I must be missing something, but I can’t seem to find the height of the Bumper Zone anywhere in this year’s manual. Am I? Or should I post this in the Q&A?
Rule [R01]
“Bumper Zone, which is between 2 and 10 in. from the floor”
-Fish
That. Is. A. Huge. Bumper. Zone. 
!
Thats what I thought… because if someone as it at the 2 in mark and someone else has the 10 in mark then the 2 bumpers wont even contact 
2+5 = 7. 10-5 = 5. 7-5 = 2" of overlap.
So yeah. They will.
I noticed that only the frame vertices need to be protected this year. Bumpers do not need to be continuous, apparently.
They probably did this to allow for floor pickup. Most teams probably will still have the bumpers for the full length if they don’t have a mechanism on that side, though.
They may have also did this to allow teams to climb over the center rail.
Thanks… I stand corrected
DO the bumpers need to be level with each other?
No, they only need to be within the bumper zone, as per [R29].
so bumper zone is within 2 to 10 in off the ground then and around exterior corners.
To throw in what I believe to be a new bumper rule,
R35: The numerals must be at least 4 in. high, at least ¾ in. in stroke width, and be either white in color or outlined in white.
Emphasis mine.
The 148 numeration method of stenciling in with a silver sharpie is obsolete I guess, unless you’re able to make a white sharpie show up. Bumm§er.
Thomas,
Not really a new rule, just more distinct. ‘Contrasting’ under some lighting conditions was not ‘contrasting’ under others.
I didn’t want to create a new thread, and my question is similar:
http://frc-manual.usfirst.org/upload/4.1.6-7.jpg
Sorry for the large size, not sure how to make it smaller.
My question is:
Did FIRST make a mistake/typo in this picture? The two gaps labeled 10 inches are clearly not of identical lengths ( i even measured to make sure :P). I understand why the “not ok” on the left is not ok, but, given the current numbers, i do not understand why the “ok” on the right is ok.
Thanks!
-duke
R33 says:
Bumpers must be supported by the structure/frame of the Robot (i.e. the gap between the backing material and the frame must not be greater than ¼ in. and no section of Bumper greater than 8 in. may be unsupported). See Figure 4‑7.
I would interpret this as saying that for a bumper to be supported, the gap between the bumpers and the frame must be 1/4 in. or less. The right picture would then be OK because the bumper is supported over that length.
See here:
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=99458
Summary for your question: if the backing is within 1/4", the bumper is supported.
[Edit: Internet is too fast]
As for the image, it’s a non-scaled drawing so the notated dimensions are overruling to any perceived scale.
Not really - that interpretation makes the 7"x7" intrusion illegal.
Although not phrased particularly well, what [R33] is really saying is that any intrusion into your bot cannot exceed both 1/4" of depth and 8" of width. In other words, it’s an either/or thing - if you’re exceeding 1/4" of depth, you can’t exceed 8" of width and vice versa.
Ok it all makes sense now :o