In <S2> it states the following:
If a Robot comes in contact with anything outside of the field during the Endgame period or due to an early expansion, including the floor or the outside face of the Field Perimeter, it will automatically receive a Disqualification for that Match.
What parts of the wall and other elements would be considered an outside face? A few spots that are in question are the following:
A) The upward facing surface of the field perimeter / the top of the field perimeter
B) The top side of the Roller brackets
C) The outward face of the pole supporting the net
D) On top of the Match Loader
E) Underneath the Match Loader
F) On legacy fields, the face of the field control tower that is closest to the inside of the field
Thank you for your time.
As stated in rule <S2> and the Note at the end of rule <S2>, the intent of the rule is to ensure that Robots do go out-of-bounds by crossing the field perimeter. Q&A 1229 clarifies the intent of <S2>, and indicates that the top surface of the Field Perimeter is not considered to be outside the Field. Those two rules, and taking a "top-down" view of the Field perimeter and the objects on and around it, allow us to classify the elements in your question in terms of whether a Robot crosses the field perimeter when contacting them, and thus whether or not contact with them would generally violate <S2> if the expansion is otherwise inside the field. As with all rules, the final determination of whether a rule has been violated must be made by the Head Referee within the full context of the Match.
Inside the field, and generally not in violation of <S2>:
- The top face of the field perimeter
- The rollers and their brackets (see related Q&A 1457)
- The outer face of the poles that support the Nets
- Most of the Match Loader (see the next list for more info)
- Underneath the Match Loader, on the top surface of the perimeter
Probably outside the field, and generally in violation of <S2>, earning a DQ:
- The outside edge of the Match Loader that extends slightly beyond the field perimeter
- The inside face of the legacy field control tower, unless it is clearly "above" the field perimeter and not beyond it
Note that Q&A 1229 also specifies that an expansion that extends through a Net is in violation of <S2>.
