Unofficial: About SG9

[B-Kinney]

@modelairplane asked:

Is the robot hoarding more than one cone at a time and is it legal?
Thank you

(The photo is attached to the end of this post.)

OP: “About SG9”.

Hi, @modelairplane.

Short answer: The action shown in the photo is legal, and the robot is not Possessing more than one cone at a time.

The robot is also not hoarding, because hoarding refers to “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.” (See SG9 Note.)

Here are the rules I used (emphasis mine):

SG9 Note 2, the reason why the robot’s action is legal:

Stacked Cones do not count towards the Possession limit. (i.e. A Robot is allowed to control the movement of a Mobile Goal with Stacked Cones). Robots can interact with Cones that are fully nested on upright Goals without those Cones counting towards the possession limit, provided that those Cones would otherwise be considered Stacked if they were not being contacted by a Robot.

SG9 Note (unnumbered), about hoarding:

Note: The intent of this rule is not to punish Robots for pushing Cones that are in their way; that is, Robots are free to incidentally drive through Cones on the field while Possessing a Cone. However, Teams are not allowed to employ Cone hoarding strategies. 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.

Other notes:

1. The top 4 cones (the one the robot is touching and the 3 above that cone) would not count for points at the end of the match, but the other 10 cones would count. (See Note 2 of the definition of Stacked, and the second-to-last paragraph of this Q&A answer.)
2. If the robot physically lifted the top four cones off of the Stack, that would be Possession of more than one cone, and would be illegal.
   
   

[modelairplane]

If the robot moves in the process of the top three cones in the shaking， is it legal？

[MayorMonty]

Yes, because they still meet all the other requirements for being scored, except a robot is touching them. This would not violate your 1 cone rule, but any cone you touch, as well as any cone above it, do not count as scored