I remember last season one Q&A answer states that the method of determine whether a robot is clamped to the field is to pull it in a horizontal direction. If the robot can be pulled in one direction then it is not considered a violation of G16. Is this method still valid for judging this season？And is there any criterion of the distance that the robot can be pulled and the force used for pulling？
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
845: How to determine the violation of G16
Answered by committee
Please review the Q&A Usage Guidelines before posting, specifically point 3, "Quote the applicable rule from the latest version of the manual in your question".
Rule G16 reads as follows:
<G16> Don’t clamp your Robot to the field. Robots may not intentionally grasp, grapple or attach to any Field Elements. Strategies with mechanisms that react against multiple sides of a Field Element in an effort to latch or clamp onto said Field Element are prohibited. The intent of this rule is to prevent Teams from both unintentionally damaging the field and / or from anchoring themselves to the field.
Minor violations of this rule that do not affect the Match will result in a warning. Match Affecting offenses will result in a Disqualification. Teams that receive multiple warnings may also receive a Disqualification at the Head Referee’s discretion.
We are not going to define the phrases "grasp", "grapple", "attach to", "react against", "latch", "clamp", or "anchor" any further than their dictionary definitions. They are intended to be "common sense" terms (in line with rule G3) that apply to the vast majority of Robot interactions found in a typical Match. If a Head Referee has determined that a Robot is doing any of these actions while interacting with a Field Element, then the Robot will be considered in violation of G16.
If a Head Referee is faced with a questionable situation during a Match, the following "thought experiments" can be used to dig into the definitions of these words. However, these questions are only intended to guide in this judgment call process alongside the context of the Match; they should should not be used as airtight/foolproof/black-and-white criteria.
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If the ground underneath the field were to suddenly disappear, but the Robot was able to "float" (think Wile E. Coyote), would the Robot be "pulled down" with the Field Element, or would the Field Element fall away from it?
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If the Robot were to be gently pulled in any random horizontal direction opposite the Field Element in question, by any random amount of force, would the Field Element be "pulled" with it (or otherwise hinder the Robot's movement)?
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How many sides of the Field Element is the Robot contacting? To determine how many of those sides are "contact" vs "reacting against in an effort to latch or clamp onto", how would the Robot respond if one of those sides were to vanish?
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Is the interaction causing any risk of field damage that is higher than normal gameplay? (this is the primary reason for rule G16 in the first place)