In one of our designs the manipulator has a movable hatch cover held down by gravity. In order to place the matchload the hatch cover has to be lifted. Is it legal during a match that the driver/coach not touching the robot with their hands but uses the barrel or ball to lift the hatch temporarily to place in the matchload inside the manipulator and let the hatch close back to due to gravity. It does not reorient the robot or repositions the arm. Thanks.
The type of action you describe seems to be legal, for the same rationale put forth in the following Q&A entry:
https://vexforum.com/showthread.php?p=221029#post221029
That being said, without seeing the actual device in action we cannot issue a blanket ruling. The final determination is up to the referees at your event. In general, it’s expected that robots will react to the introduction of Match Loads with minor movements and changes. However, simply using a Scoring Object in lieu of your hands to adjust the robot would not be considered legal. (i.e. Lifting a robot arm by pushing on it with a barrel)