Size surprise

The judges just informed us that our robot is too big: the footprint on the floor must be 12x12. Relevant rules (lines 44-48 on page 2):

2. The robot must be able to fit in a 12x12x18 inch (LxWxH) box at the start of each match.

3. After the beginning of the round, expansion is unrestricted, but nothing can touch the playing field outside the 12”x12” footprint. The robot does not have to return to its original size.

FAQs:
7. The rules say that the robot must be 12"x12"x18" is the 18" required to be the height?

-Technically no, those are the dimensions of the box. Be careful, see updated rules concerning expansion.

22. I am somewhat confused about this statement "After the beginning of the round, expansion is unrestricted, but nothing can touch the playing field outside the 12"x12" footprint." Say we have a design that included a fold out ramp that scraped the ground in front of the bot outside of the 12 X 12 footprint; would we be disqualified or is this allowed?

-Yes a ramp scraping on the playing field would violate that rule. Any wheels, casters, slides that contact the ground for "load baring reasons" must stay in the 12"x12" footprint. If you have something like a brush or something that sweeps the bottles onto the robot and the brush makes contact with the playing field, that is fine.


We think the FAQs and rules were updated at nearly the same time -- we read an updated rule, but not the changed FAQ. It's time for an Apollo 13...

Current plan: the rules allow a robot that exceeds the 12x12 footprint IF it doesn't touch the ground outside the 12x12 area. So, perhaps we'll replace the tracks with wheels and move them inside the frame. A quick meeting with the judges verified that this is legitimate and even expected (one other team is taking this approach).