The answer to Watt Bots question about leaving team Equipment out on the field is usually no, you may not pick it up.

There are three rules that you want to look at.  The main one is R15 - Stranding.  If the Robot is pushing something around or carrying something, this is what applies.

R15 - If the UNINTERRUPTED Robot loses something it was Transporting, that thing must be allowed to come to rest.  If the thing ends up Completely outside Base, then Leave as is;

FYI, this matches what you see in R10 - Handling During the Match:

  • Anything the Robot affects (good or bad!) or puts completely outside Base stays as is unless the Robot changes it. Nothing is ever repositioned so you can “try again.” 


R10 also discusses what the Team may touch outside of Base.  [Basically, nothing except the Robot.]

  • You are not allowed to interact with any part of the Field that’s not COMPLETELY in Base. 

  1. Except: You may Interrupt the Robot any time.

  2. Except: You may pick up Equipment that BROKE off the Robot UNINTENTIONALLY, anywhere, any time. 

So, if Watt Bots is asking about a piece that UNINTENTIONALLY BROKE off of the Robot, then yes, the Team may get that back, or ask the Referee to return it to them.


The third rule to look at tells you what is part of the Robot, and what is not.

D04 - ROBOT Your “Robot” is your LEGO® MINDSTORMS® controller and all the Equipment you’ve combined with it by hand which is not intended to separate from it, except by hand.

So, once you take an "attachment" and connect it to the Robot, then that attachment is probably part of the Robot, until you take it off again.  If it were to get caught on something and break off, then the Team could get that broken part back.  But, if the Team designs the Equipment or attachment so that the Robot can easily separate from it, then that isn't a part of the Robot, and if it is stranded out in the Field, then the piece would stay where it stopped.


Steve Scherr
Virginia-DC FLL Referee Advisor

On Sun, Oct 28, 2018 at 12:26 PM Lisa Flannery <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
I was just told that an attachment linage from Ronald Lui’s previous post was still attached to my message board question.  Please just ignore the image attached.

Lisa Flannery
Watt Bots 26957
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