Answered: Programming Skills - Driver Interaction Clarification

[Navigator1]

The Programming Skills description reads:

<In this challenge teams will compete in sixty (60) second long matches in an effort to score as many points as possible. These matches will be autonomous, with limited human interaction …]>

We would like to know what is defined as legal “limited human interaction?”

My team assumed that this semi-ambiguous wording was chosen to allow for drive team members to preload balls into their robot, thus interacting in a limited manner. However, at a previous competition we saw a team manually triggering a sensor to control their robot during the programming skills challenge.

We would like a clarification for future events. Is it legal or is it illegal to trigger code manually, using a button on one’s robot? Does this change if one does not contact one’s robot, but instead utilizes a vex ultrasonic range finder as a trigger in lieu of a button? My team figured that these scenarios would not meet the caveats of a “programming” challenge, so it would certainly change our strategy were it legal.

Thanks for reading.

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Navigator Robotics

[Karthik]

My team assumed that this semi-ambiguous wording was chosen to allow for drive team members to preload balls into their robot, thus interacting in a limited manner.

Your assumption is correct.

However, at a previous competition we saw a team manually triggering a sensor to control their robot during the programming skills challenge.

This is illegal.

Is it legal or is it illegal to trigger code manually, using a button on one’s robot?

This is illegal.

Does this change if one does not contact one’s robot, but instead utilizes a vex ultrasonic range finder as a trigger in lieu of a button? My team figured that these scenarios would not meet the caveats of a “programming” challenge, so it would certainly change our strategy were it legal.

This is also illegal. All of this is clarified in <G8>, which carries over to the Programming Skills Challenge.

<G8> During a Match, Robots may be operated only by the Student Drive Team Members and/or by software running in the on-board control system. During the Autonomous Period Drive Team Members are not permitted to interact with the Robot, the controls on their VEXnet Joysticks, or to unplug from the field, in any way, directly, or indirectly. (e.g. Triggering sensors without touching the Robot is still illegal) 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.