Answered: Herding balls to low goal while carrying preloads or match loads

[gdsinner]

I have a question regarding SG8 and the “pushing/plowing” and “concave” implications from the definition of “possessing:”

Possessing – A Robot is considered to be Possessing a Scoring Object if it is carrying, holding, or controlling the movement of any Scoring Object(s) in the Robot. Pushing/plowing Scoring Objects is not considered Possession, however using concave portions of your Robot to control the movement of Balls is considered Possession.

<SG8> Robots may not Possess more than four (4) Scoring Objects at once.

I’m wondering if the intent of the possession rule in Nothing But Net is similar to the possessing rule from Toss Up:

TOSS UP DEFINITION: Possessing – A Robot is considered to be Possessing a BuckyBall if it actively controlling the BuckyBall.
Examples of Possessing include:
• Carrying or holding BuckyBall(s) in the Robot
• Herding BuckyBalls, i.e. intentionally pushing or impelling BuckyBall(s) to a desired location or path
o Accidentally Herding BuckyBall(s) (i.e. driving through BuckyBall(s) in the path of the Robot) is not considered herding, and thus not considered Possessing
**
POST FROM TOSS UP FORUM**:
[https://vexforum.com/t/answered-yet-another-sg8-thread-sorry/25574/1)
Q: Since I’ve been wrong every time before, I feel like I should ask: am I correct in thinking that if a robot pushes buckyballs (beyond their allowed 3) intentionally, and those buckyballs travel with the robot (over a distance of, say, 3 feet or more) they should be warned or disqualified?

A: You are correct, this would warrant a warning or DQ as per <SG8>

So my questions regarding Nothing But Net:
The Nothing But Net definition says that pushing/plowing is not possessing. Suppose a robot is carrying multiple preloads or match loads, and then drives through a stack of balls and pushes those balls into the low goal, and then proceeds to score the preloads/match loads. In this scenario the team has clearly developed a scoring strategy that involves pushing the balls to the low goal, i.e., pushing them to a desired location. If the total number of balls being carried by the robot and being pushed by the robot to the low goal exceeds four balls, should this be considered a violation of <SG8> along the same line of reasoning as Toss Up (“intentionally pushing or impelling BuckyBall(s) to a desired location”)?

If this strategy is a violation of <SG8>, does it matter if the front of the robot is concave or not? For example, a simple straight edge on the front of the robot would be sufficient to implement the above described pushing strategy.

Thanks!

Gary

[Karthik]

@gdsinner

The Nothing But Net definition says that pushing/plowing is not possessing.

This is correct.

@gdsinner

Suppose a robot is carrying multiple preloads or match loads, and then drives through a stack of balls and pushes those balls into the low goal, and then proceeds to score the preloads/match loads.

This is legal. Please see above.

@gdsinner

If the total number of balls being carried by the robot and being pushed by the robot to the low goal exceeds four balls, should this be considered a violation of <SG8> along the same line of reasoning as Toss Up (“intentionally pushing or impelling BuckyBall(s) to a desired location”)?

No, please see above. The specific Game Rules from VRC Toss Up do not apply to VRC Nothing But Net.