Sorry for starting another discussion about bumpers, but I was wondering if there was any legal way to attach adjacent bumpers. I understand from “<R08> O.” that the backing may not attach to each other, but what about mounting a brace such as the one seen in the attachment. The brace would be within the bumper perimeter, but would have to be attached to the backing (ie, not removeable) to uphold its purpose. Would this be a legal piece on the bumper assembly and count toward the bumper weight?
Essentially, we want to wrap the fabric around the corners of the bumpers so there isn’t a section of soft noodle hanging off the end that another robot could unintentionally rip off. It would be best for assembly and durability (specifically when attaching and removing bumpers for inspection) to attach adjacent bumpers. This would result in two bumper pieces (one each side) to attach to our robot.
We considered having the “soft” parts of the bumpers wrap around the corner, but it looks to me like the hassle of making it this way, and then having to deal with those connected bumpers when removing and installing the bumpers for inspection, or for fixing the robot in a hurry, would negate any benefits.
However, I have seen teams create a bumper assembly that consisted of two or more sides of their robot perimeter’s bumpers held together at the corners by angle stock like you are talking about. If you are determined to proceed along this path for the design, I suggest that you submit a question to the FIRST Q&A forum.
Thanks for your responses. I have asked the Q&A. For the attachment to the robot, we were considering a simple slide and lock system, so the bolts never have to be completely removed (as a second thought, removing the bolts would increase our weight limit…).
Although the rule only says “may” not MUST, it also gives other suggestions such as wrapping the noodles around the corner or beveling the ends.
