VEX Robotics Competition – Toss Up Copyright 2013. VEX Robotics, Inc. VEX Robotics Competition – Toss Up Table of Contents Section 1 – Introduction Section 2 – The Game Section 3 – The Tournament Section 4 – The Robot 1 3 14 19 Copyright 2013. VEX Robotics, Inc. VEX Robotics Competition – Toss Up 1 S E C T I O N Introduction Overview This section provides an introduction to VEX Toss Up and the VEX Robotics Competition. The VEX Robotics Competition The world needs the students of today to become the scientists, engineers, and problem solving leaders of tomorrow. The constant breakthroughs in chemistry, medicine, materials and physics reveal a new set of challenges and create an even greater opportunity for problem solving through technology. These problems are not academic; the solutions could help save the world and those technology problem solvers will be the ones to make it possible. This underscores the dramatic challenge we face: there are not enough high school graduates choosing technology related disciplines in college. This does not reflect a lack of capacity for new students on the part of technical schools and universities, but a lack of interested and qualified applicants. In short, we will not have the people we require in the next generation to solve the problems of tomorrow unless the shortage is directly addressed today. Who will solve the world’s next great crisis? Recognizing this dilemma, scores of organizations are creating programs designed to attract and engage young students in the study of science and technology. Many have found that robotics is a very powerful platform to attract and hold the attention of today’s multi-tasking, connected youths. Robotics has strong appeal to this intensely competitive generation and represents the perfect storm of applied physics, mathematics, computer programming, digital prototyping and design, integrated problem solving, teamwork and thought leadership. Students with a previously undiscovered aptitude for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) curriculum are flourishing in growing numbers due to the efforts of schools, volunteer organizations, corporations, and governments internationally. The VEX Robotics Competition, operated by the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation, is a program that inspires thousands of students worldwide to pursue STEM-related education and career paths. While there are many quality robotics competitions worldwide, the VEX Robotics user community has overwhelmingly demanded new challenges that are easy and economical to host and implement. The VEX Robotics Design System helps takes the inspiration from the competition to the next level. The system is used as a classroom robotics platform designed to nurture creative advancement in robotics and knowledge of STEM education. VEX provides teachers and students with an affordable, robust, and stateof-the-art robotics system suitable for classroom use and the playing field. VEX’s innovative use of premanufactured and easily formed structural metal, intuitive mechanical parts combined with a powerful range of user-programmable microprocessors for control, leads to infinite design possibilities. For more information visit www.vexrobotics.com. Follow us on Twitter @VEXRobotics. Like Us on facebook at www.facebook.com/vexrobotics Visit RobotEvents.com for more information on the VEX Robotics Competition, including team registration, event listings and results and more. Page 1 Copyright 2013. VEX Robotics Inc. 04/11/13 VEX Robotics Competition – Toss Up VEX Toss Up – A Primer VEX Toss Up is played on a 12 ft x 12 ft foam-mat, surrounded by a sheet-metal and lexan perimeter. There are two zones and two goals, which teams can score balls into, along with two hanging bars for robots to hang off of. The field is divided by a bump and a trough, with various openings to allow for robot passage. For more details and specific game-play rules, please see Section 2 – The Game. While participating in the VRC Toss Up season, teams will develop many new skills in response to the challenges and obstacles that stand before them. Some problems will be solved by individuals, while others will be handled through interaction with their student teammates and adult mentors. Teams will work together to build a VEX robot to compete in one of many tournaments, where they celebrate their accomplishments with other teams, family and friends. After the season, students come away not only with the accomplishment of building their own competition robot, but with an appreciation of science and technology and how they might use it to positively impact the world around them. In addition, they cultivate life skills such as planning, brainstorming, collaboration, teamwork, and leadership as well as research and technical skills. Page 2 Copyright 2013. VEX Robotics Inc. 04/11/13 VEX Robotics Competition – Toss Up 2 S E C T I O N The Game Overview This section describes the VEX Robotics Competition game, called VEX Toss Up. It also lists the game definitions and game rules. Game Description Matches are played on a field set up as illustrated in the figures below. Two Alliances – one “red” and one “blue” – composed of two teams each, compete in each Match. The object of the game is to attain a higher score than the opposing Alliance by Scoring your colored BuckyBalls and Large Balls into the Middle Zone and Goal Zone, by Stashing your colored BuckyBalls and Large Balls into the Goals, and by Hanging or Hanging With A Ball, at various heights, off your colored Bar at the end of the match. A bonus is awarded to the Alliance that has the most total points at the end of the Autonomous Period. Figure 1: Isometric view of the field Note: The illustrations in this section of the manual are only provided to give a general visual understanding of the game. Teams should refer to the official field specs available in Appendix A for exact field dimensions, a full field BOM, exact details of field construction, and lower cost field options. There are a total of twenty (20) BuckyBalls, ten (10) red and ten (10) blue, eight (8) Large Balls, four (4) red and four (4) blue available as Scoring Objects in the game. Each Robot will have one (1) BuckyBall available as a Preload. Sixteen (16) BuckyBalls and all eight (8) Large Balls will start at designated locations on the field. Page 3 Copyright 2013. VEX Robotics, Inc. 04/11/13 VEX Robotics Competition – Toss Up Figures 2 & 3: Overhead views of the field Page 4 Copyright 2013. VEX Robotics, Inc. 04/11/13 VEX Robotics Competition – Toss Up Zone Hanging Zone Hanging Zone Middle Zone Middle Zone Goal Zone Goal Zone Stashed Stashed Scoring Object BuckyBall Large Ball BuckyBall Large Ball BuckyBall Large Ball BuckyBall Large Ball Points Earned 0 0 1 1 2 5 5 10 Figure 4: Overhead views of the field, highlighting the Zones Table 1: Scoring Zone chart Low Hanging Low Hanging With A Ball High Hanging High Hanging With A Ball Figures 5-8: Examples of Low Hanging, Low Hanging With A Ball, High Hanging, and High Hanging With A Ball Type of Hang Low Hanging Low Hanging With A Ball High Hanging High Hanging With A Ball Figure Number 4 5 6 7 Points Earned 5 15 10 20 Page 5 Copyright 2013. VEX Robotics, Inc. 04/11/13 VEX Robotics Competition – Toss Up Game Definitions Adult – Anyone not meeting the definition of Student. Alliance – A pre-assigned grouping of two teams that work together for a given Match. Alliance Robot Interaction Spots – The colored (red or blue) X’s from which a Driver or Coach may interact with the Robot. Alliance Starting Tile – A colored tile (red or blue), which designates the location where Robots must start the match. Alliance Station – The designated region where the Drivers and Coaches must remain during their Match. Autonomous Period – A 15-second (0:15) time period in which the Robots operate and react only to sensor inputs and to commands pre-programmed by the team into the onboard Robot control system. Human interaction with the robot is allowed during this period as specified in the game rules. Barrier – The 12” high sheet metal and pipe structure that separates the Middle Zone and the Goal Zone BuckyBall – A red or blue truncated icosahedron shaped hard plastic Scoring Object with an overall diameter of 5”. Each BuckyBall weighs approximately 0.25 lbs. Bump – The 2” high structure that represents the boundary between the Hanging Zone and Middle Zone Coach – A student or adult mentor designated as the team advisor during the match. Only one (1) of these is allowed per team at the field at any given time. Disablement – A penalty applied to a team for a rules violation. A team who is Disabled in a Match, is no longer allowed to operate their robot, and will be asked to place their controller on the ground. Disqualification – A penalty applied to a team for a rules violation. A team who is Disqualified in a Qualifying Match receives zero (0) WP and SP. When a team is Disqualified in an Elimination Match the entire Alliance is Disqualified and they receive a loss for the Match. At the head referee’s discretion, repeated violations and Disqualifications for a single team may lead to its Disqualification for the entire tournament. Please see Section 3 – The Tournament for further details and associated definitions. Driver – A Student team member responsible for operating and controlling the Robot. Only two (2) Drivers per team are allowed in the Alliance Station on the field at any given time. Driver Controlled Period – The 1:45 (one minute and forty-five second) time period in which the Drivers operate the Robots. Entanglement – A robot is considered to have Entangled an opposing robot if it has grabbed or hooked the opponent robot. Field Element – The foam field tiles, field perimeter, Bars, Bump, Barrier, Goals and all supporting structures. Goal – One of the two (2) 8” diameter, hexagonal, 24” tall field structures, where teams can Stash BuckyBalls or Large Balls Goal Zone – The foam tiles located between the Barrier and the field wall that the Goals are attached to. The boundary between the Goal Zone and Middle Zone will be marked by a tape line running along the edge of the tiles that is closest to the Goals. Hanging – A Robot is considered to be Hanging if it is Low Hanging or High Hanging Page 6 Copyright 2013. VEX Robotics, Inc. 04/11/13 VEX Robotics Competition – Toss Up Hanging Bar – The red or blue 40” high, horizontal PVC pipe, supported by the Hanging Structure Hanging Structure – The steel structure located in two corners of the field that supports the Hanging Bar Hanging With A Ball – A Robot is considered to be Hanging With A Ball if it is Hanging and touching a Large Ball of your Alliance’s Color that is not touching a foam field tile and is not touching another non Hanging Robot of your own Alliance. Note: A Robot will never be considered Hanging With A Ball with more than one Large Ball. A Large Ball can only be counted towards a single robot Hanging With A Ball. Hanging Zone – The foam tiles located between the field wall adjacent to the Alliance Stations and the Bump. High Hanging – A Robot is considered to be High Hanging if it is touching the Hanging Bar of its own color and completely above the plane parallel to the foam field tiles, formed by the top of the field perimeter. Note: A High Hanging Robot does not also count as a Low Hanging Robot. Large Balls -- A red or blue, approximately spherical, inflatable, soft plastic Scoring Object with an overall diameter of 15.5-17.5”. Each Large Ball weighs approximately 0.9 lbs. Note: Teams should be prepared to handle large balls of any size within the stated range. Low Hanging -- A Robot is considered to be Low Hanging if it is touching the Hanging Bar of its own color and not touching any foam field tile. Match – A Match consists of an Autonomous Period followed by a Driver Controlled Period for a total time of 2:00 (two minutes). Middle Zone – The foam tiles located in between the Bump and the Barrier. The boundary between the Goal Zone and Middle Zone will be marked by a tape line running along the edge of the tiles that is closest to the Goals. Pinning – A Robot is considered to be Pinning an opposing Robot if it is inhibiting the movement of an opponent Robot while the opposing Robot is in contact with the foam playing surface and another Field Element. Possessing – A Robot is considered to be Possessing a BuckyBall if it actively controlling the BuckyBall. Examples of Possessing include: • Carrying or holding BuckyBall(s) in the Robot • Herding BuckyBalls, i.e. intentionally pushing or impelling BuckyBall(s) to a desired location or path o Accidentally Herding BuckyBall(s) (i.e. driving through BuckyBall(s) in the path of the Robot) is not considered herding, and thus not considered Possessing • Trapping BuckyBall(s), i.e. intentionally pressing BuckyBall(s) up against a field object Preload – The one (1) BuckyBall each team must place on the field such that it is touching their Robot and/or their Alliance Starting Tile prior to each Match. Robot – Anything which has passed inspection that a team places on the field prior to the start of a Match. Scored – A Scoring Object is Scored in a Zone if it meets the following criteria. 1. A Scoring Object is touching a Zone a. A BuckyBall Scored in two Zones will only count for the Goal Zone b. A Large Ball Scored in two Zones will count for the Zone that the majority of the Large Ball is in 2. The Scoring Object is not Stashed Scoring Object – A BuckyBall or a Large Ball Page 7 Copyright 2013. VEX Robotics, Inc. 04/11/13 VEX Robotics Competition – Toss Up Stashed – A Scoring Object is Stashed in a Goal if some part of the Scoring Object is within the twodimensional space defined by the outer edges of the Goal, and not being touched or Supported by a Robot of the same color as the Scoring Object. Note: A goal extends infinitely perpendicular to the playing field surface within the goal boundaries. Student – Anyone enrolled in a pre-college school or home-schooled as part of a pre-college educational curriculum. Supported – A Scoring Object is considered to be Supported by a Robot if the Scoring Object moves along with the Robot. i.e. If a referee were to remove a Robot from the field and a Scoring Object came with it, this Scoring Object would be considered to be Supported Trapping – A Robot is considered to be trapped if an opposing Robot has restricted it into a small, confined area of the field, approximately the size of one foam field tile or less, and has not provided an avenue for escape. Zone – The Hanging Zone, Middle Zone or the Goal Zone Game Rules Scoring • A BuckyBall Scored in the Middle Zone is worth one (1) point for the Alliance of the color of the BuckyBall • A Large Ball Scored in the Middle Zone is worth one (1) point for the Alliance of the color of the Large Ball • A BuckyBall Scored in the Goal Zone is worth two (2) points for the Alliance of the color of the BuckyBall • A Large Ball Scored in the Goal Zone is worth five (5) points for the Alliance of the color of the Large Ball • A BuckyBall Stashed in a Goal is worth five (5) points for the Alliance of the color of the BuckyBall • A Large Ball Stashed in a Goal is worth ten (10) points for the Alliance of the color of the Large Ball • A Robot that is Low Hanging is worth five (5) points for their Alliance • A Robot that is High Hanging is worth ten (10) points for their Alliance • A Robot that is Hanging With A Ball is worth ten (10) additional points for their Alliance, on top of the points earned for Hanging • At the end of the Autonomous Period the Alliance with the most points receives a ten (10) point bonus. Safety Rules If at any time the Robot operation or team actions are deemed unsafe or have damaged the Field Elements or Scoring Objects, by the determination of the referees, the offending team may be Disqualified. The Robot will require re-inspection before it may again take the field. If a Robot goes completely out-of-bounds (outside the playing field), it will be disabled for the remainder of the Match. Note: The intent is NOT to penalize Robots for having mechanisms that inadvertently cross the field border during normal game play. Page 8 Copyright 2013. VEX Robotics, Inc. 04/11/13 VEX Robotics Competition – Toss Up General Game Rules When reading and applying the various rules in this document, please remember that common sense always applies in the VEX Robotics Competition. At the beginning of a Match, each Robot must be smaller than a volume of 18 inches wide by 18 inches long by 18 inches tall. An offending Robot will be removed from the match at the Head Referee’s discretion. Each team shall include up to two Drivers and one Coach. No Driver may fulfill this role for more than one team at any given event. During a Match, the Drivers and Coach must remain in their Alliance Station. Drivers and Coaches may move to their Alliance Robot Interaction Spots when interacting with their Robot and following rules and During the qualification rounds, the red Alliance has the right to place their Robots on the field last. During the elimination rounds, the higher seeded Alliance has the right to place their Robots on the field last. Once a team has placed their Robot on the field, its position cannot be readjusted prior to the match. Robots must be placed on the field promptly. Teams who violate this rule will have their robots randomly repositioned by the referees. Drivers and Coaches are prohibited from making intentional contact with any Scoring Object, Field Element or Robots during a Match, with the exception of the contact specified in and . Any intentional contact will result in a Disqualification. Accidental contact will not be penalized, unless the contact directly impacts the final outcome of the match. This type of accidental contact will result in a Disqualification. During a Match, Robots may be operated only by the Drivers and/or by software running in the onboard control system. A Coach may not touch his/her team’s controls anytime during a Match. Violations of this rule will result in a warning for minor offenses which do not affect the match. Egregious (match affecting) offenses will result in a Disqualification. Teams who receive multiple warnings may also receive a Disqualification at the head referee's discretion. Scoring Objects that leave the playing field will be promptly returned to the playing field in the same Zone as the Robot that ejected the Scoring Object. Teams may not intentionally remove Scoring Objects from the scoring field, while not in the process of Stashing or removing Stashed Scoring Objects. Violations of this rule will result in a warning for minor offenses which do not affect the match. Egregious (match affecting) offenses will result in a Disqualification. Teams who receive multiple warnings may also receive a Disqualification at the head referee's discretion. Note: Scoring Objects will never be returned to the playing field in a Stashed position Scores will be calculated for all Matches immediately after the Match once all objects on the field come to rest. Robots may not intentionally detach parts during any Match, or leave mechanisms on the field. If an intentionally detached component or mechanism affects game play the team shall be Disqualified at the referee’s discretion. Multiple intentional infractions may result in Disqualification for the entire competition.