Questions about Entrance of Evacuation Zone

“1.7.3 At the entrance to the evacuation zone, there is a 25 mm x 250 mm strip of reflective silver tape on the floor.”

MUST be present a door gate with a horizontal top at the entrance of
the evacuation zone? I ask that because at our last regional challenge some teams had a kind of
“antenna” that pushes/crushes against the horizontal top of the door of
the entrance of the evacuation zone to detect it. But we had no a door
but only an aperture without the top. We mounted a kind of doorway after
their remonstrances.

Best regards!

Dear Peter,

The rules does not say anything of the placements of the doorways. Some arenas have a doorway at the entrance of the evacuation zone, some arenas don’t.

Some years ago almost all arenas was designed the same, with plexi glass, but it was expensive for schools and organizers, so we changed it to be more flexible. Some still use the old style arena, but it is no requirement.

So, since it is not in the rules and no requirement, teams can not rely on using an antenna. They should prepare their robot to detect the evacuation zone in som other way. Maybe reflective tape, maybe just detecting the absence of the line? Or maybe detect victims (and from that conclude that they are in the evacuation room)?

// Fredrik Löfgren, TC and OC member 2016 / 2017

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Very useful and quick answer, as usual!
Teams of our last challenge tried to use reflective tape detection or absence of line. No one the last idea that sounds intriguing (detect victims). We will work around the last one too.
Thank you, tack!

I’m sure the kids will solve it!

Good luck!

// Fredrik Löfgren

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Hi there!

One more question about the entrance of evacuation zone: some judges and referees OBLIGE the teams to put a checkpoint immediatly before the entrance of evacuation zone: is it correct?
They say it is written in the rules.

Thank you in advice!

Hi Peter!

No, it is definitely not correct that teams have to put a checkpoint immediately before the entrance of the evacuation zone. It does often make sense, but it is not written in the rules.

If a Lack of Progress occurs in the evacuation zone, the robot will be placed at the last checkpoint. If this checkpoint is far away from the entry to the evacuation zone, it is the teams own fault – so maybe the referees/judges meant that if the teams want to start directly at the evacuation zone entry after a LoP the team has to put the checkpoint immediately before the entrance. Some teams misunderstand the rules with the checkpoints and think that the entrance of the evacuation zone is implicitly a checkpoint, but it isn’t – then they are confused that the robot has to be placed back to the last tile with a checkpoint and follow the line to the entrance of the evacuation zone again.

I hope it’s clearer now;
Regards,
Jennifer

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Thank you so much for your quick and clear answer.
You put some well argued examples to learn from.
I’ll show them to my students.

Dankeschön :wink: