FAQ for Q&A

[EricH]

Just getting this going so that we know what's commonly asked and likely to go to the Q&A if it isn't answered in an update. I thought of putting it in Rules/Strategy, but decided more visibility is better.

1) Launching minibots--is it legal under a) free flight or b) tethered to the pole?

2) Minibots at the top of the pole: Do they have to stay there until after the match, or can they slide down during the match to make retrieval easier?

3) Are you allowed to move your own tubes, other than ubertubes, around after they are in scoring position?

[Duke461]

Originally Posted by EricH

Just getting this going so that we know what's commonly asked and likely to go to the Q&A if it isn't answered in an update. I thought of putting it in Rules/Strategy, but decided more visibility is better.

1) Launching minibots--is it legal under a) free flight or b) tethered to the pole?

2) Minibots at the top of the pole: Do they have to stay there until after the match, or can they slide down during the match to make retrieval easier?

3) Are you allowed to move your own tubes, other than ubertubes, around after they are in scoring position?

1) a)/b) im not exactly sure what you're asking but i do know that the minibots can be launched, they always have to touch the pole, and once they cross the deployment line you cannot touch them (if thats what you mean by tethered)
2) No they do not, as long as they hit the pressure-like sensor (2-4 newtons of force btw)
3) As far as i know, you are allowed to. although you really shouldnt have to

[DonRotolo]

Someone planning on going to Q&A with this, or do we interpret and then decide?

[EricH]

I don't have access to that, so someone else will need to.

One that I forgot: If a minibot is moving upwards at the end of a match, does it still get the 10 seconds to finish for points?

Personal suspicion is yes, but never hurts to confirm.

[ebarker]

Originally Posted by EricH

If a minibot is moving upwards at the end of a match, does it still get the 10 seconds to finish for points?

It looked like the presentation said the minibot had to climb the pole and trigger the AB stacked signal light. At match end you can look at the field look at the lights. Blinking - no score. Solid - score.

[alicen]

Where is the bumper zone?
(I went to go double check that I knew the bumper zone today and could not find the rule stating it. There are tons of rules about the bumpers, but nothing about exactly WHERE the zone is )
This has been answered, the rule was just hiding in section one instead of section four with the rest of the robot rules

How do coopertition points affect your qualifying and ranking scores?
(There was a clause about how if you loan a minibot to another team, you get a CP, but nowhere did it say how this would affect your ranking or anything at all.)

Is it legal to program your minibot to go up the pole, wait for some time, then be programmed to go back down the pole for easy retrieval?
(Minibots are not controlled by the FMS system, so I'm wondering if programming them to go back down the pole would make it easier to remove them at the end of the match.)

[goldenglove002]

This question came up earlier today, I don't think a conclusion was made.

Is there a limit to how many minibots can be deployed by one robot?

[SAMBURGER]

Originally Posted by goldenglove002

This question came up earlier today, I don't think a conclusion was made.

Is there a limit to how many minibots can be deployed by one robot?

The rules say nothing about how many you can carry, but you may only DEPLOY one of them. And even if you could, you only have two alliance towers, and three robots, as well as only ten seconds in the end game. So, unless both your alliance members can't deploy, the rules say you can deploy more than one, and you think that 10 seconds is enough time to deploy two, I don't see why you couldn't.

[Zuelu562]

Originally Posted by SAMBURGER

The rules say nothing about how many you can carry, but you may only DEPLOY one of them. And even if you could, you only have two alliance towers, and three robots, as well as only ten seconds in the end game. So, unless both your alliance members can't deploy, the rules say you can deploy more than one, and you think that 10 seconds is enough time to deploy two, I don't see why you couldn't.

You May only carry 1 MINIBOT on the HOSTBOT as per Team Update #1 Changes

The ROBOT includes both the HOSTBOT and the one MINIBOT (ROBOT = HOSTBOT + MINIBOT).

[DBortnick]

According to <G32>: Neither ROBOTS, HOSTBOTS, nor MINIBOTS may break the planes of the vertically projected borders of the opponent's ZONES.

It goes on to say: "<G32> allows ROBOTS to complete HANGING a GAME PIECE, as designed, without being hindered."

My question is this, the ZONES are 84" long, the maximum length your robot could have at any given time is 84" long. However, the ends of the scoring pegs are 16" away from the wall. If my robot is fully extended at roughly 84" and I am trying to place a piece on the end of a peg then 16" of my robot will be extending out into the Caution Zone.

Is my robot still protected from opposing robots if ANY part of my robot is out of my zone?

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by DBortnick

According to <G32>: Neither ROBOTS, HOSTBOTS, nor MINIBOTS may break the planes of the vertically projected borders of the opponent's ZONES.

It goes on to say: "<G32> allows ROBOTS to complete HANGING a GAME PIECE, as designed, without being hindered."

My question is this, the ZONES are 84" long, the maximum length your robot could have at any given time is 84" long. However, the ends of the scoring pegs are 16" away from the wall. If my robot is fully extended at roughly 84" and I am trying to place a piece on the end of a peg then 16" of my robot will be extending out into the Caution Zone.

Is my robot still protected from opposing robots if ANY part of my robot is out of my zone?

(emphasis mine)

If your robot is stretching out to 84" long, then it is 0" wide - you'd have to be on a diameter line, or else you're outside the circle. So a full 84" spread is not even possible. And when you design to be able to reach the top or bottom rows of pegs, you will realize why you need the extra inches available to you at the midrange of your arm height.

That may mean that you are stretched out to at or near your maximum if you are trying to hang a tube on the mid row. But <G32> is a prohibition of what your opponents cannot do. Even the blue box that you quoted only says you have protection to complete hanging your tube. You first have to get the tube to the zone, and then once your robot is inside the zone the opponents can't get to you any more. Maybe your back bumper will have to be hanging outside the zone. But an opponent risks entering your zone if they try to bump only the portion of your robot hanging outside the line. Remember, they're 47 feet away from the line, and can't see it very well.

[Trent B]

Originally Posted by alicen

Where is the bumper zone?
(I went to go double check that I knew the bumper zone today and could not find the rule stating it. There are tons of rules about the bumpers, but nothing about exactly WHERE the zone is )

Page 7 of Section 1

BUMPER ZONE ␣ the volume contained between two virtual horizontal planes, one inch above the floor and seven inches above the floor.

[Waffles]

Originally Posted by EricH

I don't have access to that, so someone else will need to.

One that I forgot: If a minibot is moving upwards at the end of a match, does it still get the 10 seconds to finish for points?

Personal suspicion is yes, but never hurts to confirm.

<G02>At 10 seconds before the end of the MATCH, when HOSTBOTS may DEPLOY their MINIBOT without penalty, BASES will illuminate with the appropriate ALLIANCE color, while TARGET lights will show a green ‘chase’ sequence. This chase sequence will continue until a MINIBOT TRIGGERS the TARGET, or time expires, whichever comes first.

So from 2:05 to 2:15 (or the last ten secs of the match) the minibot has that allotted time to get up the pole. It must trigger before the timer is 0.

Also worth noting:

The MATCH ends if all TOWERS are TRIGGERED or when the ARENA timer displays zero seconds, whichever comes first.

A question for the Q&A is:

How will the field management disable the minibot after the match has ended?

[blhenze]

I've just looked at the manual about the Robot and although it speaks of the "Bumper Zone" I have not found where it describes where the actual bumper zone is. Is this in a revised manual?

bhenze@sapulpaps.org

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by blhenze

I've just looked at the manual about the Robot and although it speaks of the "Bumper Zone" I have not found where it describes where the actual bumper zone is. Is this in a revised manual?

bhenze@sapulpaps.org

All the definitions for terms in ALL CAPS in the manual are in section 1.