R401       *Bumpers should protect all corners. Robots are required to use Bumpers to protect all outside corners of the Frame Perimeter. For adequate protection, at least 6 in. (~16 cm) of Bumper must be placed on each side of each outside corner (see Figure 9‑3) and must extend to within ¼ in. (~6 mm) of the Frame Perimeter corner. If a Frame Perimeter side is shorter than 12 in. (~31 cm), that entire FRAME PERIMETER side must be protected by a Bumper (see Figure 9‑4). A round or circular Frame Perimeter, or segment of the Frame Perimeter, is considered to have an infinite number of corners, therefore the entire frame or frame segment must be completely protected by Bumpers.

R408       *Bumper construction. Bumpers must be constructed as follows (see Figure 9‑7):

R410       *Bumpers must be supported. Bumpers must be supported by the structure/frame of the Robot (see Figure 9‑9). To be considered supported, a minimum of ½ in. (~13 mm) at each end of each Bumper wood segment must be backed by the Frame Perimeter (≤¼ in. gap, ~6mm). “Ends” exclude hard Bumper parts which extend past the Frame Perimeter permitted by R408-B. Additionally, any gap between the backing material and the frame:

R101       *Frame Perimeter must be fixed. The Robot (excluding Bumpers) must have a Frame Perimeter, contained within the Bumper Zone and established while in the Robot’s Starting Configuration, that is comprised of fixed, non-articulated structural elements of the Robot. Minor protrusions no greater than ¼ in. (~6 mm) such as bolt heads, fastener ends, weld beads, and rivets are not considered part of the Frame Perimeter.