Does the base robot dimensions include the trailer hitch required to be mounted on each robot? I might have overlooked this, but I did not see anything in the rules about it. Thoughts?
There are no exceptions for the trailer hitch in the weight and size requirements in <R11> that I could find.
From what I can tell it is included in the WEIGHT, but Not in the size…
D.The Trailer Hitch must be located on an outer edge of the ROBOT structure such that it may easily connect with the tongue of the TRAILER (attached to the TRAILER).
And
ROBOT - A FIRST ROBOT is a remotely operated vehicle designed and built by a FIRST Robotic Competition team to perform specific tasks when competing in the 2009 competition “Lunacy.” The ROBOT must include all the basic systems required to be an active participant in the game – power, communications, control, mobility, and actuation. The ROBOT implementation must obviously follow a design approach intended to play the 2009 FRC game (e.g. a box of unassembled parts placed on the field, or a ROBOT designed to play a different game, would not satisfy this definition).
And
<R11>At the start of, and during, the MATCH the ROBOT shall fit within the dimensions listed below:
And I believe they will need to make a modification to R11 to exclude the Robot Trailer Hitch from the dimensions if they are going to comply with their definition of Robot and their drawing in Figure 8-5.
I’m on the fence … good candidate for Q&A
My best arguement comes from <R18-D> and figure 8-5.
The Trailer Hitch must be located on an outer edge of the ROBOT structure such that it may easily connect with the tongue of the TRAILER (attached to the TRAILER).
If their uppercase words are definable items, then the ROBOT is one thing, the TRAILER is another thing, and the Trailer Hitch (capitalized, not all caps) is not necessarily part of the robot.
Figure 8-5 is somewhat difficult to tell if both parts of the hitch are outside the Robot’s perimeter … but it really looks like their figure shows both the Spacer and the Mount Bar are mounted to the same plane as the bumpers.
On the other hand … if we’re going to cram our bots into the 28 x 38 x 60 inspection box, having a trailer hitch protruding out from the aft-end of a 38" bot will not pass inspection
If so, we’ll need to recess our rear frames so we’ll fit in the inspection box.
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This question was answered in the newest team update.
BUMPER PERIMETER – the polygon defined by the outer-most set of exterior vertices on the ROBOT (without the BUMPERS or Trailer Hitch attached) that are within the BUMPER ZONE. To determine the BUMPER PERIMETER, wrap a piece of string around the ROBOT at the level of the BUMPER ZONE - the string describes this polygon. The BUMPER PERIMETER may extend up to, but cannot exceed, the maximum ROBOT volume constraints defined in Rule <R11>.