Do you know how many marbles are within Crater 2? Will the wooden spheres be sitting on top of the marbles or will they be "buried" or at the same level as the marbles?
There are 2 layers of marbles in Crater 2. There are approximately 2100 marbles. At the beginning of the trial, the wooden balls will be randomly placed in the marble pit on top of the marbles. However, the wooden balls may sink into the first layer of marbles. This is part of the Challenge. There is an image of this on page 35 of the Rules & Guidelines Booklet.
Are we building the device that attaches and detaches from the zip line or are you providing that or is it down in another way?
You will have to create a device that attaches and detaches from the zip line.
Can you clarify which position the see-saw will be in for the competition?
The see-saw will be in an upright position, contrary to what you see in the photos - see pages 18 and 20.
Do the dowels in passage way 1 spin, or are they fixed?
The dowels spin.
Regarding the square dowels that are part of the material list: can we use any wood for the project that measures less then 1" X 1"? And no real length restrictions?
You can use any round wooden dowel of any length as long as it measures less than or equal to than 1" dia. You can use any square wooden dowel of any length as long as it measures less than or equal to 1" x 1".
The eight triangles shown on page 30 have a bottom width of 1 inch. We DO NOT know the height of the triangles.
The triangular dowels on the "Difficult Terrain" were originally square dowels with dimensions of 1" x 1". They were cut in half to make triangular dowels. One square dowel makes two triangular dowels.
Is a team allowed to leave a part of its device behind in the crater and still score points for completely exiting the crater?
Yes, a team is allowed to leave a part of its device behind in the crater and still score points. In case something breaks or falls off during the drop, it is ok to leave it behind in the crater. Once that piece or item is separated from the device it will no longer be considered a part of the device. The device will then need to maneuver completely out of the crater to receive points.
Can we have a device or structure which is larger than the exact opening from which the robot will descend into the competition space and can it be left behind without being disqualified?
The structure on your device can be left behind once the device has dropped into the crater, but it should not be larger than the platform doors that open. The structure attached to/connect to the device should also fall directly into the crater before it breaks, deflates, expands, etc.
On the 'Difficult Terrain' section, it states that square dowels should be cut along the diagonal. However, there is no mention of the dowel dimensions.
The square dowels on the "Difficult Terrain" are 1" x 1". Cut in half to make triangular dowels.
I am starting to construct the course and can't find the specifications for the diameter of the dowels used for Passage Way 1. I see there are nine 11" long dowels, but what is the diameter of them?
The round dowels on the rollers are 3/4". The model # is OAK34-3ED.3.
Now that the ramp and incline with rollers are constructed, I was going to secure them to the passageway this morning. However, I cannot find the dimensions to indicate where these two items should be placed.
The ramp is 9inches away from crater 2. Then there is 3inches between the ramp and the incline with rollers. To double check that you did it right, there should be 4.5 inches from the end of the incline with rollers to the beginning of the tunnel.
The image and diagram of the light switch section show each switch and 9V holder mounted to a 3.25" x 3.25" piece of wood. Could you either provide dimensional details of this piece (specifically the cutout for the switch) or provide me with the exact position to the center of each switch relative to either the cave 'ceiling' or the driving surface?
There is no cutout on the 3.25" x 3.25" wooden piece for the light switch. The switch is directly glued on to the surface of the piece of wood.
I have attached a drawing with the specific dimensions of this piece.
