Answered: Leaving the alliance station in advance for <G4> and <SG4>

[Who]

How far in advance can the driver/coach leave their alliance station to reposition the robot at the alliance robot interaction spot?
As in, is the driver/coach allowed to go to the alliance robot interaction spot and wait there while the robot is elsewhere on the field or do they have to wait to leave their alliance station until the robot is back at the starting tile before leaving the alliance station to interact with it?

<G4> During a Match, the Drivers and Coach must remain in their Alliance Station. Drivers and Coaches
may move to their Alliance Robot Interaction Spots when interacting with their Robot and following rules
<SG4> and <SG5>

<SG4> During the Autonomous Period, Drivers and Coaches may handle their own Robot while the
Robot is in contact with their own Alliance Starting Tile (i.e. the tile the Robot started the match on), and
not touching the Bump, within the following restrictions.
i. Drivers and Coaches may only interact with a Robot if it is touching their own Alliance Starting
Tile and no part of the Robot is touching a gray foam tile, except the interaction allowed in

ii. If any part of a Robot is touching a grey foam tile, the only interaction that will be allowed is to
bring the Robot fully into the legal Alliance Starting Tile, into a legal position as per <SG4i>
iii. After any legal interaction with the robot by Drivers and Coaches, and prior to the robot
attempting to score or interact with Game Objects, the robot must be in a position such that it
is touching the legal Alliance Starting Tile and no part of the Robot is touching a gray foam tile;
a legal position as per <SG4i>. i.e. Before the Robot leaves the Alliance Starting Tile, Drivers
and Coaches may not be touching the robot. If Drivers and Coaches touch the Robot again, it
must be touching a legal Alliance Starting Tile and it must immediately be brought fully back
onto the tile.
Note: Robots that hang over the edge of the Alliance Starting Tile, but do not touch any gray
foam tiles, are considered to be in legal positions for interaction as per <SG4>
iv. Drivers and Coaches may only interact with a Robot if they are on or in the general vicinity of
the Alliance Robot Interaction Spot that corresponds to the Alliance Starting Tile the Robot is
on.

Also, do the restrictions on where the driver/coach is allowed to be when also apply in the skills challenges?

Please note that all rules from “The Game” section of the manual apply to the Programming Skills Challenge,
unless otherwise specified.

[Karthik]

@Who

How far in advance can the driver/coach leave their alliance station to reposition the robot at the alliance robot interaction spot?
As in, is the driver/coach allowed to go to the alliance robot interaction spot and wait there while the robot is elsewhere on the field or do they have to wait to leave their alliance station until the robot is back at the starting tile before leaving the alliance station to interact with it?

During the Autonomous Period, referees will be very lenient and allow Drivers and Coaches to go to the Alliance Robot Interaction Spots early. Drivers and Coaches may actually start the match from the Alliance Robot Interaction Spot.

For safety reasons, we do not want to have people running back and forth to the spots during the Autonomous Period. Since interaction with the Robot during the Driver Controlled Period is rare, referees will be ensuring that Drivers and Coaches are only on the spots when absolutely necessary.

@Who

Also, do the restrictions on where the driver/coach is allowed to be when also apply in the skills challenges?

Yes, however with the same caveats mentioned above regarding the Autonomous Period.