According to G7:
Don’t clamp your Robot to the field. Robots may not intentionally grasp, grapple, or attach to any Field Elements other than the Elevation Bars. Strategies with mechanisms that react against multiple sides of a Field Element in an effort to latch or clamp onto said Field Element are prohibited. The intent of this rule is to prevent Teams from both unintentionally damaging the field and/or from anchoring themselves to the field in locations other than the Elevation Bars.
According to google, clamp is defined as:
a brace, band, or clasp used for strengthening or holding things together.
How are the AWP arms that clamp /hold the robot into/onto the match load zone legal? This is “holding things together” (as to not lose contact with the match load zone) by definition, therefore shouldn’t be legal.
I know I think it should be ruled illegal, but I have seen it be called either way. I don’t know for sure, but check the Q and A I think there was something on there concerning this. As for now, though, I would recommend not building one or being ready to swap it to zipties or something passive because as of right now it depends on the head ref whether or not it is a violation.
Could you please elaborate on a AWP arm that clamps onto the match load zone?
All the ones I have seen are just arms that push the back of the triball. You wouldn’t need to hold the matchload zone in auton as there are no other robots to push you.
I think this rule is more directed to if someone attached themselves to the matchload zone to make match loading easier then a robot hit them and broke the matchload bar.