Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
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Official Q&A: VRC 2023-2024: Over Under

Usage Guidelines All Questions

Contact with robot attempting to elevate


Doug Hepfer (Event Partner)
15-Jun-2023

<SG11>

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

There is no stated penalty for violations of this rule, so the referee must use the diagram on page 12 to determine what the penalty for this infraction is.

We have played more than sixty matches at camp this week. There is a recurring situation for which we need clarification. When a red robot is attempting to elevate, a blue robot repeatedly hits the robot. It is unclear whether the red robot could have or would have elevated, so there is no way to know if the rules violation was match affecting. To be clear, the head referee is unable to guess whether or not the red robot could have or would have elevated.

What is the penalty for this infraction?

Answered by committee
14-Jul-2023

The context of interactions like you one you've described is incredibly important, and we're unable to give a definitive answer that will apply to all situations. However, we can provide some guidelines to help Head Referees determine the appropriate penalties.

<SG11> provides some protection for Robots during Elevation, which puts the non-elevating Robot in most <SG11> scenarios in a defensive role. The non-elevating Robot automatically earns, at minimum, a Minor Violation.

The flowchart in Figure 3 of the game manual assists Head Referees in deciding the appropriate penalty for a rule Violation, including the one you've described. <G14> gives the offensive (in this case, elevating) Robot the benefit of the doubt, which should be factored into the Head Referee's ruling in situations where the answer isn't obvious and intuitive.

This brings us to context. Was the contact an accidental bump or an intentional smash? Could the elevating Robot have actually climbed to a high tier, or does it lack a climbing mechanism? If it's capable of a 20-point Elevation, would it have changed which Alliance won the Match? The final determination and rulings will always be in the hands of the Head Referee based on the larger context of the Match and the event.