Al's 2016 Inspection Thread

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Well,
It is that time again and there is a lot to consider. It seems that teams all over the world are having some issues with bumper rules this year. It matters little whether they are rookies or veterans. So here goes my first installment...
1. Bumpers are required to cover all external corners of your FRAME PERIMETER for at least 8 inches, measured from every corner of your frame. R19. This means all corners, no exceptions and the measurement is the frame backing the bumper segment, not the bumper segment.
2. If your FRAME side is less than 8" long, then the entire side must be covered by bumper.
3. Bumpers are noodles covered by rugged cloth attached to a backing board and mounted on the FRAME PERIMETER of your robot in the BUMPER ZONE. Anything that does not meet this criteria is not a bumper. Backing board not covered by noodles and fabric is not a bumper. Metal that is attached to your bumper but is not covered by your bumper system is not a bumper.
4. Bumpers may not move during a match and the BUMPER ZONE will be evaluated by your robot inspector while your robot is sitting flat on the floor of the pit during inspection.
5. Bumpers are not part of the robot for withholding allowance or for Bag and Tag rules. However, they are part of your robot when it is "On Stage". Don't you want your entire robot to look great? Take the effort, you have time.
6. There are Team Updates every Tuesday and Friday, many of which have changes to the Robot Rules Section 4. Your inspectors will be evaluating your robot based on the latest Team Update and/or the latest revision of the Inspection Checklist, now at Rev. 1.1 https://firstfrc.blob.core.windows.n...-checklist.pdf
7. There are many threads about team numbers here on CD. Team numbers (numerals only, please) must be on your bumpers per R28. The Q&A has been very specific, all parts of the numerals must meet the specification of 1/2" stroke.
8. Bumpers do not have to be at the same height all around your robot. The front bumper can be higher than the back bumper. But, all bumper segments have to reside in the BUMPER ZONE between 4" and 12" above the floor when the robot is sitting on the floor.
9. Bumpers are two, stacked pool noodles, per Figure 4-7. Bumpers are not one noodle, one and half noodle, shaved noodles to reduce diameter, cutouts in the backing board(s), fabric with no noodles, or any other creative interpretation of Section 4.7.
10. Bumpers are designed to keep you playing in a game that is likely to produce agressive interaction with other robots. We want you to play every match you are scheduled for.
Good luck everyone.