Stationary robots and Rule <G22>

[FRC116]

Is it possible for a robot to remain in its own Home Stretch, and use an arm to move a Trackball through the four quadrants of the Track, without violating Rule <G22>? In this Q&A answer (http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=8195) it was indicated that it would be possible to do without violating Rule <R16>, but the answer was silent on the topic of Rule <G22>.

[GDC]

Under Rule <G22>, robots cannot cross over the Lane Marker or a Finish Line in a clockwise direction. As previously noted in this Q&A answer, all Robots are considered to have logically crossed the Lane Marker adjacent to their Home Stretch when the Match begins. Therefore, any element of the robot that crosses the Lane Marker in the “wrong” direction will immediately be determined to be a violation of Rule <G22>.

The answer is dependent on the specific geometry of the robot arm in question. If the arm of the robot is straight (when viewed from above), it is geometrically impossible for it to swing sequentially through all four quadrants of the Track without crossing the Lane Marker between the Home Stretch and the fourth quadrant in a “backwards” (clockwise) direction. Therefore, a straight-arm robot must receive a penalty for violating Rule <G22> each time this technique is used.