Actively Placing Gears

[andrewytiger]

I know there are several questions that have already been answered on the Q&A system about this, but they have been so vague and I still don't know if this is legal. Are we allowed to use an active mechanism to release the gear or not? For example, can we push the gear onto the peg using a piston when the peg is inside of our robot's bumpers?

[andrewytiger]

Here's a link to a video and photos of what I mean: https://goo.gl/photos/QXdRCiNtoXF5xu1M9

[Ari423]

I haven't seen anything that says that it wouldn't be legal; is there a reason you think it might be illegal? As long as the piston always stays inside the robot volume, you should be fine.

[andrewytiger]

Originally Posted by Ari423

I haven't seen anything that says that it wouldn't be legal; is there a reason you think it might be illegal? As long as the piston always stays inside the robot volume, you should be fine.

I'm worried this may be called throwing which would be considered illegal.

[Ari423]

Originally Posted by andrewytiger

I'm worried this may be called throwing which would be considered illegal.

This rule (like many others) relies on a judgement call from the refs. I'd say that as long as your robot is always in contact with the gear until it is fully supported by the lift (i.e. it's always either touching the robot or the lift), you won't get called on throwing. If your piston is moving fast enough to throw the gear out of the robot (or even make it look like it's being throw even if it's not), try lowering the pressure.

[ollien]

You could also use something like this
http://www.andymark.com/product-p/am-2897.htm

[JesseK]

Q96 seems to answer this.

You appear to have a valid case that you're not shooting in the air, kicking across the floor, rolling across the floor, or throwing - you're pushing. [G23]'s definition of LAUNCHING as applied to putting a gear onto the peg implies the gear was, at some point, not touching either the robot or the peg. You'll likely want to clear the actions with your head ref at the event though.

https://frc-qa.firstinspires.org/qa/96