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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.

Exceptions to this rule:

A.      If the over-expansion that violates R105 or R107 is due to visible damage and not used for strategic benefit, no penalty is imposed.

B.      If an expansion that contributes to a violation of R106 is due to visible damage the team may extend a different component in a different direction, and no penalty is imposed.

C.      If the over-expansion is MOMENTARY and is not used for strategic benefit, no penalty is imposed.

D.      If an expansion that contributes to a violation of R106 is due to flex of ROBOT components and is within 1.5in of the ROBOT PERIMETER, the team may extend in a different direction, and no penalty is imposed.

Violation: MAJOR FOUL. 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 G413-A and G413-B exceptions to this rule are to prevent piling on a punitive response to a ROBOT that’s already experienced hardship and not leveraging that hardship for gain.

Exceptions are only given for visible damage, as perceived by a REFEREE. Teams should not assume that REFEREES will give an exception for unobservable damage even if ROBOT function is affected.

Teams exploiting the exception to part B by designing in something to “break” will not be given an exception and will likely also be given a violation of G211.

Examples related to exceptions A and B include the following:

A.      a physical device on a team’s ROBOT, whose purpose is to restrain their TOWER mechanism from extending beyond the 30in (76.2cm) height limit imposed by R107, 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 12in (30.48cm) limit imposed by R105. The ROBOT then parks such that its extension blocks opponent ROBOTS from reaching the OUTPOST. A MAJOR FOUL is issued.

C.      a part of a ROBOT is damaged causing a panel to extend out less than 12in (30.48cm) on one side of the ROBOT. The ROBOT then extends out in another direction to intake FUEL. As visible damage has caused an expansion that contributes to the violation of R106, no penalty is imposed.

D.      a mechanism that controls a ROBOT’S intake is damaged in a way that’s not visible to a REFEREE and the team can no longer bring their intake back in. The team then extends out in another direction to climb the TOWER. The intake is not visibly damaged, so a violation of a MAJOR FOUL is issued.

The intent of the G413-C extension is to prevent violations for inadvertent mechanism flexing and movement for short periods of time during the MATCH not to provide a pathway to intentionally design less-than-MOMENTARY over-extensions.

Examples related to exception C include the following:  

E.      A ROBOT has a mechanism deployed out over one side of the ROBOT PERIMETER which, due to ROBOT movement or a collision, flexes MOMENTARILY beyond the projection of that side of the ROBOT PERIMETER. As the action is less than MOMENTARY and not used for strategic benefit, no penalty is imposed.

F.      A ROBOT has a mechanism designed to rotate from side A to side B of their ROBOT and MOMENTARILY extends out both side A and B during rotation. This action is used for strategic benefit so a violation of a MAJOR FOUL is issued.

For example F, the ROBOT will likely need to take corrective action before being allowed to compete in subsequent MATCHES.

Note that G211 may apply if a team is intentionally exceeding the expansion limits for strategic benefit.

At the conclusion of the MATCH, the Head REFEREE may elect to visually inspect a ROBOT and remove the violation if the damage is verified.

Similar Rules

Rule G415
G415       *Stay out of other ROBOTS. A ROBOT with BUMPERS completely outside of their ALLIANCE ZONE may not damage or functionally impair an opponent ROBOT by initiating contact, either directly or transitively via a SCORING ELEMENT CONTROLLED by the ROBOT:
Rule G416
G416       *This isn’t combat robotics. A ROBOT may not intentionally and/or recklessly damage or functionally impair an opponent ROBOT.
Rule G417
G417       *Don’t tip or entangle. A ROBOT may not deliberately, attach to, tip over, or entangle with an opponent ROBOT.
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).