Is the 54" cylinder defined as vertical relative to the floor, or vertical relative to the robot? Because when climbing, the robot could be taller than 54" and be tilted sideways, in which case it would exceed the boundary if the cylinder was always oriented relative to the ground.
I can’t speak to this year’s rules, but the GDC’s answer to questions like this in the past is that dimension rules are all relative to the robot.
the orientation of the 54" changes as the orientation of the robot changes. also worth noting: the 54" circle that your robot must stay in changes as you extend appendages.