Blocking your own trailer

[Team2441]

Sorry if this is a redundant qestion but CAN we take balls out of the trailors while up-right?

[Mike8519]

Originally Posted by Team2441

Sorry if this is a redundant qestion but CAN we take balls out of the trailors while up-right?

While you CAN, the rules certainly do not want you to

[dmoody92]

Originally Posted by Team2441

Sorry if this is a redundant qestion but CAN we take balls out of the trailors while up-right?

I would think not because any way to do that would involve deploying some arm into the basket. The violates the rule of blocking because even though the arm won't be there the whole time you are still blocking the hole for the time being. Also, you can't break the perimeter of your trailer with your robot.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by dodar

... but some teams are thinking about retracting the trailer inside their robot and then covering the top or covering it somehow or just retracting it in so it is harder to see

hmm ... retract the trailer?

Can you think of a way to do that without violating <R18>D. and R<18>E. ? Look carefully at Fig. 8-6 and consider the restrictions that <R18> places on how the robot is permitted to constrain the trailer's motion.

[edit]see also: Nate's analysis of the fixed trailer hitch location requirement <R18>B.[/edit]

If you do think of a way, it would be smart to post a question for the GDC using the official Q&A on the FIRST forum, to make sure your idea doesn't violate a rule. It would be a shame to base your team's robot design on an assumption that turns out to be incorrect.

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by Richard

hmm ... retract the trailer?

Can you think of a way to do that without violating <R18>D. and R<18>E. ? Look carefully at Fig. 8-6 and consider the restrictions that <R18> places on how the robot is permitted to constrain the trailer's motion.

[edit]see also: Nate's analysis of the fixed trailer hitch location requirement <R18>B.[/edit]

If you do think of a way, it would be smart to post a question for the GDC using the official Q&A on the FIRST forum, to make sure your idea doesn't violate a rule. It would be a shame to base your team's robot design on an assumption that turns out to be incorrect.

I agree with Richard. R18E will seriously restrict any trailer enclosure strategy.


If you guys think that the GDC didn't think of the idea of covering the trailer prevent scoring then you don't know them very well. I think they wrote the rules to make it almost impossible to do so they will not issue any new rule preventing it. If a team comes up with a viable way of doing it within the rules I think the whole GDC will congratulate them.

[JHSmentor]

in response to the robot width being the 38" direction - I believe this is totally legal but it does state in the rules that the trailer will be attached to the SHORT side of the robot. so, if the robot design had the wide sides in the front and back, then the trailer would be sliding along beside it on the left or right.

[bduddy]

Originally Posted by JHSmentor

in response to the robot width being the 38" direction - I believe this is totally legal but it does state in the rules that the trailer will be attached to the SHORT side of the robot. so, if the robot design had the wide sides in the front and back, then the trailer would be sliding along beside it on the left or right.

I don't think there's anything that says that in rule <R18>, the rule regarding the trailer hitch. It just has to be somewhere on the outside of the robot. Is there somewhere else I'm not looking?

[chewy]

Originally Posted by JHSmentor

in response to the robot width being the 38" direction - I believe this is totally legal but it does state in the rules that the trailer will be attached to the SHORT side of the robot. so, if the robot design had the wide sides in the front and back, then the trailer would be sliding along beside it on the left or right.

I did not see that in the manual... see below

<R18>

D. The Trailer Hitch must be located on an outer edge of the ROBOT structure such that it may easily connect with the tongue of the TRAILER (attached to the TRAILER).

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by JHSmentor

in response to the robot width being the 38" direction - I believe this is totally legal but it does state in the rules that the trailer will be attached to the SHORT side of the robot. so, if the robot design had the wide sides in the front and back, then the trailer would be sliding along beside it on the left or right.

please quote this rule?

[tjwoodin]

Well what you could do is create a robot that is really small, then when you create the cover your robot will not go outside the limits since your robot is already tiny to begin with. Also one rule states that you need all balls able to be taken out of your trailer at the end of the match without powering your robot back up so if you were to make something, you would need to make it retractable at the end of the match.

[smurfgirl]

Iwanttoduck,

From <R18>,

E.
The Trailer Hitch must be placed such that, as the TRAILER swings from side to side, the first contact between the TRAILER and ROBOT is BUMPER-to-BUMPER and not TRAILER-tongue-to-BUMPER (to prevent placing excessive stress upon, and possibly damaging, the TRAILER tongue). See Figure 8-6.

[web_master_dpep]

Originally Posted by JHSmentor

in response to the robot width being the 38" direction - I believe this is totally legal but it does state in the rules that the trailer will be attached to the SHORT side of the robot. so, if the robot design had the wide sides in the front and back, then the trailer would be sliding along beside it on the left or right.

I didnt see this in the rules. You may have made a mistake while reading
<R18>BThe Trailer Hitch must be rigidly attached to a fixed location on the ROBOT, with the long dimension of the Trailer Hitch horizontal and the opening of the C-channel facing away from the ROBOT. The horizontal center line of the Trailer Hitch must be 2-13/16 inches above the floor.

[chris04891]

My team while brainstorming thought of a blower such as a low amp leaf blower that could b angled to blow moon rocks away from the trailer. we decided against one because it would use like all of our battery second because its prolly gunna b outlawed

[GreerD]

Originally Posted by JHSmentor

in response to the robot width being the 38" direction - I believe this is totally legal but it does state in the rules that the trailer will be attached to the SHORT side of the robot. so, if the robot design had the wide sides in the front and back, then the trailer would be sliding along beside it on the left or right.

Could you quote this rule? Thanks.

[JHSmentor]

Originally Posted by JHSmentor

in response to the robot width being the 38" direction - I believe this is totally legal but it does state in the rules that the trailer will be attached to the SHORT side of the robot. so, if the robot design had the wide sides in the front and back, then the trailer would be sliding along beside it on the left or right.

Okay - I am trying to find the actual location where we (both my wife and I) read this - but I cannot find it!!!!!

I am so sorry if this is not the case. I was not intentionally trying to mess everyone up. We actually were thinking of rotating our robot so the front was wide but after reading this "rule" decided that was not an option.

we have a printed version of the rules that we printed out on the first day - could this have changed on the web site since? I would think that any change would have to be sent out as a notification to all teams.