Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
Inspiring students, one robot at a time.

This Q&A is Read Only.

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

Usage Guidelines All Questions

SG 11 Offended bot eventually hangs but isn’t the highest …


Drew Marston
6-Nov-2023

DA Rules ... <SG11> Elevation is protected. During the last 30 seconds of the Match, Robots may not contact the following: a. The opposing Alliance’s Elevation Bars, b. Opponent Robots who are contacting their Elevation Bars, c. Opponent Robots who meet the definition of Elevated, d. The Short Barriers adjacent to the opposing Alliance’s Elevation Bars.

Violation Notes:
• Regarding points “a” and “d”: If no opponent Robots are in the process of Elevating, then most incidental or momentary contact is unlikely to be Match Affecting, and should only be considered a Minor Violation. • If a Violation results in opponent Robot damage, or otherwise impedes an opponent’s Elevation, then it should be assumed that they would have reached the highest possible Elevation Tier when determining Match Affecting implications.

Red Box ... The intent of this rule is to prevent potentially damaging defensive interactions with , Robots who are in the process of Elevating. Indirect contact may also be considered a Minor or Major Violation of <G1>, <G13>, or <SG11> at the Head Referee’s discretion. This could include actions such as: • Repeatedly hitting the field perimeter wall that the opponent’s Elevation Bar is connected to • Repeatedly hitting the Barrier adjacent to the opponent’s Elevation Bar • Launching Triballs at an Elevated Robot

DA QUESTIONS

QUESTION 1 = SG11 Elevation violations when offender touches / interferes with a robot that is touching the elevation bar or already elevated. If the robot still gets elevated and there are multiple elevated robots on either side does the offended robot (for the purposes of Match affecting scores) consider a J - max 20pt score or just the score of the elevation? MY WHY - if the offended bot automatically considers 20pts for MA if not getting to the elevated position and considered that with only the score of being elevated (maybe less than 20pts depending on who else finishes at an elevated tier) - I can see it being a strategy to play possum, or do something else other than getting a lesser value A-B tier hang below a competitors’, and NOT elevate if offended during last 30 seconds

CLARIFIER – if, in this instance the offended robot is the only robot trying to elevate – no questions as even an “A” solo tier hanger would get 20pts we’d consider the 20pt for Match affecting determination, BUT where multiple robots start hanging at various heights, the offended bot getting to an “A” hang might be 4th highest or somewhere in the middle as opposed to getting the J-highest tier hang due to SG11 infraction

QUESTION 2 = FURTHER – if we get to a point where opposing teams start getting to the J-tier hang for the purposes of match affecting how will we clarify its “best tier” instead of tie? will we temporarily consider the J-tier Match affecting 20pt for the offended robot and reduce by 1 tier all other hangs to clearly understand the 20-15-20-5pt allocations?

Answered by committee
30-Nov-2023

QUESTION 1 = SG11 Elevation violations when offender touches / interferes with a robot that is touching the elevation bar or already elevated. If the robot still gets elevated and there are multiple elevated robots on either side does the offended robot (for the purposes of Match affecting scores) consider a J - max 20pt score or just the score of the elevation?

This question operates under a bit of a false pretense that makes it difficult to provide a blanket answer. Per the Violation Note being referenced, this situation only applies "If a Violation results in opponent Robot damage, or otherwise impedes an opponent’s Elevation". Generally speaking, if a Robot is still able to Elevate, it has most likely not been damaged or impeded to the degree that this Note is intended to address.

if the offended bot automatically considers 20pts for MA if not getting to the elevated position and considered that with only the score of being elevated (maybe less than 20pts depending on who else finishes at an elevated tier) - I can see it being a strategy to play possum, or do something else other than getting a lesser value A-B tier hang below a competitors’, and NOT elevate if offended during last 30 seconds

Yes, this hypothetical scenario could occur. If a Robot has been damaged such that it can no longer Elevate, then it would be reasonable to expect it to play other portions of the game. Defensive Robots should be mindful of this possibility when attempting Elevation blocking strategies.

Conversely, offensive Robots should be mindful of the above statement if attempting to exploit this allowance. If the SG11 contact is a minor/incidental graze with 29 seconds remaining, it is unlikely that a Head Referee would judge it to be "damage" or directly "impeding" an Elevation. Therefore, an SG11 Violation may still occur, but the Violation Note that warrants the "automatic Elevation" would not apply.

QUESTION 2 = FURTHER – if we get to a point where opposing teams start getting to the J-tier hang for the purposes of match affecting how will we clarify its “best tier” instead of tie? will we temporarily consider the J-tier Match affecting 20pt for the offended robot and reduce by 1 tier all other hangs to clearly understand the 20-15-20-5pt allocations?

The phrase "highest possible Elevation Tier" is intended to refer to the highest possible Tier in that Match, i.e., equivalent to the highest Elevated Robot (or," the only Elevated Robot" if no other Robots are Elevated). In your example, the offended Robot would receive a J Tier for 20 points, and the other Robots' Tiers would not be affected. We apologize for the ambiguous wording of this phrase, and will provide better clarification in the upcoming Game Manual update.