Rack 'n Roll
Encyclopedia
Rack 'n Roll is the game for the 2007 FIRST Robotics Competition
season, announced on January 6, 2007. In it, two alliances of three teams each compete to arrange toroidal
game pieces on a central arena element known as 'The Rack'.
The Rack 'n Roll field is dominated by 'The Rack', a large metal
contraption with three levels of hanging metal bars, with each level having 8 arms evenly spaced in an octagonal manner. Each arm (known as a 'spider leg') has space for two game
pieces. Any more pieces placed on a spider leg beyond the first two are ignored for scoring purposes. At the beginning of the match, the rack is arbitrarily translated
or rotated
within three feet of the center of the field in order to give some randomness
and to encourage autonomous modes that do not depend on dead-reckoning. At the top of the Rack are four green-colored lights above the 1, 3, 5, and 7 legs to aid in autonomous-mode tracking.
pool
toys. There are 3 styles: Keepers, Ringers, and Spoilers. Keepers are tubes with lettering that are placed only during autonomous mode and, once placed, override any pieces placed later for scoring purposes. Ringers are undecorated tubes that are delivered onto the field either by human
players via chutes, or are picked from the floor. Nine ringers of each color start on the field in the opposing team's start area (so the 9 blue ringers are in the red alliance's end zone, and vice versa). The other nine start behind the end wall, to be given out by human players. Spoilers are colored black, and cause the spider arm holding them to be ignored for scoring purposes. Spoilers can be removed or repositioned on the rack by robots multiple times. Each alliance starts with two spoilers, accessible by their human players.
autonomous period, where robots may attempt to place keepers onto the rack without human input. Once autonomous mode is complete, any keepers not already on the rack are no longer valid for scoring. The second segment, the teleoperated mode, is 2 minutes long, during which robots are operated by the drivers and may roam anywhere on the field. In the final 15 seconds, the end game, robots may not enter their opponent's end zone, but all other rules remain the same from the teleoperated period. Though the head referee may pause the game between the autonomous period and the teleoperated period, the end game follows directly after the teleoperated period.
in Rack 'n Roll is by making rows
and columns of tubes on the rack. A row or column of n tubes is worth 2n points to a maximum of n=8. Note that this includes rows or columns of length 1, so a single tube on the rack that does not form a row or column is worth 2 points. Teams have access to 21 scorable keepers and ringers. This means that the maximum possible score from the rack should be 596 . That is, two rows of 8 ringers, a row of 5 (2 ringers plus 3 keepers), 5 vertical columns of length 3, then 3 vertical columns of length 2.
As is usual in a FIRST game, robot positions at the end of the match are worth bonus points. In Rack n' Roll, each robot in its alliance end zone that is not touching any field element and has its lowest part 4 or more inches off the ground will score 15 bonus points. A robot that is not touching any field element and has its lowest part 12 or more inches off the ground will score 30 bonus points. Since robots may not be touching any field element, this means that in order to score bonus points, teams will have to depend on their alliance partners to provide mechanisms to lift their robots or will have to have mechanisms to lift their alliance partner's robots. Since at least one robot must be touching the ground in order to lift the other two alliance robots off the ground, the maximum conceivable bonus points an alliance can score is 60 points.
Source:
FIRST Robotics Competition
The FIRST Robotics Competition is an international high school robotics competition organized by FIRST. Each year, teams of high school students compete to build robots weighing up to , not including battery and bumpers, that can complete a task, which changes every year...
season, announced on January 6, 2007. In it, two alliances of three teams each compete to arrange toroidal
Torus
In geometry, a torus is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three dimensional space about an axis coplanar with the circle...
game pieces on a central arena element known as 'The Rack'.
Classes
Robots fall under three different classes restricting their maximum weight and height. These classes are:| Class | I | II | III |
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 48 in (122 cm) | 60 in (152 cm) | 72 in (183 cm) |
| Weight | 120 lb (54 kg) | 110 lb (50 kg) | 100 lb (45 kg) |
Other restrictions
Robots also must have a maximum starting footprint of 28" x 38" regardless of class. Robots may expand once the match has begun. The game manual includes other rules restricting various aspects of the construction of the robot that have been put in place for the purpose of safety and fairness.Field
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
contraption with three levels of hanging metal bars, with each level having 8 arms evenly spaced in an octagonal manner. Each arm (known as a 'spider leg') has space for two game
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
pieces. Any more pieces placed on a spider leg beyond the first two are ignored for scoring purposes. At the beginning of the match, the rack is arbitrarily translated
Translation (geometry)
In Euclidean geometry, a translation moves every point a constant distance in a specified direction. A translation can be described as a rigid motion, other rigid motions include rotations and reflections. A translation can also be interpreted as the addition of a constant vector to every point, or...
or rotated
Rotation
A rotation is a circular movement of an object around a center of rotation. A three-dimensional object rotates always around an imaginary line called a rotation axis. If the axis is within the body, and passes through its center of mass the body is said to rotate upon itself, or spin. A rotation...
within three feet of the center of the field in order to give some randomness
Randomness
Randomness has somewhat differing meanings as used in various fields. It also has common meanings which are connected to the notion of predictability of events....
and to encourage autonomous modes that do not depend on dead-reckoning. At the top of the Rack are four green-colored lights above the 1, 3, 5, and 7 legs to aid in autonomous-mode tracking.
Game pieces
The game pieces in Rack 'n Roll are inflatable toroidalTorus
In geometry, a torus is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three dimensional space about an axis coplanar with the circle...
pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
toys. There are 3 styles: Keepers, Ringers, and Spoilers. Keepers are tubes with lettering that are placed only during autonomous mode and, once placed, override any pieces placed later for scoring purposes. Ringers are undecorated tubes that are delivered onto the field either by human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
players via chutes, or are picked from the floor. Nine ringers of each color start on the field in the opposing team's start area (so the 9 blue ringers are in the red alliance's end zone, and vice versa). The other nine start behind the end wall, to be given out by human players. Spoilers are colored black, and cause the spider arm holding them to be ignored for scoring purposes. Spoilers can be removed or repositioned on the rack by robots multiple times. Each alliance starts with two spoilers, accessible by their human players.
Game play
Each match of Rack 'n Roll is 2 minutes 15 seconds long, divided into three segments. The first segment is a 15 secondSecond
The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock....
autonomous period, where robots may attempt to place keepers onto the rack without human input. Once autonomous mode is complete, any keepers not already on the rack are no longer valid for scoring. The second segment, the teleoperated mode, is 2 minutes long, during which robots are operated by the drivers and may roam anywhere on the field. In the final 15 seconds, the end game, robots may not enter their opponent's end zone, but all other rules remain the same from the teleoperated period. Though the head referee may pause the game between the autonomous period and the teleoperated period, the end game follows directly after the teleoperated period.
Rack scoring
The primary method of scoringScore (game)
In games, score refers to an abstract quantity associated with a player or team. Score is usually measured in the abstract unit of points, and events in the game can raise or lower the score of different parties...
in Rack 'n Roll is by making rows
Line
- Science and technology :* Line , a circuit or loop.** A power line for electric power transmission** line power or lines power, domestic mains electricity.** telephone line** RF transmission line...
and columns of tubes on the rack. A row or column of n tubes is worth 2n points to a maximum of n=8. Note that this includes rows or columns of length 1, so a single tube on the rack that does not form a row or column is worth 2 points. Teams have access to 21 scorable keepers and ringers. This means that the maximum possible score from the rack should be 596 . That is, two rows of 8 ringers, a row of 5 (2 ringers plus 3 keepers), 5 vertical columns of length 3, then 3 vertical columns of length 2.
Robot scoring
Kit of parts
The kit of parts included a few new items, including a new battery and the new EasyC Pro. One substantial rule change is that batteries from previous competitions are not legal, a change that can be easily enforced since the 2007 batteries are visually different from earlier batteries.Notable events
In the first week of regionals, a bug in the match scheduling system caused many teams to face one other team in all or almost all of their matches.Regional events
The following regional events were held in 2007:- Arizona Regional - Phoenix
- BAE Systems Granite State Regional - Manchester, NH
- Bayou Regional - New Orleans
- Boilermaker Regional - West Lafayette, IN
- Boston Regional - Boston
- Brazil Pilot - Porto Alegre, Brazil (pilot)
- Buckeye Regional - Cleveland, OH
- Chesapeake Regional - Annapolis, MD
- Colorado Regional - Denver
- Davis Sacramento Regional - Davis, CA
- Detroit Regional - Detroit
- Finger Lakes Regional - Rochester, NY
- Florida Regional - Orlando
- GM/Technion Israel Regional - Tel AvivTel AvivTel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Israel - Great Lakes Regional - Ypsilanti, MI
- Greater Kansas City Regional - Kansas City, MO
- Greater Toronto Regional - Mississauga, ON
- Las Vegas Regional - Las Vegas
- Lone Star Regional - Houston
- Midwest Regional - Chicago
- NASA/VCU Regional - Richmond, VA
- New Jersey Regional - Trenton, NJ
- New York City Regional - New York City
- Pacific Northwest Regional - Portland
- Palmetto Regional - Columbia, SC
- Peachtree Regional - Duluth, GA
- Philadelphia Regional - Philadelphia
- Pittsburgh Regional - Pittsburgh
- St. Louis Regional - St. Charles, MO
- San Diego Regional - San Diego
- SBPLI Long Island Regional - Hempstead, NY
- Silicon Valley Regional - San Jose, CA
- Southern California Regional - Los Angeles
- UTC Connecticut Regional - Hartford, CT
- Waterloo Regional - Waterloo, ON
- West Michigan Regional - Allendale, MI
- Wisconsin Regional - Milwaukee
Final round on Einstein
The championship was held in the Georgia Dome, Atlanta.Source:
External links
- Official Rack N' Roll animation
- 2007 Game Manual
- Video archive of most matches from 2007 regionals
- Flash Format archive of many match Videos from 2007 regionals and The Championship
- Chief Delphi has current topics on the 2007 game and the past games of the FIRST competitions