Questions and Answers - Pearl Diving

• When the rules state the robot must be inside or outside of an area, is it the projection of the robot or the parts of the robot touching the table?
  • The projection of the robot is always used to determine if the robot is inside or outside an area.

• Do the blocks need to be pushed into their respective end-zones in order to get the 5 points?
  • 5 points is awarded only if the block is pushed into the end zone directly below the block. The judge will need to keep track of this during the mission to ensure that blocks moved into the wrong end zone are not rewarded.

• What is the height of the barriers between the underwater zones? Is the robot allowed to drive over these barriers?
  • As described on page 9, the height of the barriers separating areas under the water with a different zone color is 30mm, and the height of the small barriers separating zones of the same color is 10mm. There are no restrictions on how the robot travels under the water (driving over barriers is allowed).

• If the robot leaves a piece touching the wall above the surface of the water, will this cause the timer to be reset to zero indefinitely?
  • If the part left touching the wall is still connected to the robot, it will cause the timer to be reset as long as the part is touching the wall and is still connected to the robot. The idea is that a diver could use a long tube which reaches all the way to the surface, thus being able to breathe while under the water. If the part stops touching the wall or becomes disconnected from the robot, the timer will start.

• Who will reset the timer?
  • The judge or an assistant to the judge will be responsible for the dive timer. The robot will not interact with the dive timer. The robot will start touching the wall. The timer will be started as soon as the robot moves away from the wall.

• Can the robot contain separate compartments that would allow the team member to load the appropriate number of balls into each section after quarantine, thus allowing them to get the right number of balls in each sector without reading the colors of the blocks under the water?
  • The balls will be loaded into the robot BEFORE QUARANTINE.

• Please explain "they will bias their decision to the worst outcome available for the context of the situation".
  • If there is a situation where it is difficult to tell whether points should be awarded or denied, the judge is required to deny the points.

• When will the pearl diving expedition end (when to stop the timer for the attempt)?
  • The timer will be stopped for the attempt when the attempt is completed (the robot has successfully scored all available points and stopped in the large RED zone) or a team member calls time.

• If a colored block is damaged, how will it be scored?
  • If all parts of the damaged block are fully in the correct end zone, points will be awarded for the damaged block.

• How will the judge know to stop time if the dive clock expires?
  • The assistant managing the dive clock will inform the judge to stop the attempt.

• What is the profile of the barriers?
  • a. The barriers all have a rectangular profile.

• How will the colored cubes be randomly selected?
  • In a bag, place a cube of each color (1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Green, 1 Blue). Select a cube from this bag repeatedly with replacement, until you have nine cubes selected. If the total number of pearls reaches 10 or more, remove the Red cube from the selection process. If the number of pearls reaches 11 or more, remove the yellow cube from the selection process. If the number of pearls reaches 12, use Blue for the remaining cubes. Once all of the 9 cubes have been selected for the round, randomly draw the 9 cubes from a bag to determine their placement on the table.

• What is the length of the barriers that extend from the bottom and separate the small colored end zones?
  • The short barriers are 250mm in length and 10mm in height, the long barriers are 500mm in length and 30mm in height.