Contents

Tipping Point Terminology

Alliance

A pre-assigned grouping of two (2) Teams that are paired together during a given Match.

Alliance Station

The designated regions where the Drive Team Members must remain for the duration of the Match.

Autonomous Period

A fifteen second (0:15) period in which Robots operate and react only to sensor inputs and to commands pre-programmed by the Students into the Robot’s Control System.

AWP Line

The white tape line, one (1) per Alliance Home Zone, that starts the Match with one (1) Alliance Mobile Goal on it. See the Scoring Section for more details.

Balanced

A Platform state. A Platform is considered Balanced if all of the following criteria are met at the end of a Match:

  1. The Platform is roughly parallel to the field.

  2. Both flat surfaces of the Platform hinges are contacting the Platform base, as shown in Figure 7.3. Robots and / or oring Objects contacting the Platform in their Alliance Home Zone are not also contacting any other Field Elements, such as foam field tiles or the field perimeter.

    1. For the purposes of this definition, contact is considered “transitive” through other Robots and Scoring Objects. For example, as shown in Figure 9, contact with a Mobile Goal that is resting on top of the field perimeter would not satisfy the definition of Balanced.

Cleared

An Alliance Mobile Goal state. An Alliance Mobile Goal is considered “Cleared” if, at the end of the Autonomous Period, it is not contacting its AWP Line or the Neutral Zone. See the Scoring Section for more details

Disablement

A penalty applied to a Team for a rule violation. A Team that is Disabled is not allowed to operate their Robot for the remainder of the Match, and the Drive Team Members will be asked to place their controller(s) on the ground.

Disqualification

A penalty applied to a Team for a rule violation. A Team that is Disqualified in a Qualification Match receives zero (0) Win Points, Autonomous Win Point, Autonomous Points, and Strength of Schedule Points. When a Team is Disqualified in an Elimination Match, the entire Alliance is Disqualified and they receive a loss for the Match. At the Head Referee’s discretion, repeated violations and Disqualifications for a single Team may lead to its Disqualification for the entire tournament.

Drive Team Members

A Student who stands in the Alliance Station during a Match for each Team. Only Drive Team Members are permitted to stand in the Alliance Station and allowed to touch the controls during the Match or interact with the Robot. Adults are not allowed to be Drive Team Members.

Entanglement

A Robot status. A Robot is Entangled if it has grabbed, hooked, or attached to an opposing Robot or a Field Element.

Elevated

A Robot and / or Mobile Goal state. A Robot or Mobile Goal is considered Elevated if all of the following criteria are met at the end of a Match:

  1. The Robot or Mobile Goal is contacting their Alliance Platform.

  2. The Platform meets the definition of Balanced.

  3. The Robot or Mobile Goal is not contacting any other Field Element, such as the foam field tiles or the field perimeter.

    1. For the purposes of this definition, contact is considered “transitive” through other Robots and Scoring Objects. For example, as shown in Figure 10, contact with a Mobile Goal that is contacting a field tile would not satisfy the definition of Elevated.

Field Element

The foam field tiles, field perimeter, white tape, Platforms, and all supporting structures and accessories.

Hoarding

A form of Possession. A Robot is Hoarding if it is in Possession of any Mobile Goal in either of the two (2) corners of the field in their own Alliance Home Zone (i.e. positioned in the corner roughly the size of one foam field tile). See SG7 for more information.

Match Affecting

A rule violation status determined by the head referee. A rule violation is Match Affecting if it changes the winning and losing Alliances in the Match. Multiple rule violations within a Match can cumulatively become Match Affecting.

Possession

A Robot is considered to be in Possession of a Mobile Goal if any one of the following criteria are met:

  1. The Robot is carrying, holding or controlling the movement of a Mobile Goal such that if the Robot changes direction, the Mobile Goal will move with the Robot. Therefore, pushing / plowing Mobile Goals is not considered Possession, however using concave portions of your Robot to control the movement of Mobile Goals is considered Possession.

  2. The Robot is actively blocking opposing Robot’s access to Mobile Goals, such as by expanding horizontally and restricting access to a portion of the field. See Figure 19.

  3. Robots on the same Alliance working in tandem to block access to Mobile Goals would share the Possession of said Mobile Goal.

Preload

The Rings, (3) per Robot, placed prior to the start of each Match. If used, these Rings must be placed such that they satisfy the conditions in SG1

Scored

A Ring, Mobile Goal, Robot, and / or Platform State. See the “Scoring” section for more details.

Traping

A Robot status. A Robot is Trapping if it has restricted an opposing Robot into a small, confined area of the field, approximately the size of one foam field tile or less, and has not provided an avenue for escape. Trapping can be direct (e.g. pinning an opponent to a field perimeter wall) or indirect (e.g. preventing a Robot from escaping from a corner of the field).

Important

Last Edited on 8/31/21.