Team Update 2

[wesbass23]

Originally Posted by SenorZ

Instead of saying, "Hmmm, having my robot climb a rope is a challenge. Lets see if we can do that."

Teams are saying, "Hmmm, attaching to and climbing up Material X is easier than rope, and provides less of a challenge. Let's see if we can use Material X."

Why work harder when you can work smarter, right?

[KevinG]

Speaking only for myself, unless we get clarification I would rule as a RI that Velcro hook or loop tape meets the definition of a rope. I do not believe that my interpretation is the only one, and frankly that worries me.

[Eric Scheuing]

Question on the whole velcro thing. It looked like the loop holding the rope up for most of the match was made of velcro. Should teams be concerned that their rope won't deploy properly and they won't be able to climb?

[Cothron Theiss]

Originally Posted by Eric Scheuing

Question on the whole velcro thing. It looked like the loop holding the rope up for most of the match was made of velcro. Should teams be concerned that their rope won't deploy properly and they won't be able to climb?

That is an excellent point if that's the case. Thankfully, the rope is released by the human players, so the human player should be able to remove the retaining strap from the rope even if it does present issues.

[GreyingJay]

Originally Posted by SenorZ

Once robotics becomes an exercise in linguistics and semantics, we've lost our way.

Instead of saying, "Hmmm, having my robot climb a rope is a challenge. Lets see if we can do that."

While there's nothing wrong with this, technically, it is not in the "spirit" of the challenge.

While I would agree that there is a point of bending the rules too far, I think that encouraging students to think outside the box is very much in the spirit of an engineering challenge. A lot of good engineering comes from saying "but what if?" and challenging a conventional assumption.

I would never have thought of using Velcro if you had left me to my own devices.

[engunneer]

key points

• 40kPA = RP (not 41)
• Rope length measured from DAVIT (DAVIT tails don't count)
• No tape on end of rope
• Rope rules diageam with dimensions

[Blizzard3197]

Originally Posted by engunneer

key points

• 40kPA = RP (not 41)
• Rope length measured from DAVIT (DAVIT tails don't count)
• No tape on end of rope
• Rope rules diageam with dimensions

So you can't get more than 40kPA in points (so no possibility of 2 RP), or do you mean that you ONLY get the RP if you have EXACTLY 40kPA?

[jtrv]

Originally Posted by Blizzard3197

So you can't get more than 40kPA in points (so no possibility of 2 RP), or do you mean that you ONLY get the RP if you have EXACTLY 40kPA?

Previously, the manual said if your kPa "exceeds 40kPa" then you get the RP. However, they changed it so if your kPa "meets or exceeds 40kPa" you get the RP.

By the first definition, it was interpreted as you need 40kPa + 1 fuel in goal minimum to get the RP. Now you only need at least the 40kPa.

[Tuba4]

This should settle the question. From the blog:

Q6: Velcro usage on a rope. Can a team use Velcro on a rope that they bring to the field? Can they place Velcro above the 4 inches that secures the rope end? Can it be place on the 4 inches that secures the rope?

Answer: Please see Team Update 02. Non-adhesive-backed hook and loop fastener may be part of, or the entirety of, a legal ROPE, provided that the ROPE is entirely made of "flexible, non-metallic fibers twisted, tied, woven, or braided together" per I04 (e.g. something stuck to or wrapped around the outside of the ROPE does not satisfy this requirement unless it's whipping as permitted per I04 part D).

[Tungrus]

Yes, Velcro on rope is allowed per Q&A. However Velcro (only, to climb) is not allowed as it does not meet rope definition.