<R05>
All points and corners
that would be commonly expected to contact a GAME PIECE should have a minimum radius
of 0.125 inches to avoid becoming a snag/puncture hazard. All edges that would be
commonly expected to contact a GAME PIECE should have a minimum radius of 0.030
inches. All of these potential hazards will be carefully inspected.
does this rule outlaw the use of ifi traction material.
For a manipulator or something else you probably can. I don’t see any reason you can’t.
However, if you want it for wheels as I suspect, no. You can’t use anything other then the tires they provide for the wheels.
Interesting point. It seems to me by that definition it would be illegal, however the rule says “should” not “must.” I would argue that anything is legal because of this point, so long as it does not violate any other rules. This needs an official Q/A response though.
A simple clarification that hard or rigid edges or points may not regularly touch the game piece would resolve this beyond all doubt.
Until then, we could examine the intent of the rule. The intent of the rule is that we don’t damage the game pieces, as noted by “to avoid becoming a snag/puncture hazard”. Since IFI wheel tread points are ‘soft’ and do not snag or puncture (aka damage) the balls, one would think that the rule already answers the OP’s question.