The experience of fellow coaches will be most valuable, as seen in the other responses.

In my experience, 60% of teams just eyeball it based on the mat, the models, or some other reference points.

30% use objects like jigs.  Some have engineering solutions to help them adjust to variations in the west wall distance.

The most sophisticated teams use sensors and geometry to assist with navigation, so that the robot can align itself and correct for variations en route.

Usually the mat and field are designed so that there are some things that a team can use to assist.

As Sonya noted, the rules change some of arch year, and *only* the official challenge documents are canonical.  Every other source of information needs to be compared against them.

Steve

On Wednesday, October 28, 2015, Thomas (Tweeks) Weeks <[log in to unmask]> wrote:



Steve..

Wow.. I AM a new coach and some of us were under the impression that we could tape down paper templates as long as they could be removed with no residue (within the base).  I guess this is not the case? (I just found this explicitly stated on this old FAQ:
http://www.fll-freak.com/faq/faq_printer.htm


If not.. how are teams supposed to align their bots in a repeatable fashion?
There are no right angle lines this year and use of jigs and the wall is unreliable (doe to varrying mat placement).

I hope my kids can adjust to this requirement at this point.

Tweeks


From: First Lego League in Virginia and DC <[log in to unmask]');" target="_blank">[log in to unmask]> on behalf of VA-DC Referee Advisor <[log in to unmask]');" target="_blank">[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, October 26, 2015 11:59 PM
To: [log in to unmask]');" target="_blank">[log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VADCFLL-L] Rules clarification
 
Nothing gets my blood pressure up like jokes about sticking stuff to mats ;-)

As every FLL'er knows, rule R01 requires all Equipment to be made entirely of original LEGO-manufactured elements, so neither paper not tape is allowed on the field, especially if it has team markings on it.

This rule applies to jigs, launch pads, and other aiming devices just like it applies to the robot itself. 

Steve Scherr
Virginia-DC Referee Advisor

On Monday, October 26, 2015, Thomas (Tweeks) Weeks <[log in to unmask]');" target="_blank">[log in to unmask]> wrote:

What are the rules about paper templates and taping them down? I assume they must be 100% inside the safe zone.. anything else we need to know?


Tweeks





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