Answered: <SG7> and Autonomous

[Ephemeral_Being]

According to the wording of <SG7>, the restriction against interfering with hanging robots only applies to the last 30 seconds of the match.

<SG7>
Once there is less than thirty (0:30) seconds remaining in the match, Robots may not touch an opposing Robot that is touching their own Hanging Bar or Hanging Structure. Additionally, Robots may not touch the opposing Alliance’s Hanging Bar or Hanging Structure during this time period. Violations of this rule will result in a warning for minor offenses which do not affect the match. 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.

If a robot were to hang in autonomous, would it be legal to place a large ball under the hanging bar to prevent the robot from descending. To clarify, the second robot would NOT come into contact with either the hanging structure OR the robot. It would ONLY be pushing a large ball under the hanging robot.

I couldn’t find any rule against it, but I wanted to make sure this would be a legal strategy.

[Karthik]

If a robot were to hang in autonomous, would it be legal to place a large ball under the hanging bar to prevent the robot from descending. To clarify, the second robot would NOT come into contact with either the hanging structure OR the robot. It would ONLY be pushing a large ball under the hanging robot.

I couldn’t find any rule against it, but I wanted to make sure this would be a legal strategy.

Yes, this is a legal strategy, provided that no other rules are violated in the process. You’ll need to be very careful in regards to <SG6>, which I’ve quoted below for your convenience.

<SG6> Robots are not permitted to break the plane of their opponents Alliance Starting Tile during the Autonomous Period. Violations of this rule will result in the offending Alliance automatically losing the Autonomous Bonus and the offending Robot being disabled.