Moving Hitch

[Dan2081]

An idea that my team has had was to have a moving hitch. The rules say that it must be rigidly fixed, however, would it be possible to have the hitch on some sort of rail, that could slide from one end of the robot to the other?? The regular setup would be in order, and it would be on the outer edge, just that the entire setup of the hitch could move??

Are there any points that would not allow this???

[Mike Schreiber]

The only problem I see with this is that the 2 13/16 height of the hitch is within the bumper zone and bumpers must cover 2/3 of the perimeter. Other than that I see no rule saying the rigid fixation must be stationary. Get creative

[Nate Laverdure]

The phrase I stressed in <R18> subsection B seems to prohibit this:

<R18> B.
The 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.

This "fixed location" is defined in terms of relative position between GAME PIECE and ROBOT in Section 7, page 3:

A GAME PIECE shall be considered “captured” by a ROBOT if, as the ROBOT moves or changes orientation (e.g. backs up or spins in place), the GAME PIECE remains in approximately the same position relative to the ROBOT.

While a GAME PIECE is not the same as a TRAILER, I believe that the definition of "fixed location" is the same for both. However, this may be a question you should ask the Q&A service, once it becomes available.

[timmmoore]

You could argue that the definition of fixed location that you quote is when the robot is in playing configuration. If you assume the fixed location of the trailer hitch in R18 is in starting configuration, then I dont see why you can't change the "fixed location" between the 2 configurations.
An extreme example would be to start the robot standing on its front. it is very tall, wide and short. The trailer is hitched to the back of the robot in this config. When the robot starts it falls back over the top of the trailer with material expanding out to cover the trailer, which is now in the middle of the robot. What was the top of the robot in starting config is the back in playing config. Note this is an extreme example that I haven't worked out whether the sizes actually work or not.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by timmmoore

...I dont see why you can't change the "fixed location" between the 2 configurations.

Changing a "fixed location" sounds like a contradiction to me.

[Hastypickle]

A moving hitch is now illegal because of the rule update.

In Rule <R18>, Part D “outer edge” has been changed to “BUMPER PERIMETER”. It
now reads as follows:
The Trailer Hitch must be located on the BUMPER PERIMETER of the
ROBOT structure such that it may easily connect with the tongue of the
TRAILER (attached to the TRAILER).