Answered: Clarification on <R7L> and Scoring Object inferference

[Jij]

Hi Karthik,

As per <R7l> (quoted below), teams are allowed commercially available cable protection for the sole purposes of protecting, organising, or managing 2-wire, 3-wire, 4-wire cables or pneumatic tubing. Would it be legal if this cable protection unintentionally had contact with a Scoring Object that caused the Scoring Object to move position (e.g. from the Far Zone to the Near Zone).

Potential situation: One robot has split into two, with a long tether in between using a cable wrap. If this tether moved such that it pushed a Star (for example) into the Near Zone from the Far Zone, completely unintentionally and accidentally, would this be considered illegal. It could be argued that the cables without protection could have themselves pushed the Star, and that the cable protection is merely protecting the cables and not creating any significant advantage. Whilst not a decoration, perhaps <R7d.ii> is relevant here (also quoted below) as it could be considered a guard of sorts.

<R7> Robots are allowed the following additional “non-VEX” components:
l. Commercially available items used solely for the purpose of bundling or wrapping of 2-wire, 3-wire, 4-wire cables, and pneumatic tubing, for the purposes of protection, organization, or management are allowed. This includes but is not limited to electrical tape, cable carrier, cable track, etc. Note: it is up to inspectors to determine whether a component is serving a function beyond protecting and managing cables.

<R7> Robots are allowed the following additional “non-VEX” components:
d. Teams may add non-functional decorations provided that these do not affect the robot performance in any significant way or affect the outcome of the match. These decorations must be in the spirit of the competition. Inspectors will have final say in what is considered “nonfunctional”.
ii. Any guards or decals must be backed by legal materials that provide the same functionality. i.e. If your robot has a giant decal that prevents Scoring Objects from falling out of the robot, the decal must be backed by VEX material that also prevents the Scoring Objects from falling out.

Thank you.

[Karthik]

@Jij

Would it be legal if this cable protection unintentionally had contact with a Scoring Object that caused the Scoring Object to move position (e.g. from the Far Zone to the Near Zone).

Yes, this would be legal.

@Jij

It could be argued that the cables without protection could have themselves pushed the Star, and that the cable protection is merely protecting the cables and not creating any significant advantage.

This is a correct interpretation.