Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
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The Q&A is closed for the 2021-2022 season. Any rule changes or clarifications pertaining to the 2022 VEX Robotics World Championship will be included in the April 5 Game Manual Update. Teams attending VEX Worlds who wish to pre-submit questions for the driver's meeting should have received a contact form via email; if not, please contact your REC Foundation Team Engagement Manager for more information.

Official Q&A: VRC 2021-2022: Tipping Point

Usage Guidelines All Questions

1096: <SG3> Does blocking path to climb constitutes Interference


UWAT
11-Mar-2022

<SG3> Platforms are “safe” during the endgame. During the last thirty (30) seconds, Robots may not contact the opposing Alliance’s Platform. The intent of this rule is to prohibit Robots from directly inhibiting their opponents’ ability to utilize the Platform at the end of a Match.

Points “a”, “b”, and “c” apply to Robot actions during the last thirty (30) seconds of the Match:

a. For the purposes of this rule, contact is considered “transitive” through other Robots and Scoring Objects.

b. For the purposes of this rule, <G13> supersedes rule <G14>. Any Robot which is contacting its own Platform, provided that no other rules are being violated, will automatically receive the “benefit of the doubt”. Therefore, any contact with this Robot will be considered a violation, regardless of intent.

c. Per <SG10>, using a Scoring Object to contact the opposing Alliance’s Platform would be considered a violation of this rule

Briefly contacting an opponent who is parked stationary on a field tile, contacting their Platform, during the last 30 seconds.

॰ Violation which does not interfere with gameplay

• Contacting an opponent who is in the process of climbing the Platform during the last 30 seconds, such that it slows their progress (regardless of whether the Balance is then completed or not).

॰ Violation which does interfere with gameplay, per points “a” and “b”

It is our understanding that interference is a lower bar than matching affecting, aka matching affecting will always be interference, but interference may not be matching affecting, is this interpretation correct?

In the case of two robots fighting for a neutral goal, and a third robot makes contact with the platform and one of the two robots fighting for the neutral goal, and may be blocking the path for climbing, would this be considered a violation that interferes with gameplay or not?

https://youtu.be/Kz_kXrRumzE?t=25128 Starting at 6:58:48, the blue robot transitive contacted the platform and possibly blocked red's attempt to climb to platform

  • Looking at the example provided under SG3, if the blue robot is contacting an opponent who is stationary on a field tile, and only briefly, transitively contacted the red platform, would that be a violation which does not interfere with gameplay?

  • Is the the red robot considered in the process of climbing the platform, even though the wheels never made contact with the platform?

  • SG3 states the intent is to directly inhibit opponents’ ability to utilize the Platform, would indirectly inhibit opponents’ ability to utilize the Platform still be the intent of SG3?