Hello, we have read the manual, and some things were still left unsaid for us…
Section 7.2 DEFINITIONS states that a Payload specialists must be a pre-college student team member
There has never been an age limit, although it is a high school robotics program.
G20 states: MOON ROCKS can be recycled to the PAYLOAD SPECIALISTS by passing them over/through the AIRLOCK and through the FUELING PORT in the Alliance Station Wall, or by passing them through the port in the OUTPOST shield. MOON ROCKS can not be recycled to the PAYLOAD SPECIALISTS via any other paths (e.g. over the OUTPOST shield or Alliance Station Wall). A violation will cause a PENALTY to be assigned.
So does anyone know how many pilots are needed (other than two), or if there is a maximum number? We know that there are two pilots per robot and team, but that’s only per round; so what about the total number on a team?
A team usually has two pilots per robot. However, you cannot have more than two pilots per round. If your team wants to rotate pilots, that is allowed but not many teams do that because it is better to have one set of pilots who know what they are doing especially for the eliminations.
I suggest that if you want to be remotely competitive at comps you keep the same drivers(pilots) for every match(round). Switching drivers every match is going to cause you to have non-consistent performances on the field. Consistency is the only way you will be able to be competitive and win.
There are no limits to how many pilots (drivers/operators/whatever you call them) you have on your team, but you can only use two in a match. Having backups is highly encouraged. If your primary isn’t able to go, and you don’t have a backup, you’re going to be hurting.
The way this works at the regionals (unless they’ve changed it this year) is that your team will be issued four player buttons when you check in on Thursday, one of which is marked (usually with a dot) as the Commander/Coach button. In order to represent your team on the field, you must have the button on. The person with the Commander button can’t touch the controls, even if they are a student. If you want to change who is playing in your next match, just hand off the button or buttons. It’s very important not to forget them at the hotel overnight because you can’t play without them (but someone does at every regional, every year and has to make an emergency run back to get them before their first match… save yourself some panic and keep track of your player buttons).
The payload specialist must use the grabber to get the balls from the fueling station into his/her hands. The grabber is about 2 feet long and is tied to the super cell rack with a string that’s about 1-1.5 ft long.
Unfortunately that is not the question that was asked.
The payload specialist located at the Outpost does not have a grabber and as far as I know cannot be refueled.
EDIT: Thanks for the correction Eric. The Outpost Payload Specialist may be reloaded through the hole in the Outpost shield. See Eric’s post below.
Sorry, Vikesrock. The Manual wins.
Though the PS at the outpost doesn’t have a grabber.
“Recycling” apparently refers to robot-PS interaction. It seems to me that the rules do not prohibit the Fueling Station PS from throwing game objects over the wall to the Outpost PS. It’s a long shot, but could happen.
Sorry, Rick. http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=11436
Extra long shot, but could still happen.
Oh darn, foiled again. I submit that such a shot is absolutely impossible (unless you allow ricochets off robots).