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G413       Expansion limits. A ROBOT may not extend beyond any of the horizontal or vertical expansion limits described in R105, R106, and R107.

If the over-expansion is due to damage and not used for strategic benefit, it is an exception to this rule, and no penalty is imposed.

Violation: MINOR FOUL, or MAJOR FOUL if the over-expansion is used for strategic benefit, including if it impedes or enables a scoring action. Corrective action (such as removing the offending MECHANISM, and/or re-inspection) may be required before the ROBOT will be allowed to compete in subsequent MATCHES.

The intent of the exception to this rule is to prevent piling on a punitive response to a ROBOT that’s already experienced hardship and not leveraging that hardship for gain. Examples for this rule include the following:

A.      a physical device on a team’s ROBOT, whose purpose is to restrain their TOWER mechanism from extending beyond the limit, breaks after a collision with another ROBOT. Provided the ROBOT does not use the now-too-long extension to climb the TOWER, no violation is assigned.

B.      a vertical structural member of a ROBOT breaks at the bottom and rotates out such that it exceeds the limit imposed. The ROBOT then parks such that its extension blocks opponent ROBOTS from reaching the OUTPOST. A MAJOR FOUL is issued.

Similar Rules

Rule G410
G410       *Keep your BUMPERS low. ROBOT extensions may not interact with the carpet, BUMPS, or TOWER BASE such that the BUMPERS are lifted out of the BUMPER ZONE (see R405).
Rule G419
G419       *Don’t collude with your partners to shut down major parts of game play. 2 or more ROBOTS that appear to a REFEREE to be working together may not isolate or close off any major element of MATCH play.
Rule G416
G416       *This isn’t combat robotics. A ROBOT may not damage or functionally impair an opponent ROBOT in either of the following ways:
Rule G415
G415       *Stay out of other ROBOTS. A ROBOT may not use a COMPONENT outside its ROBOT PERIMETER (except its BUMPERS) to initiate contact with an opponent ROBOT inside the vertical projection of the opponent’s ROBOT PERIMETER.