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Official Q&A: VRC 2018-2019: Turning Point

Usage Guidelines All Questions

189: Flashlight for Vision Sensor Clarification

6671X
20-Dec-2018

"<R6> "<R6> Official VEX products are ONLY available from VEX Robotics & official VEX Resellers. To determine whether a product is "official" or not, consult www.vexrobotics.com. A complete list of authorized VEX Resellers can be found at www.vexrobotics.com/find-a-reseller."

<R8 note G> "Decorations that visually mimic field elements or could otherwise interfere with an opponent's Vision Sensor are considered functional and are not permitted. This includes lights, such as the VEX Flashlight. The Head Inspector and Head Referee will make the final decision on whether a given decoration or mechanism violates this rule."

Vex flashlight: https://www.vexrobotics.com/276-2210.html

Provided that it does not mimic any field elements, is it legal to use the vex flashlight to increase the consistency of the V5 vision sensor in driver control? If so, is it legal to use reflective or opaque non-vex components to project the light more accurately onto the flag? Thank you!"

R6   R8  
Answered by Game Design Committee

Provided that it does not mimic any field elements, is it legal to use the vex flashlight to increase the consistency of the V5 vision sensor in driver control?

The color that a Vision Sensor "looks for" depends upon an expected lighting condition. This is why the same Sensor may require a re-calibration when looking at the same object in sunlight vs under a flashlight.

The intent of <R8g> was to prevent the scenario where a Robot's use of the Vision Sensor was impaired by an opponent's external and unpredictable light source. It should be an expected part of the design challenge to calibrate a Vision Sensor for a given event venue's lighting conditions. However, it would be impossible to prepare for lighting condition changes mid-match, such as an opponent introducing an external light source.

So - the use of a VEX Flashlight in conjunction with your own Vision Sensor is not, by itself, illegal. However, if your opponent is using a Vision Sensor to look at the same area that you are shining a flashlight on, this could be interpreted by a head referee as a violation of <R8g>. Thus, it is impossible to provide a blanket ruling that would cover all contexts.

is it legal to use reflective or opaque non-vex components to project the light more accurately onto the flag?

There are no rules preventing this, provided that no other rules are violated in the process. Specifically, the material must satisfy all of the constraints of <R7>, especially <R7e>.