Q&A

According to the second bullet point of <VUR15>, "Parts supporting linear motion: linear bearings, linear slides, drawer slides, etc.", are permitted.

I would like clarification on the whether rail and carriage style linear motion components, such as the following examples, fall into this category of legal parts:

Specifically, the aspects of these rail and carriage components which are in question are:

1. Are there restrictions to the profile of the rails used? (round and rectangular are unambiguously legal as raw stock, but what about more complex profiles as shown in the example images)
2. Are there restrictions to the usage of the rails? (is it only legal when rail and carriage systems are used exclusively to provide linear motion functionality, or can they additionally provide some level of structure?)

Functionally, these components are quite similar to drawer slides, which both come in many complex profiles, and do provide some level of structure, although they could be categorized separately if there is a distinction to be made between linear "slides", versus linear "rails".

Thank you.

VUG4 states:

Different availability of Loaders. Drive Team Members may add Match Load Pins to the Loaders adjacent to their Alliance Station during the Autonomous Period and Driver Controlled Period of the Match.

Does the specification of Pins imply that Cups may NOT be loaded during the Autonomous Period?

According to <R28c>: "For the purposes of this rule, the V5 Smart Motor Cap is not considered 'part of the motor.' Therefore, <R27> applies." This clause does not specify which motor it applies to — it uses the general term "the V5 Smart Motor Cap."

However, in <R28a-ii>: "Removing or replacing the screws from the V5 Smart Motor Cap (276-6780)", the rule explicitly identifies the 11W motor's cap (276-6780) as the one whose screws may be removed, without mentioning the 5.5W motor.

Given that:

1. Clause (c) is at the same letter-level as clause (a) under <R28> — it is a standalone, rule-level definition, not a sub-item of (a);
2. Both the 11W (276-4840) and 5.5W (276-4842) V5 Smart Motors use the same V5 Smart Motor Cap (SKU 276-6780);
3. Clause (c) defines the cap as "not part of the motor," meaning removing/replacing it is not a "modification to the motor" at all;

My questions are:

1. Does <R28c> apply equally to both the 5.5W and 11W V5 Smart Motors?
2. For VEX U, can teams remove the original motor cap from a 5.5W motor and replace it with a custom 3D-printed cap, just as they can with the 11W motor?

<VUG7> states “Load Zone protections (see rule <SG13>) apply during both the Autonomous Period and Driver Controlled Period of the Match <SG13a> states “A Robot is protected while it is at least partially within one of its Alliance Load Zones. Robots may not directly or indirectly contact a protected opposing Alliance Robot.” Also, <SG7> states “During the Autonomous Period, Robots may not contact foam tiles, Scoring Objects, or Field Elements which are on the opposing Alliance’s side of the Autonomous Line.” However, the load zone is very small in comparison to the robots’ starting size, the smallest being 15” (see picture below) and therefore grabbing pins and cups from the load zone during autonomous would result in briefly crossing the autonomous line.

(140.41-138.83=1.58)

Does <SG13a> take precedence and therefore robots can go to the load zones (and cross the central autonomous line) without penalties or violations as long as part of the robot is within the load zone? This could ultimately lead to robot-on-robot interactions with the opposing team, even if they are fully within their autonomous zone. Or does <SG7> take precedence and therefore robots cannot go into the load zones because it would mean crossing the autonomous line and penalties or violations would be given, even if the team is in contact with the load zone?

Rule <VUG6> states:

<VUG6> Different Autonomous Win Point criteria. For all VEX U events, an Autonomous Win Point is awarded to any Alliance that ends the Autonomous Period with all of the following tasks completed, and that has committed no Violations during the Autonomous Period:

The phrase "For all VEX U events" was added in the Version 2.0 Game Manual. In Version 1.1, <VUG6> instead began:

<VUG6> Different Autonomous Win Point criteria. An Autonomous Win Point is awarded to any Alliance that ends the Autonomous Period with all of the following tasks completed, and that has committed no Violations during the Autonomous Period:

Version 2.0 therefore specifically added the wording:

For all VEX U events,

The rest of the VEX U Autonomous Win Point requirements remain twelve (12) Pins Scored, four (4) Goals each containing at least two (2) Pins Scored, neither Robot contacting the Field Perimeter, and at least one (1) Robot at least partially within the Midfield. However, <SC8> separately distinguishes between standard events, events which qualify directly to the VEX Robotics World Championship, and the World Championship itself. <SC8> also states:

Autonomous Win Point criteria may be further modified for the World Championship if needed, with details to be released in a future Game Manual update.

Could the GDC clarify the intended scope of the newly added phrase "For all VEX U events" in <VUG6>? Does "all VEX U events" include the VEX Robotics World Championship itself, meaning that the <VUG6> Autonomous Win Point criteria apply unchanged at Worlds unless <VUG6> is specifically revised in a future Game Manual update? Or is "for all VEX U events" intended only to clarify that the same <VUG6> criteria apply at both standard VEX U events and events which qualify directly to the World Championship, while the VEX Robotics World Championship may still use separate Autonomous Win Point criteria as described in <SC8>?