Answered: SG9 Clarification During Autonomous Period

[Kaverman]

In a competition, there was a team that as part of their autonomous programming pushed 3 cones next to its mobile goal with a flat part of the robot in order to create some space to grab the mobile goal more easily. One of the teams complained that the robot was hoarding the cones to their side and was affecting their autonomous programming cause when it turned it hit one of the cones that was moved by the opposing robot and therefore not able to complete its autonomous routine.

Would this action of pushing the 3 cones with a flat part of the robot a little bit forward would be considered moving thru (in the autonomous 15 secs)? In case an opposing robot hits one of the moved cones during the autonomous routine, do they get the autonomous (even though it is not intentional)?

[VEX_GDC]

As referenced in SG9 and the Q&A Summary, Cone “hoarding” refers to the act of intentionally plowing multiple Cones to a specific location of the field, even with a flat/convex portion of a Robot, such that they are kept away from the opposing Alliance. Referees will use two criteria to check if hoarding has occurred: 1) Pushing multiple Cones at once; 2) Actively keeping those Cones away from the opposing Alliance.

Moving multiple Cones with a flat portion of the robot is not illegal. Moving Cones into the path of an opponent’s autonomous routine is not illegal. Moving multiple Cones is not considered hoarding unless the offending robot is actively “protecting” those Cones, or keeping them away from the opposing alliance.