Hello,
Field Element:
All elements that make up the field, including the foam field tiles, field perimeter, white tape, High Goals, Nets, Rollers, Barriers, and all supporting structures and accessories (such as Alliance Station posts, field monitors, etc.).
<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 damaging the field and / or from anchoring themselves to the field.
In the first image shown below, the roller is red, the robot is green, and the field perimeter is black. The robot is reacting against the foam field tiles, 2 faces of the field perimeter, and the roller in an attempt to grasp the roller with more force. The rule states "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 robot is reacting against multiple sides of the field perimeter, but it is making an effort to clamp onto the roller, not the field perimeter. It is only reacting against one side of the roller. Is this a violation of G16?
In the second image shown below, the robot is reacting against multiple points on the roller (circles don't have sides) in an effort to clamp onto the roller. However, the robot is clearly not anchored to the field. A common-sense interpretation of the rule is that reacting against multiple points on the roller, as long as those points do not wrap more than halfway around the roller, is not a violation of G16. Is this correct?
Thank you for your time!
