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Official Q&A: VEX V5 Robotics Competition 2025-2026: Push Back
3035: Clarification on Expansion and Inspection process
A robot is capable of expanding outside of the 22"x22"x22" cube, but uses code to limit the expansion so that the robot will not over expand. (Ex: an arm fully rotating up and over the robot would be outside of the 22" height, but the code limits the rotation of the motor and therefore the upper limit of the arm.)
When considering expansion of the robot and the 22"x22"x22" cube, the Inspection Sheets says that
Robot does not expand larger than 22”x22”x22”.
In the Official answer to 2749, it was answered that
A Robot being capable of violating <SG2> does not mean it has violated <SG2>. A Robot can only violate <SG2> by exceeding the horizontal expansion limit during a Match. Some of your scenarios put the Team at greater risk of an <SG2> violation than others do. Physical or code blocks that prevent over-expansion are recommended over "planning not to do it."
My question is, should an inspector, head referee, and/or head inspector mark the robot as not passed because it can expand larger than 22", or should they make a note on inspection, and make the head referee aware of, the potential for over expansion?
The intent is that inspectors and Head Referees help Teams avoid Violations by ensuring their Robot will not expand beyond the horizontal size limit during the match. If Teams can demonstrate that the Robot will not exceed a 22" cubic volume during the Match--whether through construction, code, or driver action--they have met this inspection requirement. If they later break an expansion rule during the Match, they will at least have been advised to consider and avoid it.
We'll make a note to clarify this on next season's inspection checklist. Thank you.