Did they give you any trouble about the bumpers leaving the bumper zone?
Whats the point of having this articulate? does it help get over the bump or onto the platform or something? I’m assuming its not just for show
I believe the robot only entered this state on the bump or during the finale.
Austin, this is actually Coyobot 11. You weren’t around for Coyobot 10 
Anyway, as some have suggested, the middle wheels are articulated primarily to assist driving over the bumps. They would be raised to facilitate this. But In this picture the middle wheels are lowered, which causes the robot to rear back. Obviously this violates bumper rules, etc. The plan was to climb up on the platform from the side via the bump. Climbing the platform was easy, turning on the bump to face the platform, not so much. Since the bump is such an awkward shape, the robot would often tip over when we tried to turn lengthwise on it. We only succeeded in making the turn a couple times during practise.
Did you ever try approaching the bump at an angle less than 90deg so you did not have to turn much on top of the bump?
How did you guys actuate your suspension? Are those pneumatics I see?
We had a very similar chassis set-up. It made for a much smoother bump experience. We used our arm to push down the center section. Initially we were using window motors and cables, but weight and efficiency issues required a different solution.
Yes, we tried approaching the bump at all sorts of angles, and either the robot would tip over, or it would not be able to reach the top of the bump. The latter occurred when we approached the bump at a very slight angle, nearly parallel to it. The 45 degree slopes on the bump were very unforgiving.
The middle wheels were raised and lowered with pneumatics. Raising the wheels made bump crossing much smoother.