Gears

Rules 2000

The rules for the '00 Savage Soccer competition are given below. Clarifications and updates of these rules are also available from this page.

UPDATES:

Object

To design and build a radio-controlled device that will defeat your opponent at Savage Soccer.

Each team has 10 Ping-Pong balls (~1.5 inches in diameter) of their color spread out across the field that they can collect and place in their assigned triangular goal, on a quintuple peg, or in the multiplier hole. The winner is the team with the highest score at the end of any match. In case of a tie, the tiebreaker rules will come into effect. Each match will last two (2) minutes. With four (4) people to a team, each thirty (30) seconds, the drivers will rotate such that all four (4) team members drive for thirty (30) seconds of the two (2) minute match.

Scoring

All scoring will occur at the end of the 2 minute matches after all balls have come to a rest.

Scoring: Points will only be awarded for each ball of your color placed in your assigned triangular goal. For each ball of your color placed in your assigned goal your team will receive one (1) point. THESE GOALS ARE THE ONLY WAY TO SCORE.

Multiplier Hole: For every ball of your color, which is placed into the multiplier hole, your score from the triangular goals will be multiplied by two (2). Thus, if you have four (4) balls in the triangular goals, and three (3) balls in the multiplier hole, the equation to calculate your score would be as follows:

4 Points x 2 x 2 x 2 = 32 Total Score

THESE PEGS ARE NOT TEAM SPECIFIC, WHICH MEANS THAT YOU MAY SCORE AT EITHER, OR BOTH IN THE SAME MATCH. POINTS WILL ONLY BE MULTIPLIED IF THE BALL REMAINS ON THE PEG AT THE END OF THE MATCH.

Multiplier Clarifications: The maximum total score possible for one team in a match is 3200, the lowest is -10. Multipliers are worth no points. Their main purpose is to aggrandize the points scored in the triangular goals. Therefore, you will be rewarded a total of zero (0) points if nothing is scored in the triangular goals, regardless of the number of multipliers you have attained.

Negative Points: For each opponent's ball placed in your goal, 1 point will be removed from your base score. Therefore your base score is the net number of points in your goal, your balls minus your opponents balls. THIS CALCULATION IS DONE PRIOR TO THE CALCULATIONS FOR MULTIPLIERS.

Constraints

Overall Design

The provided chassis (black plastic frame, motor, axles, wheels, electronics, etc.) must remain undamaged and with no permanent modifications. The lexan cover may be modified in any manner (e.g. drilled, glued, cut, etc) providing:

All added features to the chassis and the entire lexan cover with any added features must be easily and quickly removable from the stock chassis. During the competition, teams need to be able to completely remove their apparatus and reinstall it onto a separate chassis within 5 minutes. The remote control unit (transmitter) may not be modified in any manner.

Materials

An infinite amount of materials without a specified quantity will be allowed from the authorized materials list. With the following exceptions, each team's entry must be constructed solely from authorized materials provided by the school or procured by the team from any additional authorized materials list:

The $5 worth of Radio Shack materials does not include tax.

Enegry Sources

The energy used by the devices in the competition must come solely from:

Size

At the start of each match, every part of the machine must fit, unconstrained, within a cube 12 inches on each side (with the exception of the stock antenna). The position the machine is when tested to fit within the 12 inch cube must be how it is positioned at the beginning of the match.

Weight

Each machine's weight must not exceed 10 lb.

Evaluation

Teams will be removed from the tournament only after they have lost 2 matches.

Elimination Matches

In case of a tie during any of the matches, the following tiebreakers will be put into effect:

  1. Number of balls on quintuple pegs.
  2. Number of balls in multiplier hole.
  3. Number of balls in your possession.
  4. Rematch.

Saftey and Rules Details

  1. At the start of the match, each team may position their robot anywhere within the designated area. (see field diagram)
  2. If a playing piece is knocked out of the playing field, a member of the team whose piece was knocked out may retrieve the piece and give it to a judge or instructor who will replace it back on the field nearest to where it left the field, but not in a scoring position.
  3. Judges and/or instructors will disqualify any device that appears to be a safety hazard.
  4. A machine may not intentionally contaminate the playing field or an opponent's machine with lubricants or other debris.
  5. You may interact with your machine during a match only thought the normal operation of the remote control system.
  6. Damaging the playing field, the playing pieces or the control system may result in disqualification upon judges discretion.
  7. Any machine that becomes "stuck" in the field of play may be nudged into an operational position by a judge. In such circumstances, the respective driver must announce "stuck car" to the judges, who will, after waiting five (5) seconds, nudge the car.
  8. Strategies aimed solely at the destruction of, or damage to, an opponents'smachine are not in the spirit of the competition and will not be allowed. Any contestant who deliberately causes an opponent's machine to fall from the playing field will be disqualified. Devices designed to tip the other vehicles are prohibited.
  9. If any part of a robot reaches outside of the playing field it may be disqualified.
  10. A machine must be designed to operate by reacting only against features within the confines of the playing field perimeter wall.
  11. Gaining traction by use of adhesives, or by abrading or breaking the surface of the playing field is not allowed.
  12. Any team may be asked to reassemble their robot onto a different chassis. They may be disqualified if this takes longer than 5 minutes.
  13. If a team is being pinned for 5 seconds, the team doing the pinning must back off at least 6 inches before they can resume. Failure to do so may result in disqualification. Definition of Pinning: The other car cannot move (jammed into an obstacle), either forward or backward because of your car's presence.
  14. All parts of a machine must stay attached and must not cause any entanglement. Minor pieces becoming detached will not be grounds for disqualification if the judges determine that it 1.) was not intentional, 2.) did not positively influence the respective team's outcome, or 3) was not result of improper design/construction.
  15. All questions or rules clarifications will be addressed to the judges via the mini FIRST email alias (minifirst@wpi.edu). All answers will be posted through the email alias (miniteams@wpi.edu). Teams are responsible to update/clarify this written guidance through frequent reference to this alias.
  16. Part replacement is allowed between matches if something breaks as long as everything still complies with specifications and rules. Any replacements shall be brought to the attention of a judge before the start of their next match.
  17. Drastic changes to your car may be made between matches, however, items may only be removed, they may not be added. Any modifications shall be brought to the attention of a judge before the start of their next match.
  18. Drastic changes to your car may be made between matches, however, items may only be removed, they may not be added. Any modifications shall be brought to the attention of a judge before the start of their next match).

Field Design

The field is 6 feet wide and 8 feet long. The outside walls are 8 inches high. The field gradually ramps upward in each corner (1 inch high over 12 inches). The 1 point, triangular goals consist of an opening 3 inches high and 12 inches long. The goals consist of a triangularly ramped groove, 3/4 of an inch tall, which will slope downward into the goal. The multiplier hole will be located at the center of one of the 8 foot long walls, 6 inches above the field. It will be 6 inches long and 2.5 inches in height. At thsi located at either end of the top of the ramp. They will each be 9 inches in length, thus leaving a 1 foot section in between them with a bar 12 inches in height. point, there will be an additional board attached. (To reinforce the hole) The quintuple pegs will be made out of ~1.7 inch diameter pvc piping and will be 3 inches tall. There will be 2 pegs, each located 2 feet from the ends and 1.5 feet from the side with the multiplier hole. There will also be a foam pad approximately 1.5 inches in height located at the center on the side opposite the side with the hole. It will be 20 inches in width, 5 feet long, and have a 2.25 inch tall guard rail on it's perimeter. The foam pad will be accessed by a ramp, 30 inches wide, centered on the pad. The ramp will be 12 inches long. All balls will be alternately placed along either end on top of the pad. There will also be a 6 inch "limbo bar" located at either end of the top of the ramp. They will each be 9 inches in length, thus leaving a 1 foot section in between them with a bar 12 inches in height.

Maintained by savage@wpi.edu
Last modified: Oct 31, 2004, 14:52 EST