Answered: Latching onto opposing hanging bar

[DracoTheDragon]

Would it be legal to latch onto the opposing hanging bar with the intent of forming a support for a wall bot? The closest rules that would refer to such would be <SG6>, but that refers to foam tiles, not hovering over the field, and <SG8>, but the opposing hanging bar is not a field element

<SG8> 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 onto said field
element are prohibited. The intent of this rule is to prevent teams from both unintentionally damaging
the field, and from anchoring themselves to the field. Minor violations of this rule that do not affect the
match will result in a warning. Egregious (match affecting) offenses will result in
a Disqualification. Teams that receive multiple warnings may also receive a Disqualification at the
head referee’s discretion

<SG6> Robots may not make contact with the foam tiles in their own Zones. (i.e. Robots may not
contact the Zones across the fence from their Alliance Station) Minor violations of this rule that do not
affect the match will result in a warning. Egregious (match affecting) offenses will result in
a Disqualification. Teams that receive multiple warnings may also receive a Disqualification at the
head referee’s discretion.

I’m also assuming that a robot that participates in this strategy will undergo extra scrutiny for <g12>. Other than the addressed rules, are there any other potential violations?

[Karthik]

Would it be legal to latch onto the opposing hanging bar with the intent of forming a support for a wall bot?

Let’s take a look updated version of <SG8> that was posted on June 15th. I’ve bolded some text for emphasis.

<SG8> Robots may not intentionally grasp, grapple or attach to any Field Elements or the opposing Hanging Bar. Strategies with mechanisms that react against multiple sides of a field element in an effort to latch onto said field element are prohibited. The intent of this rule is to prevent teams from both unintentionally damaging the field, and from anchoring themselves to the field. Minor violations of this rule that do not affect the match will result in a warning. Egregious (match affecting) offenses will result in a Disqualification. Teams that receive multiple warnings may also receive a Disqualification at the head referee’s discretion. a. Robots are permitted to attach to their own Hanging Bar for the sole purpose of Hanging.

Robots may not attach to the opposing Hanging Bar. Thus the strategy you’ve described is illegal.