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Official Q&A: VRC 2019-2020: Tower Takeover

Usage Guidelines All Questions

423: G12d Game elements in possession of a Robot are an extension of that Robot.


2114C
14-Nov-2019

G12d states:

Game elements in possession of a Robot are an extension of that Robot. Therefore, Entanglement (e.g., grasping, hooking, attaching) with Cubes that are in the possession of an opposing Robot is a violation of this rule.

From the context of subrule d (talking about grabbing onto cubes that another robot are possessing), as well as the general nature of G12 (limiting defense and destructive behavior), it would make sense that this concept was meant to apply to such situations only.

However, in a recent Q&A answer, the scope of this rule was demonstrated to be significantly larger:

Their robot was in possession (not just touching) of a cube and that cube was touching the base cube of that stack. He felt that the way the rule is written, the stack should not be considered scored since the robot (through that cube in its possession) was touching the base of the stack. If the possession of a cube is an extension of the robot, referee felt the robot was touching the base cube of the stack since it possessed the cube that was touching it.

This is a correct interpretation (assuming that the Robot possessing the Cube was a Red robot). The Cube being contacted would not be considered a Base Cube, and the Scored status of all other Cubes in the Goal Zone would be affected accordingly.

...[these rules] are intended to be applications of an overall principle that Robots and any Cubes they are possessing should be considered as one entity.

With this expansion of the rule, it seems that the cube would be considered a part of the robot in many more situations than appears at first glance. This brings up several questions:

For clarity, a cube which is possessed by a robot will be referred to as a possessed cube

  1. SG3: Would it be illegal for a possessed cube to perform any of the actions under SG3?

    a. In particular, if a possessed cube contacts an opponent's Inner Protected Zone, would the offending robot be disqualified?

  2. G4: Is it illegal to have a preload which counts as a possessed cube extend outside of the starting volume?

  3. G5: Is it illegal to intentionally detatch a possessed cube from a robot?

  4. SG3a: Is a possessed cube considered part of the robot for the purpose of determining whether a Robot is considered to be "fully contained" within its Protected Zone?

Answered by Game Design Committee

First - please see this similar Q&A, and remember to always bear in mind rule G3 when looking for edge-case interpretations of rules and Q&A responses:

<G3> Use common sense. When reading and applying the various rules in this document, please remember that common sense always applies in the VEX Robotics Competition.

The primary rule in question is SG7:

<SG7> Use Cubes to play the game. Cubes may not be used to accomplish actions that would be otherwise illegal if they were attempted by Robot mechanisms. Examples include (but are not limited to):

• Encroaching upon an opponent’s Protected Zone per <SG3>.

• Interfering with an opponent’s Autonomous Period per <SG2>.

SG7 intentionally does not include the word "possess", it includes the word "use". The following are all examples of "using" a Cube:

  • A Robot satisfying the dictionary definition of possessing a Cube ("the state of having, owning, or controlling something")
  • A Robot launching a Cube across the field
  • A human Drive Team Member holding a Match Load Cube

The intent of G12-d is to provide a specific interpretation of SG7 as it applies to G12-esque interactions such as damage, tipping, or Entanglement. The intent of G12-d is not to hinge upon the word "possession"; it was simply used because in a G12 interaction involving a Cube, it is most likely that the Robot is holding a Cube, and the word "possession" is more concise than "having, owning, or controlling". While we would hope this is unlikely, G12 would still be violated if a Team launched a Cube at an opposing Robot such that it damaged and/or tipped the opponent, even though it was not "possessing" the Cube at the time of the damage.

With that all said - because your questions do not involved destruction, damage, tipping, or Entanglement, G12 is irrelevant. SG7 and G3 are the only rules that should be considered.

  1. SG3: Would it be illegal for a possessed cube to perform any of the actions under SG3?

a. In particular, if a possessed cube contacts an opponent's Inner Protected Zone, would the offending robot be disqualified?

Yes, this is correct.

  1. G4: Is it illegal to have a preload which counts as a possessed cube extend outside of the starting volume?

  2. G5: Is it illegal to intentionally detatch a possessed cube from a robot?

No, neither of these are illegal. These would both ultimately be G3 edge-case interpretations of SG7.