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

Usage Guidelines All Questions

223: <R1> (a) second robot clarification


RODNEY PESAVENTO
22-Jan-2019

"<R1> Only one (1) robot will be allowed to compete per team in the VEX Robotics Competition. ... a. Teams may not compete with one robot while a second is being modified or assembled."

Teams in my region (and I assume others) are now receiving V5 kits. They have Cortex robots built but want to work on their V5 robot. For several schools, tournaments are the longest block of time available to work on a robot. Does <R1>(a) prevent them from competing with their Cortex robot while building their V5 robot if they don't compete with the V5?

Secondly, <R1>(Subsystem 1) states: "..For a stationary robot, the robotic base without wheels would be considered Subsystem 1." Would a team be allowed to have a stationary base (w/o Subsystem 2) for the purpose of working on a Subsystem 3?

Thank you.

R1  
Answered by Game Design Committee

Does <R1>(a) prevent them from competing with their Cortex robot while building their V5 robot if they don't compete with the V5?

The red box underneath <R1> helps to clarify this:

To help determine if a robot is a “separate robot” or not, use the Subsystem definitions found in <R1>. Above that, use common sense as referenced in <G2>. If you can place two robots on a table next to each other, and they look like two separate legal/complete robots (i.e. each have the 3 Subsystems defined by <R1>), then they are two robots.

So, the answer to your specific question is "Yes". Competing with one Robot at an event while working on a second Robot (which has a second Subsystem 2) at the same event is an explicit violation of <R1>.

Would a team be allowed to have a stationary base (w/o Subsystem 2) for the purpose of working on a Subsystem 3?

Yes, this would be legal. <R1> includes the following statement:

Given the above definitions, a minimum robot for use in any VEX Robotics Competition event (including Skills Challenges) must consist of 1 and 2 above.

A Robot without both subsystems 1 and 2 would not be considered a second "Robot" within the purest definition of <R1>.