Would 2 mitered pool noodles taped under the fabric count as separate per G406?
I just wanted to make sure the 2 separate pieces of pool noodle doesnt count as āseparateā as defined in the manual
I think āseparateā as defined is referring if we had fabric separating the 2 sections, right?
1 Like
I suggest taking an extra look at the noted picture, and text under the picture.
If that doesnāt answer your question, the you may want to ask the GDC via the Official Q&A once it opens, and they will most likely tell you the exact same thing.
I think it is specifically calling out separate ābumper segmentsā, but a pool noodle isnāt an entire bumper segment (which also requires separate fabric).
4 Likes
āI think āseparateā as defined is referring if we had fabric separating the 2 sections, right?ā
That is my understanding.
As in: If you make a 4-piece bumper, donāt have mitered pieces of foam hanging off the ends.
Bumper corner protection is a priority with the new rules. We just disassembled bumpers from last season - we have dust where we once had pool noodles wrapped around corners.
2 Likes
Related question: they do not show the āvertical noodle in the cornerā (top left example) or the āoverlapped padding in the cornerā (top center example) made with separate bumper segments (i.e., four separate, linear bumpers). The only one they show made with separate segments is the (disallowed) mitered corners (bottom right example). Do you all think that separate, linear (not bent around a corner of the robot) bumper segments, with fabric wrapped around a vertical corner noodle (but only on a single bumper side) or around an extended padding sticking out into, and totally filling, the corner, are still allowed?
That seems to be not allowed to me, as there is a gap in the corner. It depends if the part that sticks straight out is considered part of the corner or not. I believe it would be, and so the only? legal way to make 4-piece bumpers is to make them the corners, but that is something to ask through Q&A.
Worth a Q&A. Theyāll add it for clarification (they did in the past)
1 Like
Yes. Our team has previously used pool noodles as bumper material. What we now use is a big slab of packing foam that we have cut down to the appropriate size. An issue with using pool noodles is the firmness of them, and how they dont always cushion as expected, and will wear down a lot faster with big impacts compared to the foam. (Image below for refrence of foam block)
1 Like
pretty sure you are fine! you should fit under the approved mitered section IF your cover is all one piece. i think separate mitered segments are specifically referring to when the mitered segments still have gapping that occur between them even when fully constructed. as you can see, the approved bumpers are all covered in one piece of fabric to act as the cover while the pool noodles are completely flush against one another.
Just for clarification, is this practice new for 2025 or has the team done this in the past?
1 Like
Yes. (vertical noodle in the corner).
However - keeping a vertical noodle exactly in the corner is non-trivial. I would fill all gaps and tape it in place. (aka āfill the cornerā. Like FILL the corner).
To quote someone VERY familiar with this topic: āFig. 8-7 is not exhaustive and should not be read as such.ā
We have done this in the past
The rule is changed, that is why I am asking. Weāve done the corners like this in the past and it was explicitly legal but now itās changed
So are you looking to build something like this?
Yep. Thatās what we have done for the past few years; worked well last year with solid noodles (we switched from hollow ones after our first competition left the hollow ones a little worse for the wear). We do very nice, robust, reversible-cloth bumpers and I was hoping that they would not be āoff the tableā this year.
1 Like
I believe most of the bumper working group members intend this to be legal, but based on the rules as currently written Iād definitely submit a Q&A.
FWIW the kitbot in the kickoff video has 4 sections with straight overlaps. Definitely not an official confirmation of legality though.
1 Like
Added in Team Update 01:
3 Likes