In autonomous, teams try to place the robot in the same place each time, to ensure consistency. To do this, some teams place their robots contacting the field perimeter wall, but my team had some troubles with this during Turning Point, because the field perimeter wall is not always lined up in the same place on the foam tiles. All we had to do to get around this was by placing the robot so that it wasn’t contacting the field perimeter wall, but this year the rules state that the robot must be contacting the field perimeter wall:
<SG1> Starting a Match.
Prior to the start of each Match, the Robot must be placed such that it is:
1.Contacting the field perimeter wall on the side that coincides with their Alliance’s Goal Zone and
Alliance Station.
…
I’m worried that this will create problems in our auton, and likely other teams autons, so might the GDC change the rules to allow robots to not contact the field perimeter wall? If not, do you think the referees will make sure the robot is contacting the field perimeter wall?
They definitely will, the only thing I can say is that at most matches if you can visibly see that the wall is not ligned up correctly then you can make a remark about it to the head ref before the match and most likely they will let you move it. In terms if they don’t let you, I’d look into maybe using the vision sensor to help line things up at the start of Auton
You could have it contacting the wall, but also use the lines from the floor mats to make sure the robot is aligned correctly. So it will still be touching the way, but the robot might have to be slightly tilted and you can check to see if it needs to be if it is parallel with the lines from the foam tiles
So, the GDC will probably not change the requirements for start of match, and, yes, referees will assure robots are contacting wall per game requirement.
Note that teams should expect field variance for field walls, height, and game object placements. All of these are documented in the Game Manual and are part of the design challenge for the game.
It does say that the robot is contacting the wall not having both of the wheels touching it. You could also have another part other than the wheels touching the wall. As long as you aren’t causing damage to the field you should be alright.
As a side note, this year the GDC is requiring all fields use rubber feet underneath the walls so that the field tiles aren’t cut. This will probably help events line up the field wall correctly.
Which has been around since they introduced the rubber feet. You will find that placing the field perimeter on the tile vs rubber feet has how much variance? Probably in the 1/2’ tolerance in the game manual allowance.
Not something new - and you will find the allowance is there for setups without rubber feet, and those with cut tiles… there will be a certain amount of compression with rubber and foam tiles.
Should and must are two different words - one is a requirement and the second is a guidance - the reality is not all venues/fields have the same affordances… hence the 1" variance in tolerance (double than the 1/2" I stated…)
Bottom line, autonomous programs need to account for this.
It is a whole lot easier to slap some rubber feet on the field perimeter than it is to measure where all game objects on the field are to make sure they are in the correct position
The 1" threshold states that objects that are part of the field can’t be moved from their nominal positions by more than 1". Completely omitting a part of the field is an entirely different issue.
The 1" threshold rule states: Field Element tolerances may vary from nominal by ±1.0"
Field Elements are defined as: The foam field tiles, field perimeter, white tape, towers, barriers, and all supporting structures or accessories.
So yes your are correct the 1" threshold still stands and applies to the rubber feet and their position would need to be within this limit. Not being used at all (as Wes mentioned) would ofcourse break this rule.
