Suppose a robot has no algae acquiring mechanism, but does have a protrusion of some sort. Assuming that you can do so w/o damaging the algae [G408], is there any rule against just “punching” the algae into the center of the reef?
And is it even possible? (we don’t have a competition-grade set of reef “trees” to be sure)
I suspect that it would be fine by the rulebook, however I also suspect that it would be really difficult based on the contact points of the reef pipes. Punching the middle of an algae towards the center of the reef would likely create a self locking effect on the pipes.
It is possible to push the algae out by punching it from below, but I have found that it is much easier to get it out by pulling it from the top.