On January 3rd, 2014, Team 341 traveled to Upper Darby High School to attend a very special live event: the webcast of the 2015 FIRST® Robotics Competition game challenge. After much anticipation, it was revealed to be Recycle Rush℠, a game of stacking and strategy.
Like in other FRC challenges, Recycle Rush℠ involves two alliances, each composed of three robots, that each respectively occupy one half of the field. Each match is two minutes and fifteen seconds long, beginning with a fifteen-second period when robots run off of pre-loaded programs, as opposed to human operation during the rest of the match. The field is set up with fifty-six crates, called totes, in the landfill zones, which lie on either side of a raised step in the center of the field. On this step are twelve more totes. Three recycling cans, called containers, sit near each end of the field, along with three special yellow totes. Four more containers sit on the step. Behind each driver station are ten pool noodles, called “litter”, that match the color of the alliance to which they belong.
The goal of the game is for robots to stack totes and containers on top of each other. Some of the totes are upside down when the match begins, so teams must flip them. Alliances can work together to stack yellow totes on the steps for “coopertition” points. Human players try to feed litter into robots, and once a robot has a piece of litter, it can either toss it onto the other alliance’s side of the field or insert them into containers. Each piece of litter must be “processed” by putting it into a container or into the landfill section of the field. If, by the end of the match, there are unprocessed pieces of litter with the other alliance’s color, each one gives the opposing alliance four points.
Recycle Rush℠ introduces many changes which have surprised FRC participants. A newly updated robot control system was introduced and distributed to each team in the kit of parts. Unlike in previous games, robots are not permitted to venture onto the other alliance’s side of the field, eliminating the need for defense and protective bumpers on the robots. There are also no declared winners of matches; the total number of points a team scores during qualification matches will be used to determine its ranking. Teams will or will not advance based on their average number of points scored during each round.
Team 341 is very excited to design an innovative robot to meet the challenges of this year’s game. We thank in advance all of our team parents, sponsors, and alumni for their support and encouragement.
