Answered: SG 4 and robot touching Alliance Station Alliance Starting Tile but not fully on

[gcfky]

As to <SG4>

Each Alliance must introduce its Driver Control Load during the Match. The Driver Control
Load must be entered into the field with between thirty seconds (0:30) and zero seconds (0:00)
remaining in the Match. Driver Control Loads must be either gently placed on a Robot of your own
color touching the Alliance Station Alliance Starting Tile or gently entered into the Alliance Station
Alliance Starting Tile, by a Student Drive Team Member. The intent of this rule is to allow teams to
introduce Cubes into play, but not to impart energy on the Cubes which will cause it to end up in a
position outside the Alliance Starting Tile. It is expected that teams may momentarily break the plane
of the field while legally introducing Driver Control Loads. Teams should be very mindful of <S1>
during this process.
If an alliance does not legally introduce a Driver Control Load into play, it automatically counts as
being scored in their opponents Far Zone.
Figures 8-11: A legal and illegal Driver Control Loads

The figures 8-11 show one picture in the upper right hand corner with both the robot and the cube half on and half off the starting tile labelled as an illegal load. But in that picture the robot does not appear to be touching the cube. My question is if the cube was fully on the robot and only the robot was half on and half off the starting tile whether that would be a legal load as the rule only requires that the robot be touching the Alliance Station Alliance Starting Tile and unlike SG 1 does not have the additional qualifier that there be no touching of any other field tiles.

I have searched for referee training videos at http://www.roboticseducation.org/vex-robotics-competitionvrc/vrc-training/ and likewise searched the Official Q&A headings reading those pertaining to SG 4 for an answer and cannot find where this has been previously addressed but our teams have been told in driver meetings that the robot must be fully on the Alliance Station Alliance Starting Tile and I do not see that requirement in the rules.

[Karthik]

@gcfky

but our teams have been told in driver meetings that the robot must be fully on the Alliance Station Alliance Starting Tile and I do not see that requirement in the rules.

You have been advised incorrectly. <SG4> requires that Robots be touching the Alliance Station Alliance Starting Tile. It does not require that they be fully in the Alliance Station Alliance Starting Tile or preclude them from touching any other tiles.