2005: Triple Play

TRIPLE PLAY^™ uses red and blue wire-framed tetrahedrons called “tetras” as game pieces. There are also larger tetrahedral goals that are placed at nine points around the field, forming a tic-tac-toe shape. Additionally, four “vision tetras” with green surfaces inside start near the center of the field. During the first 15 seconds of the match (the autonomous period), robots can use camera sensors to find the vision tetras and then place them in the goals. For the remaining two minutes of the match (the tele-operated period), robots can pick up tetras, and place them inside or on top of a goal. tetras can be obtained at the edges of the field, either from the automated loading zones, or from the human players. A tetra placed inside a goal earns 1 point for the alliance of its color. However, if stacked on top of a goal, a tetra is worth 3 points. Tetras can be continually stacked on top of each other, and a goal is “owned” by the alliance that owns the topmost stacked tetra. If an alliance owns three goals in a row, 10 bonus points are awarded. Finally, if all three robots of an alliance are in their corresponding end zone at the end of the match, 10 bonus points are awarded to that alliance.