1. National Event Supervisor
Robo-Cross
Jeff Anderson
National Event Supervisor
Dennis Papesh

2. WARNING!
DISCLAIMER This presentation was prepared using draft rules.  There may be some changes in the final copy of the rules.  The rules which will be in your Coaches Manual and Student Manuals will be the official rules.

3. Goal Design and build a robot (remotely operated vehicle)
Must perform certain tasks on a prescribed playing field

4. Construction Robot may be controlled remotely:
Radio
Infrared
Wired control boxes
See soinc.org for legal devices and frequencies
Commercial robot – at least one functional modification
Lack of modification means Robot doesn’t work or will work differently

5. Construction -Size Robot, in ready to run position
Fit, entirely, (without compression) in a 30cm x 30cm x 30cm cube
Entirely means that no portion of the robot, including the antenna, has its position changed by the box
If no box is used, no portion would ‘stick out of’ that box
Robot may change dimensions during the run
May get larger
May not separate into two or more active components
May drop passive parts

6. Motions
Must be powered only by electrical, elastic, or gravitational energy
These forms must not be converted to other forms such as hydraulics or pneumatics

7. Powered by
Commercial batteries may be used to energize each of the Robot’s and its controller’s electrical circuits
Not exceeding 14.4 v as labeled
May be connected in series or parallel
But must not exceed 14.4 v
Must be contained in either the Robot or as part of the controllers

8. Frequencies
Permitted frequencies will be listed on the Science Olympiad national website at
2014 events
Robo-Cross

9. Technical documentation
Teams must develop and submit at
Check-in or inspection or as announced by tournament director the following:
Illustration
Operating Description
Written practice log

10. Illustration Any form, photo, drawings, 3-view
Basic structure of the Device, with labels
All motors in the device (numbered)
All energy sources
Controls being used to interact with the Robot

11. Illustration 1 – controls claw 2 – controls outer arm rotation
1 – 9v power to robot
1 – signal router
3 – controls inner arm rotation

12. Illustration
5 – controls left wheels
4 – controls right wheels

13. Illustration/Operating Description
1- Ch. 5 – claw
2 – Ch. 6 – outer arm
4 – Ch. 2 – right wheels
3 – Ch. 4 – inner arm
5 – Ch. 1 – left wheels

14. Illustration
2 – 9v controller power supply

15. Operating description
Robot reaction to each control input
Tentative/Proposed plan of movement
Which items in the Competition Area will be moved
How the robot plans to move each item
This is a tentative plan – no deductions if plan must be changed during operation

16. Tentative Plan of Movement
Move Robot into Zone C, stand the Bonus Box upright and push it into Zone B, towards middle of the Zone.
Back out to Zone A/B boundary and begin to pick up ping-pong ball, AA cells, and Lego blocks and drop into Bonus Box
Pick up tennis ball and drop it into Bonus Box
Move further into Zone B to pick up remaining Lego blocks, AA cells, and ping-pong balls and drop into Bonus Box
Maneuver Bonus Box into Zone D
Drive Robot into Zone D
Turn off Robot and shout “Stop”

17. Written practice log Record at least 5 runs
Record at least three parameters
Must include score
Must include time
Any additional parameter

18. Difficulties encountered
Written Practice Log
Date
Time in
Points
Difficulties encountered
min:sec
9-Oct
3:00 83
difficulty in placing items in Bonus Box
13-Oct
2:50 97
difficulty in righting Bonus Box
17-Oct
2:40
100
difficulty in moving Bonus Box into Zone D
25-Oct
2:30 98
Bonus Box in Zone D, Robot dropped part in Zone A
8-Nov 71
Bonus Box in Zone D but tipped over spilling items
15-Nov
181
Left Lego in Zone B x

19. Playing Field 4 ft x 4 ft smooth, rigid surface
Tempered hardwood, Masonite, sanded plywood, etc.
Robot must be able to operate on all such surfaces
Perimeter of 1” x 2” wood (nominal) attached with the 2” dimension placed vertical

20. Playing field
Divided equally into square zones, labeled A, B, C, D counterclockwise.
Zone D will have a border of 5/8 in. quarter round molding separating it from other zones. Rounded sides will face Zone A and Zone C.

21. Playing field Interior boundaries drawn with fine tipped marker
Zone A will have a box 30.0cm x 30.0cm drawn for the starting position of the Robot.
Zone B will contain all of the items listed in 4.i at the start of the competition.

22. Playing Field May be designed to fold or separate
No more than a 3mm gap or step
Tape may be used to secure the seams
All materials for the event, playing field, Bonus Box, and items, will be supplied by the Event Supervisor

23. Playing Field
Bonus Box must be the bottom of a plastic gallon milk jug cut off to a height of to 15.5 cm
Must be placed in the inside corner of Zone C with the open top facing away from Zone D

24. Items 4 Ping-Pong Balls 4AA batteries (on their sides) 1 tennis ball
4 Lego® bricks (standard 2 x 4 size)
All placed as shown on the playing field diagram

25. Standard 2x4 Lego Blocks (4) Starting position of Robot
Playing Field
Zone B
Ping-Pong Balls (4)
Standard 2x4 Lego Blocks (4)
AA Batteries
Tennis Ball
Zone A
Zone C
Zone D
Bonus Box
Starting position of Robot

26. Competition
At check in (or inspection), ES inspects and weighs the device
Checks size
Selects 4 items from the technical documentation and has the competitors point them out on the device
Students place their Robot in the designated Starting Position, in ready to run configuration

27. Competition Event Supervisor will count aloud “1. 2,.3, Go”
Time starts (recommended 3 timers be used)
Teams will have 3 minutes

28. Competition
Robot may move the Bonus Box but the Box must remain inside the playing field in any zone
If any item moved by control wires, it is out of play – no points for it
Miscellaneous parts may end up in or on the Bonus Box without penalty

29. Competition
The run must stop (and time recorded) if any of the following occurs
3 minutes have elapsed from the word “Go”
The team says “Stop”
Any part of the Robot or Bonus Box is ‘Out of Bounds’
Out of Bounds is defined as touching the floor outside of the Playing Field
The Robot is physically moved by the wires connecting it to the control box
A team member steps on the Playing Field after the team has received a warning

30. Competition The robot must stop within 2 seconds of the run completion
Any items moved or moving after time has stopped must be scored where they were prior to the time stopping

31. Scoring
At the end of competition, points will be awarded based on the number and types of items that are in the specified scoring areas

32. Scoring - Robot
If the Robot (parts touching the ground) is completely in:
Zone B – 3 points
Zone C – 5 points
Zone D – 15 points
If Robot parts (including dropped parts) touch the ground in multiple zones, the lesser zone score will be awarded

33. Scoring - Items Item Quantity Zone C Zone D Lego Blocks 4 1 2
Ping-Pong Balls
AA Batteries
Tennis Ball
Each item may earn points for only 1 single zone
2x score multiplier to any items completely under the Bonus Box
3x score multiplier to any items in or fully supported by the Bonus Box if the opening is pointing up
Any item which touches the floor outside of the Playing Field at any time, even if under control by Robot, is out of play and has no point value

34. Scoring
If any part of the Bonus Box is Out of Bounds, the items within will have no score value
Score will be reduced one point for each incorrect answer in 5.a (book may say 5.b)
Teams with no or incomplete Technical Documentation will have 5% deducted from their score
Maximum score is 183
High score wins

35. Scoring Tie breakers Shortest run time Lowest mass of the Device
Robot and Controllers

36. Scoring
Tiers:
Tier 1: Devices that meet all requirements are ranked by highest score
Tier 2: Devices with competition violations
Tier 3: Devices which fail to meet a spec under “Construction Parameters”
Participation Points only: Devices which violate the frequency rules or are unable to compete
No show points only: Devices that have no capability by design to score points by moving objects

37. Kickstarters
The following YouTube videos probably will not run when you try this powerpoint at home.
All you need to do is go to YouTube and type Science Olympiad Robo-Cross in the search box. I found about 15 videos.
Remember – these designs were operating under different rules than you will.