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Official Q&A: VRC 2023-2024: Over Under

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<SG9><SG10><G14> Interactions in the Neutral Zone

Christopher Morris
7-Aug-2023

< SG9 > states that:

"During the Autonomous Period, Robots may not contact foam tiles, Triballs, or Field Elements on the opposing Alliance's side of the Neutral Zone, or in the opposite Offensive Zone from which they began the match."

< SG10 > states that:

Any robot who engages with the Neutral Zone during the Autonomous Period should be aware that opponet Robots may also choose to do the same.

< SG10a> states that:

If opposing robots contact one another while both engaging with the Neutral Zone, and a possible < G13 > violation results, then a judgement call will be made by the Head Referee within the context of < G13 > and < G14 > just as it would if the interaction had occurred during the Driver Control Period.

< SG10b > states that:

In the context of < G14 >, the Zones will always determine "offensive/defensive" roles during the Autonomous Period.

If an interaction occurred in the neutral zone on the side of the RED offensive zone during the autonomous period in which the BLUE robot was legally collecting a Triball (being offensive) and then is pushed by the RED robot. The RED robot then crosses the Neutral Zone line and makes contact with BLUE's starting side of the Offensive zone. Per < SG9 > the autonomous bonus should then be awarded to BLUE.

Does < SG10 > apply in this case or is it only in the event of destructive robot interactions?

Thank you for your time, Cowboy Chris

G14   SG9   SG10  
Answered by committee
17-Aug-2023

Thank you for your question, and for quoting the relevant rules. There’s an important part of <SG10>-b that you omitted in your question, which we’ve bolded for emphasis below:

In the context of <G14>, the Zones will always determine “offensive”/“defensive” roles during the Autonomous Period. For example, in Figure 32, the Robots are in the Blue Offensive Zone. Therefore, if an interaction occurred in the Neutral Zone that required a Head Referee judgment call, then Robot B1 would receive the “benefit of the doubt.”

In your scenario, the action of Red crossing the line isn't one that requires a judgment call. It's a straightforward violation of rule <SG9>, and the Autonomous Bonus should be awarded to Blue.

"During the Autonomous Period, Robots may not contact foam tiles, Triballs, or Field Elements on the opposing Alliance's side of the Neutral Zone, or in the opposite Offensive Zone from which they began the match."

<SG10>-b should not be read as "offensive robots can do no wrong,” and only provides guidance for cases in which the robots’ roles in a specific interaction aren’t clear (e.g., if opponent Robots become entangled in the Neutral Zone and one drags the other across the Autonomous Line). Referees should only apply <SG10>-b in cases that require a judgment call.