Beneath the Surface

Doug RCX said:

Jack to answer your question.

The short answer is YES

General Rules 5-3 and 5-6 explain this action in detail.
Make sure NOT to connect mission objects together, General Rule 5-7.

Jack said:

Mission 1 & Safe Zone

Hello I am from belfry High Schools. I have a question about one the rock storage mission and the safe zone. If my robot was to collect the scoring rocks (rock 1, rock 2, rock 3, etc…) and bring them inside the safe zone, would I be able to touch/reposition the scoring rocks INSIDE THE SAFE ZONE or would I receive a touch penalty/the rocks not being scored?

Cassie Morrow said:

Mission 13 Down & Dirty

Does the minifig placed on top of the platform have to touch the surface of the platform?

Doug RCX said:

Good Question Cassie

For Mission 13, Down & Dirty, the Missions & Rules document does NOT say “Touch”.

Therefore, you may have the robot place the minifig on top of the Down & Dirty base in a manor in which the minifig “Touches” or does “NOT” touch the LEGO base.

If a container is used to hold the minifig, and the container is placed on top of the base, the referee will score the minifig by looking down from above the Down & Dirty base.

If in the referee’s opinion the minifig is above the base you will receive a positive score. If in the referee’s opinion the minifig is not above the base, even though the container is above or on top of the base, you will receive a negative score.

Melissa said:

Mission 2, Boulder Shift

To score the Green Flag when it is positioned with the Red line. The rules state past the Red Line and in photo and video you give points for being on red line. Just wanted clarification.

Doug RCX said:

Good Question Melissa

I interpret this to mean that the arm could be positioned on the red line. The scoring item is the Green Flag LEGO. The flag itself should be positioned such that it is on or above the Red Line and to the right of the line.
The LEGO is wider than the Red Line, therefore, the LEGO could be to the left, above, and to the right of the Red Line at the same time.

The referee, will look downward from above the Boulder Shift Mission Object, to see whether the Green Flag LEGO is positioned over the Red Line. It will be the Referee’s interpretation as to whether or not the Green Flag LEGO is positioned to the right of the Red Line to achieve a score.

Also, the Boulder Shift Mission Object must have the Green Flag LEGO piece assembled as assembled in the Mission Object Assembly video.

Potentially the Green LEGO could be assembled to the front or side of the Boulder Shift Arm. If the Boulder Shift Arm is assembled incorrectly, it is the responsibility of both the Team and Referee to make sure the mission object is assembled correctly before the start of the Match. The Team will not be allowed to have a “do over” and rerun the Match.

Assuming that the Green LEGO is positioned incorrectly, The Referee should score the Boulder Shift Mission Object by using the second Green LEGO, which is attached to the arm and score accordingly.

The Referee should correct the assembly of the Mission Object after the score review of the current Match is complete.

Amanda Fain said:

I was wondering how the artifact would be arranged on the mat for competition.

Doug RCX said:

Good Morning Amanda

The Artifact mission object will start inside the ring of the Silver Mine.

The design of the Artifact does not allow for a definite placement of the mission object. The Green LEGO of the Artifact will roughly be placed over the Green LEGO outline on the mat. The Red LEGOs of the Artifact mission object will rest on the mat in an unpredictable manor. They may fall to the left or the right. Be prepared to have the robot act accordingly.

Doug RCX said:

David Conley emailed a question about the Artifact Mission

How will the Artifact Mission Object rest on the mat? (David sent pictures)

To add to Amanda’s question and my response, The Artifact will be placed on the Mat flat either facing to the right or the left.

Caution: Teams should be prepared for the Artifact to be placed in a different position. Team Captains should notify the Referee to place the Artifact flat on the mat with the “Green LEGO” roughly placed on the mat over the Green LEGO outline.

John said:

Mission 2, Boulder Push Does the arm need to be pushed to lower the flag or can the robot itself lower the flag?

Doug RCX said:

Good Question John

I like when teams find ways to accomplish missions in more than one way.

The short answer is YES.

I’ll explain: The Boulder Push mission object is designed to be pushed by the arm.
The scoring part of the Boulder Push mission object is the “Blue & Yellow” flapper. As long as the flapper is repositioned in the downward position it scores.

Therefore, teams may program their robot to push the Boulder Push mission object arm to activate the flapper, or act on the the flapper in another way to achieve the score.

Mandy said:

Mission 11 Clear debris If the mechanism goes over the red line but keeps going, do they still score?

Doug RCX said:

Thanks for the question Mandy,

MAYBE

The Coaches Meeting video states “Be Gentle”, “Base off the mark, NO score …”.

Therefore, teams should approach this Mission object :
1st making sure the Clear Debris Base stays attached to the mat.
2nd The Roller is moved to the right of the Red Line
and
The Roller stays within the outline of the Base.

If there is NO score for moving the Base, then I interpret there should be NO score in the Roller leaves the area of the Base also.

To Score
As long as any part of the Roller is over the LEGO Base and to the right of the Red Line it will receive a score.

Cassie said:

Mat Placement

There is a red mark on the west corner that appears to be the cut line. Should we trim it or leave it as is for the mat to be properly aligned?

Doug RCX said:

Nice catch Cassie

Correct, the Red Line is the Cut Line. The mat should have been cut on the west(left) side at this line.

Solution:
This ONLY is a concern for teams planning to climb on to the Quad Platform, or delivering objects to the Quad Platform.
Teams which plan to act on mission objects across the mat are NOT effected by this.

Teams which plan to act on the Quad Platform missions should cut their mat at this Red Line.

At State
The mats will be cut so the Red Line is removed, making the mats lined up correctly with the Quad Platform.

Doug RCX said:

Thanks Angela for the question

The Safe Zone Area is defined in the General Rules: Rule 5-1 through 5-8.

Your questions refers directly to 5-2
“Safe Zone Line- The black line, immediately adjacent to the Safe Zone, which borders the Safe
Zone, is considered part of the Safe Zone. The Safe Zone does not extend to any other part of the black line which borders the rest of the mat or extends into the mat.”

To answer your question:
Rule 5-1 "The Safe Zone is defined as the area on the mat where Team Members may interact with the robot. The Annual Challenge documents and videos will identify this area. The area is bordered by a Black Line. This Black Line is part of the Safe Zone.

Coaches Meeting Video
At minute 18:00 the Safe Zone is defined for the BTS Challenge.

Jay Owen said:

For the blue quartz mission, the rules state that only the blue object may be moved, but picture references to the mission indicate items being turned over.

What happens if the robot slightly moves but does not turn over one of the two tan objects? Same question for the blue object. What if we slightly move it but don’t knock it over?

Doug RCX said:

Thanks Jay

The 3 mission objects: Blue panel & 2 crème colored panels will be randomly placed, 1 mission object per outline on the mat.

The robot must move ONLY the Blue Panel to score. Move means , the robot must reposition the Blue Panel off the outline on the mat. This includes being tipped over, also being slightly nudged by the robot such that the referee can see the movement off the outline. The act of nudging slightly may mean the Blue Panel mission object is still over part of the outline.

Amanda Fain said:

Can you bring the rocks back to the safe zone and then push them all at once to the rock storage?

Doug RCX said:

Hello Amanda

Yes
Your team can program the robot to retrieve the Rocks back to the Safe Zone. Then send them out to the Rock Storage Target Area.

Remember, the Rocks only receive a score in the Rock Storage Target Area.

Jay Owen said:

Clear debris: if it is past the red line and off of the platform, is that ok as well? Such as if it gets hit hard and rolls over to down and dirty.

Down and Dirty: can we place 2 monitors under for 50 points?

Doug RCX said:

Thanks Jay

For the Clear Debris Mission, check out the Coaches Meeting Video at minute 32:00. The team receives a score for moving the Roller to the Right of the Red Line. In the video, the team receives a score only if the Roller is on the base.

If the Robot destroys the Clear Debris Base, the Team receives “0” for a score.
Therefore, if the Roller is NOT on the Clear Debris Base, The Roller is considered “Destroyed” and the Team will receive “0” for a score.

Doug RCX said:

Down & Dirty

Jay to answer your second question, can the robot place 2 minifigs under the Down & Dirty Platform to score both minifigs?

NO
Review the BTS Missions & Rules document.
“Have a minifig”, meaning singular, crawl under and “Have a minifig”, meaning singular, climb.

Each minifig scores separately. 25 Point for under the platform plus 40 points for on top of the platform. Total 65 points.

Technically, you could place multiple minifigs “under” or “on top” of the platform, but you will ONLY receive a score for 1 minifig under, and 1 minifig on top.

Mandy Brogan said:

Mission 17: On mission and rules file it states
lower the sink hole base arm, so that the flowers touch the mat.

2 questions
1. If lowered and flowers are on the mat, but the robot flips the arm back up, are the points still good for flowers?
2. Does the arm have to be lowered or can it also be pushed up as long as the flowers hit the mat?

Doug RCX said:

Hello Mandy
Sorry for the delay

Mission 17
The scoring items are the flowers. The position of the flowers is the only thing that matters to receive the score.
The position of the Sink Hole arm(flap) does not matter.

Paul said:

I have several questions.
Mission 12
My kiddos built a small little cart to deliver the coal to the coal mine since the big piece can’t touch the mat. Is this ok or does it go against a rule?

Virtual Tournament
So we are doing the virtual tournament. Is there an object that has to be in the video for this year.
Virtual Tournament
It mentions that it will be release prior to competition but I haven’t seen anything about it.
During the video I plan to have a kid hold or put the phone we will use on a Tripod that will record the entire map. at the end of our run how to we “pan” the map without causing part of the map to go out of the Video. Or is it ok to have them immediately go into talking about what missions they scored once the 3 mins is up.

Doug RCX said:

Thanks Paul

Mission 12
Yes, the cart works.
Caution: The scoring objects are the coal, NOT the cart. The Coal Mission Objects must be in the Coal Mine Ring to score. The Referee will look downward , from above. If the Coal, even tough it is in the cart, is outside the ring, the coal will not score.
The coal is the scoring object and must be partionally or completely in the ring to score.

Doug RCX said:

Hello Paul

You should have received an email from Jeremy Stone who leads the Virtual Tournament with the information. jeremy.stone@breck.kyschools.us

No Special Mission Object needed.

Panning of the Mat
We will review your video checking for inconsistencies.
After the Match is completed, you can move your camera to take closeups so the referee can see each mission object. I like the narrator to explain what is being viewed to help the referee determine if the mission object scores.

Stephen said:

We noticed in the mission rules that the rocks in the storage area are scored at 15 points each or a total of 90 points for all 5. However, the practice scoring sheet says 15 points each with a 30 point bonus for all 5. Can you advise which is correct?

Doug RCX said:

Sorry for the confusion Stephen

The Practice Score Sheet is incorrect. It should be 15 Points for each, plus a Bonus of 15 Points. The Maximum point value for Mission 1 is 90 Points.

Christy said:

Mission17 Be Careful:
1. Can the flowers be knocked off without lowering the arm or must the arm be lowered to count?
2. Can some of the flowers land on the black rim of the mat or must they land in the green area?

Doug RCX said:

Good Morning Christy

Mission 17

(Questions 1 was answered in a previous response)
The scoring items are the flowers. The position of the flowers is the only thing that matters to receive the score.
The position of the Sink Hole arm(flap) does not matter.

Question 2

The Flowers may land/rest on any area of the mat, including the Black border.

Jay said:

I have several questions.

1. Mission 7
Is a ramp allowed?

2. General Rules
What happens if we lose control of the Mission Objects outside of the Safe Zone? What happens if a Touch Penalty is assessed while the robot controls a Mission Object?

Doug RCX said:

Thanks Jay for your questions. Both of your questions relate to the General Rules. Your questions refer to General Rules 2, 5 & 6.

1. Questions, is a ramp allowed?

Yes
Follow General Rule 2-4, 5-4 & 5-5
Constructed of LEGOs. Any part of the robot, attachments, deliverable objects(Ramp) THAT TOUCH THE MAT, MUST BE IN THE SAFE ZONE.
Parts that DO NOT TOUCH THE MAT may be outside the Safe Zone, elevated above the Mat.

2. Lose control of Mission Objects

Follow General Rules 5-6 through 5-14, Rules 6-1 through 6-9.

My response could be very, very wordy. I believe the best way to answer your question is for you to review these General Rules directly. Rule 6-4, Rule 6-5, Rule 6-6, & Rule 6-8.

Rule 5-14 “Teams may temporarily place scoring objects outside of the Safe Zone while handling the robot.”

Again, application of these General Rules are open to interpretation by the Referee and the Team. When Referee reviews the results of the Match with the Team Captain, the Team Captain should have the knowledge of the General Rules to be able to “Contest” the results. The Referee will mark on the Scoring Form the “Contested” scoring item. Take a picture of the of the Mat showing the contested item with your phone.
The Head Referee, Referee, & Host will step to the side and review the issue after the Match.( It may take a few minutes to come together.) The Coach can be part of the discussion, but the Team Captain or other Team Members should be the voice for the Team arguing their case. A decision will be made to benefit both the RCX Program and the Team.

Brad said:

According to Rule 2-3, attachments are considered a part of the robot. Does this still apply even if the attachment detaches itself from the driving source of the robot? Will a touch penalty be assessed if they touch this broken off piece?

Doug RCX said:

Thanks Brad for your Question

General Rules 2 define and outline how to construct the robot.

General Rules 6 define and outline what happens outside of the Safe Zone during the Match.
Your question is answered by General Rule 6-4.