostbot device?

8a) Are hostbots allowed to push the minibots upwards or towards the post, provided that this is done below the deployment line?

[Radical Pi]

Could you also add to the list what would be considered "acceptable" methods of removing a minibot from the tower? Ex: Would it be legal to bring an 8 ft pole onto the field to flip a switch on the minibot? (yeah, it's an extreme situation, but just an example)

[bobzwik]

how about this one. It's been bothering everyone in my team now.

-Please define "autonomous" in <G19>
(After DEPLOYMENT, MINIBOTS must remain completely autonomous.)

What I am asking exactly is: Does autonomous mean it is not being controlled by the human (communication) or it is completely independent of the HOSTBOT's movements.
I remember seeing in the demonstration after the game animation (in the live feed yesterday) robots pushing the minibot to the tower. Obviously, the minibot is still dependent of the hostbot after deployment (it still needs to be pushed to reach the tower), but I am wondering if the robot can give a little push to get the minibot started on its race.

I am very confused, so what I'm saying might be confusing. If you need any kind of clarification, just let me know!

[EricH]

Remember, we aren't Q&A, but I can shed some light: autonomous is not controlled by the humans. I would also suspect that contact with the minibot in the deployment area is fine, as long as it didn't continue after the deployment line, but I can't be totally certain. See #8 in the list.

The hostbot will not be able to communicate with the minibot, BTW, due to the minibot size and lack of communication ability.

[Dustin Shadbolt]

Originally Posted by bobzwik

how about this one. It's been bothering everyone in my team now.

-Please define "autonomous" in <G19>
(After DEPLOYMENT, MINIBOTS must remain completely autonomous.)

What I am asking exactly is: Does autonomous mean it is not being controlled by the human (communication) or it is completely independent of the HOSTBOT's movements.
I remember seeing in the demonstration after the game animation (in the live feed yesterday) robots pushing the minibot to the tower. Obviously, the minibot is still dependent of the hostbot after deployment (it still needs to be pushed to reach the tower), but I am wondering if the robot can give a little push to get the minibot started on its race.

I am very confused, so what I'm saying might be confusing. If you need any kind of clarification, just let me know!

Same type of question. This was very very confusing to our team.

[Aaron V]

Just a quick clarification on <G19> (under my interpretation):

1. First of all DEPLOYMENT (as defined in the introduction) is:

the act of positioning a MINIBOT on a TOWER. DEPLOYMENT starts when the MINIBOT breaks the vertical projection of the TOWER BASE circumference during the END GAME.

Therefore <G19> means that your hostbot (your main robot) is allowed to place the minibot on the tower, but after deployment the minibot must be completely autonomous.

Autonomous basically means it can't have external commands (I believe - it definitely cannot have human control). Whether or not it can communicate with your hostbot is solved by the fact that there is no way of doing so with the allowed parts and also that there is little reason to do so - if the minibot is running code off the hostbot, it might as well run its own code.

Hope this clears that up.

Also, as a general thing, people sometimes overlook the glossary in the introduction when reading the rules. Any word in the rules that is all in capitals is in the glossary. Check there first.

[buildmaster5000]

What are the limitations on pnuematics this year??? The rules (Section 4.3.11) say that the KOP tank but it never says if we can or cannot have more tanks. Also a similar question about cylinders. Can we have more than the three Bimba KOP cylinders or not??

[Karibou]

Originally Posted by buildmaster5000

What are the limitations on pnuematics this year??? The rules (Section 4.3.11) say that the KOP tank but it never says if we can or cannot have more tanks. Also a similar question about cylinders. Can we have more than the three Bimba KOP cylinders or not??

I think that this answers your first question:

<R69> Compressed air for the pneumatic system on the ROBOT must be provided by one and only one compressor. This compressor may be either the compressor from the KOP, or an equivalent compressor that does not exceed any of the KOP compressor performance specifications (specifically: nominal 12v, 1.03 cfm flow rate, 120psi maximum working pressure). Compressed air shall not come from any other source. Off-board compressors must be controlled and powered by the ROBOT.

(emphasis mine)

I do not have an answer to your question about the cylinders.

[ThirteenOfTwo]

<G32>Neither ROBOTS, HOSTBOTS, nor MINIBOTS may break the planes of the vertically projected borders of the opponent’s ZONES. Violation: PENALTY

<G61> The actions of an ALLIANCE shall not cause an opposing ALLIANCE to violate a rule and thus incur PENALTIES. Any rule violations committed by the affected ALLIANCE shall be excused, and no PENALTIES will be assigned.
Unless otherwise noted, all PENALTIES assigned by referees are applied to the entire ALLIANCE.

Given hypothetical scenario: Team A is an offensive robot with a powerful drive train that is carrying a tube back to its zone to be scored. Team B is a defensive robot who is waiting at the entrance to Team A's zone to stop them from entering. Team B deliberately moves directly in front of Team A in order to body block them. However, the power of Team A's drive train overcomes that of Team B's, and Team B is pushed into Team A's zone in front of team B.

Which of the following rulings is correct?

1) Team B incurs a penalty per <G32>.
2) Team B does not incur a penalty because they were forced into Team A's zone per rule <G61>.
3) Team A's violation of <G61> is waived due to Team B's violation of <G61>, i.e. moving directly in front of Team A in order to force team A to violate <G61>.

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by ThirteenOfTwo

<G32>Neither ROBOTS, HOSTBOTS, nor MINIBOTS may break the planes of the vertically projected borders of the opponent’s ZONES. Violation: PENALTY

<G61> The actions of an ALLIANCE shall not cause an opposing ALLIANCE to violate a rule and thus incur PENALTIES. Any rule violations committed by the affected ALLIANCE shall be excused, and no PENALTIES will be assigned.
Unless otherwise noted, all PENALTIES assigned by referees are applied to the entire ALLIANCE.

Given hypothetical scenario: Team A is an offensive robot with a powerful drive train that is carrying a tube back to its zone to be scored. Team B is a defensive robot who is waiting at the entrance to Team A's zone to stop them from entering. Team B deliberately moves directly in front of Team A in order to body block them. However, the power of Team A's drive train overcomes that of Team B's, and Team B is pushed into Team A's zone in front of team B.

Which of the following rulings is correct?

1) Team B incurs a penalty per <G32>.
2) Team B does not incur a penalty because they were forced into Team A's zone per rule <G61>.
3) Team A's violation of <G61> is waived due to Team B's violation of <G61>, i.e. moving directly in front of Team A in order to force team A to violate <G61>.

2 is correct.

I don't understand 3. There is no "violation" of <G61> - that rule only says that sometimes violations of other rules are excused.

[ThirteenOfTwo]

Eh, sorry. Should've been clearer.

The question in a nutshell is "does <G61> apply to itself?" Team 2 in the scenario clearly forced Team 1 to trigger <G61> when they moved in front of them for a body block, so wouldn't <G61> activate again and excuse the first <G61>, thus giving Team 2 a penalty?

[buildmaster5000]

<R69> is about the compressor, but I want to know what/if any restrictions there on air storage tanks. The rules do not specify, but it seems rediculous to give us an air tank as part of FIRST Choice that we cannot use.