In Bridge Battle, if a robot were to say grab the bridge to score efficiently, but another robot (heavy and fast) rammed into the robot that is grabbed onto the bridge, resulting in the bridge being destroyed, whose fault will it be? (assuming that the other robot rammed the scoring robot during the tele-op period)
The bridge maker’s 
Have you seen and played with the actual field?I have and your chances of breaking the bridge with a robot are very, very, very limited.
First off if the bridge is broken the tournament is probably over, I doubt any tournaments have spare bridges. Second if I was a ref I would probably penalize the robot that did the ramming. Not for breaking the bridge but for ramming. All this would result in would be that robot being disabled and the refs talking to the drivers about proper conduct on the field.
lol i actually think i must agree, have you actually tested if the bridge is that easily breakable?
if not the bridge makers then i think the robot that rammed the scorer
The bridge is not easily breakable. The supports inbetween each section of bridge are screwed into plywood through the foam field. It is very strong and would take a lot to lift thoose out or snap the bridge completely.
Just out of curiosity, are you building a heavy, fast robot?
Defensive?
Just wondering.
We aren’t quite sure. we have only been building for 2 weeks, but it seems like it will be heavy.
our robot will be heavy, whether it be intentional or not, since we’re using a lot of steel parts for the chassis (probably both offensive and defensive)
i was thinking if the bridge will snap if the robot collapsed on it
if a robot was grabbing the bridge, it will most likely fall on the bridge
it will also twist the bridge and perhaps snap it, and that’s what I was worried about
our school bought the bridge, but the bridge itself was really flexible (a little too flexible that it may snap if it was rotated too much, instead of pushed or pulled)
i wanted to adjust the grip level accordingly, so i don’t have to worry about it, but i wanted as much grip as possible without having the risk of destroying the field
Ok, we didnt buy the bridge for $200, insted we made one that is actually very nice looking and pretty accurate for $40. So, we dont really know what the official one is like.
If anyone remembers, the 2006 hanging around 24" goals in Atlanta would sometimes tip fowards. I think one of the robots ripped the upper attachment of the goal off.
During the Indianapolis Regional one robot rammed into another robot that was stuck on the bridge. The bridge did not break under the pressure but it go a little bent. In other words, the bridge is flexible.
Technic-R-C
The central support for the bridge is screwed into a piece of what appears to be a type of Fiber Board. This is the only pier that is attached to anything else. The other two piers just rest on top of the matting. Each section of bridge is made of 1/8" thick Lexan. It is pretty tough. Each bridge section is attached at either end via three bolts to either the field perimeter or a pier. So you can see there are areas that might give a little and there are also areas that will not give. However the chances of breaking the bridge are very low.
Also remember one of the items on the inspection list is, “Robot does NOT contain any components that could potentially damage the playing field or other robots”. So if your robot hangs on the bridge for any reason it will get close scrutiny so that the tournaments officials can be sure that the field will not be damaged.
Yeah, I remember that. They only used 2 bolts to attatch them.
Yea, I kinda thought that I would be almost impossible to accidentally break the bridge.
Only the middle support is screwed down?
Yes, i do believe that only the middle support is held down.
Yes your are correct, and the board which is about 3ftx1ft, from memory, goes perpendicular to the bridge. So there will be some unevenness in the matting. Design accordingly.
There is probably a better way they could attatch it. Unless they wanted the uneveness for a reason.
It is another element to work around.
that is neat, then you have to build your chasis up a little higher.