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Official Q&A: VEX IQ Robotics Competition 2024-2025: Rapid Relay
2436: Problem with Vex IQ Herobot "Swish" height
<SG2> I am a head referee and have a question regarding the 2024-2025 Vex IQ Herobot, "Swish." I observed twice in a tournament I refereed that it is possible for a ball to get stuck between the top edge of the catapult and the underside of the intake, which pivots. If a ball is taken in by the intake, but doesn't line up properly and isn't centered as it enters the robot, it can get stuck on the side between the intake and the catapult. When the catapult fires, the robot can get jammed by the stuck ball and the intake can swing all the way up. When this happens, the height of the robot can reach about 17". Rule SG2 states "the 15" height limit is a "virtual ceiling," meaning that no part of the Robot may exceed 15" above the floor, regardless of robot orientation." Because this happened with the Vex IQ recommended Herobot, I did not disqualify the two teams that this happened to. I figured this was an oversight that may not have been thought of when this robot was designed. However, I will be serving as a referee for another couple of meets and should have a full understanding of this rule as it applies to the "Swish" robot if this were to happen again. If this were to happen during a meet, should the team technically be disqualified from the match and/or meet unless this is fixed? When judges inspect this robot, they often may not anticipate this scenario. If this were to happen to another type of robot, I would have to disqualify the robot until the problem is rectified so this loophole in the build of "Swish" needs clarification if this common problem occurs. Can you please clarify this rule relative to this robot? Thank you.
We would generally consider the scenario you describe, in which a Robot (of any design) becomes inoperable when a Ball is stuck in an undesired location, a valid reason for a Team to handle and reset their Robot as described in rule <G10>. A Team in this scenario is, by definition, struggling and should generally not be penalized for something having gone wrong. If the Team can fix the Robot during a reset, and return it to a legal height, no penalty should be assessed if no points were scored while the Robot was too tall.
Any Robot can break or malfunction in a way that would cause them to unintentionally and non-strategically Violation rule <SG2>. This possibility should never prevent a Robot from passing inspection if the Robot meets the requirements of all Robot rules.
If a Robot scores points in a Match while in Violation of rule <SG2>--either intentionally or accidentally--the Team should receive a Disqualification from that Match due to the Score Affecting Violation. The Robot should be reinspected before its next Match to ensure it meets the requirements of all Robot rules.