Ball punching device. Legal?

VEX IQ Robotics Competition Discussion VIQRC Rapid Relay (2024-2025 Game)
1

I’ve searched the forum, but haven’t found a similar scenario to this.

I have a team that has a ramp on the back of their robot for “goal insurance” so in case it doesn’t go in the top goal, it can roll in the bottom goal. Sometimes the ball gets a stuck if the target is still unswitched.

We know there is a rule that a robot cannot push a ball directly into the goal, and that the robot must release the ball before it is fully in the goal.

The team designed a pneumatic device that can quickly punch the ball to get it to go through the goal/switch the target. In their current scenario, the pneumatic is still touching the ball when the ball is part way through the goal, but it is retracted before the ball is completely through it. The punching device does not cross any goal lines.

Is this legal? Thank you for your help!

2

Sounds cool. As a referee I would ask you to drive up to the goal and extend the “puncher” and make sure that the end does not cross within 3 inches of the plane of the goal. (Which is how I read the rule, the ball is 6" in diameter, so 1/2 way would be 3". So the length of a 1x6. )

As always, I spent the night a Holiday Inn but it doesn’t make me smarter than the GDC. Post the question in the Q&A.

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