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

Usage Guidelines All Questions

475: Clarification of Autonomous Bonus Penalty


Douglas Tweedt (Event Partner)
6-Jan-2020

As an EP and a referee, I would like to have a clarification of what constitutes a violation which causes a default of the Autonomous Bonus penalty. I have heard 2 different interpretations and would like to know which one most accurately reflects the rules committee's intentions. Referring to previous Q&A questions and answers which help, but do not definitively cover all situations.

See:

SG2> Indirectly contacting opponent tiles, cubes via cube UWAT 4 weeks ago <SG2> Stay on your side in Autonomous. During the Autonomous Period, Robots may not contact the foam tiles, Towers, or Cubes which are on the opposing Alliance’s side of the Autonomous Line.

Violations of this rule will result in the Autonomous Bonus being awarded to the opposing Alliance. Intentional, strategic, or egregious violations, such as intentional contact with an opposing Robot while completely across the Autonomous Line, will result in a Disqualification.

Note: Towers and Cubes which begin the Match in contact with the Autonomous Line are not considered to be on either side, and may be utilized by either Alliance during the Autonomous Period. If attempting to utilize these Towers or Cubes, Teams should be cognizant of the possibility that opponent Robots may attempt to do the same. <SG7>, <G10>, <G11>, and <G12> will be taken into account when these types of Robot interactions occur.

<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>.

a. According to QA 405, www.robotevents.com/VEXU/2019-2020/QA/405 "violations could range from the Autonomous Bonus being awarded to the opposing Alliance, to a Disqualification, depending on the context of the interaction." Does this mean that if a cube has cross the autonomous line from red into the blue side, either unintentional or intentional, then that red alliance automatically lost autonomous bonus, since the word from is used?

b. If the robot is intaking a neutral cube(started contacting the autonomous line), then the second the robot touched the cube, the robot now has indirectly contacted the foam tile in opposing alliance. According to SG2 Note, cubes "may be utilized by either Alliance during the Autonomous Period." In this case, does this note take precedence over SG2 via SG7?

Some have said the unintentional cube has to either hit a stack of cubes on the opposing Alliance side or interfere with their autonomous routine. Others have said that if say the Red Alliance knocks a cube from their side of the auton line to the blue side, the red alliance automatically loose the auton bonus.
Answered by Game Design Committee

This appears to be the same question as https://www.robotevents.com/VRC/2019-2020/QA/446 . If additional clarification is needed, please feel free to rephrase and re-submit.