Is there a rule against having something else other than you wheels touching the ground at the beginning of the match? say for instance, for our pick up system, we are planning on bending lexan on the floor, would they say that we can’t have that? that it would damage the field?
If you anticipate it damaging the field, I think you answered your own question.
Otherwise, I don’t know of any rules that specify that “wheels” must touch the ground. What if you don’t have “wheels” ?
we are not going to damage the field, it is just the fact that THEY think it’s going to damage the field, but it wont
You do have to convince the inspectors that it will not damage the field. Once that is done, you should be good
We had lexan on the pick up of our Logomotion bot that we slipped under the game pieces to pick them up and no inspector questioned us.
If inspectors think it will damage the field, you need to fix your robot until they’re satisfied. You can’t even go to practice matches if they have told you about a significant risk of field damage (or danger to people or other robots). I suggest you make sure your design looks as safe as you believe it is.
Wheels? Where we’re going, we don’t need wheels.
http://www.philebrity.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/marty_doc.jpg
Made my day. Futuristic FRC games now running through my head with flying robots equipped with water cannons to shoot at targets with. 
:rolleyes:
There is no rule about contact with the field surface except that there can be nothing that extends past the Frame Perimeter in the Start Configuration. Although inspectors will check, the refs will be watching. Extending past the Frame Perimeter in Start Configuration carries some obvious penalty.
Remember that the tower areas have a carpet on top of the main field carpet. It might be enough to pick at your lexan when driving up onto it. While that may damage the field (illegal), it may also trip your robot (not illegal, but a problem for you).
We had this problem a couple of years ago, so it’s something we look for.
When I was a kid Popular Science magazine promised me that by now. 