FRC 2015 Game Manual
By the Strategy Team
Deven Shah, Lorraine Zhang, Alex Wu, Rohit
Thotakura, Joe DeGuzman, Vishaka Nayak, Mihir
Nayak, George Pan, Akansha Iyengar, Arghya Iyengar,
Pooja Rao, Matt Morrison
Game Summary
● Alliances compete independently to score points by
stacking bins on scoring platforms, capping the stacks
with recycling cans, and by disposing of the litter.
● Field Dimensions: 27ft by 54ft bisected by small step
which can not be climbed or crossed by robots
● Alliances compete on their own side with dimensions of
26ft by 27ft
Game Summary Continued
● 15 second autonomous period
Robots work to move Yellow Totes and Recycling
Containers to area between scoring platforms
called the auto zone
o More points are rewarded if Totes are stacked in
a single stack
o
Game Summary Continued
Game Summary Continued
● Teleop Period
Alliances work together to put as many Totes on
the scoring platform as possible
o More points are awarded for recycle containers
places on totes
o The higher the recycling container the more
points that are awarded
o
Game Summary Continued
● Alliance can earn cooperation points by
coordinating with the other alliance
● During the match if there are 4 totes on the
step at the same time cooperation points are
given
● Cooperation points are double if at least 4 of
the totes are stacked in a single stack
Game Summary Continued
● Points are awarded for litter that is either
placed in the recycling bins or in the landfill
zone
● Any litter that is left on the side of the field is
considered unprocessed and points are given
to the other alliance
Game Summary Continued
Team Updates
● Team Updates between kickoff and stop build
day will be posted every tuesday and friday
● Team updates between stop build day and
the week before FRC Championship will be
posted each tuesday
Team Updates Continued
● Additions will be highlighted
● Subtractions will be striked through
● Clarity will be added in a bold italic
The Field
• Completely carpeted
• Bound by GUARDRAILS (included): transparent
polycarbonate shields supported by aluminum
extrusions, prevent robots from exiting field
• Contain 4 gates: at least 3ft 2 in wide
• Two ALLIANCE WALLS: 6ft 6 in tall, contain 3
PLAYER STATIONS and 2 HUMAN PLAYER
STATIONS
• Field bisected by STEP: white, wooden, 6.25in
tall, 2ft 1in wide
• 0.25in thick HDPE sheets in alliance colors on
either side form 0.375in lips: prevent totes from
being easily pushed off step
•
•
•
•
2 SCORING PLATFORMS per alliance
1ft 8in wide, 2in tall, 15ft 7in long
Plywood covered in white HDPE
White HDPE ramps along 3 sides, not part of
platform
• 1 LANDMARK per alliance in auto zone, 4in by
4in “+” sign, centered, 15ft 7in from alliance
wall. Alliance color’s gaffer’s tape. NOT A
VISION TARGET, but drive team reference
• 1 BACKSTOP adjacent to each scoring platform
• 1.40 Schedule aluminum pipe, black with white
gaffer’s tape graduations as shown to help
determine level for recycling containers
• AUTO ZONE: 6ft 6in wide, spans entire field.
Bounded by 2in alliance color gaffer’s tape
(not included)
• LANDFILL ZONE: 4ft 3in from step, spans
entire field. Bounded by step, guardrails, and
2in white gaffer’s tape (all not included)
• STAGING ZONES: 3 per alliance. 8ft 11in from
landmark, 4ft wide, 1ft 9in wide. Middle zone
is centered, 2ft 9in gap between zones.
Bounded by alliance color gaffer’s tape
(included). Used to position recycling
containers and yellow totes.
• Yellow totes marked with 8 strips 2in retroreflective on long sides as shown:
2.2- Alliance Stations
• Each alliance station contains:
– one bin which has litter in it
– totes (mentioned in 2.3)
2.2.1- Player Stations
• made from a 3ft. tall diamond plate panel
base topped with a 3 ft. 6in. tall transparent
plastic panel
• Shelf 5 ft. 9 in. wide and 1 ft. deep
• Contains:
– One ethernet cable
– one 120VAC NEMA 5-15R power outlet
– One Emergency Stop (E-Stop) button
2.2.1 contd.
– One team sign
– One team LED
•
•
•
•
•
•
Alliance color
Robot status
E-Stop status
Solid LED
Blinking LED
Off LED
2.2.1 contd.
– One timer (in the middle Player Station only)
– Competition arena hardware and wiring
– One Phillips Color Kinetics iColor Flex LMX LED
light string
2.2.2- Human Player Station
• Connect the end player stations to the
guardrails
• 2 6ft. 6in. Tall by 3ft. 7in. Wide
• Panels adjacent have tote chute and litter
chute
– Tote chute: 1ft. 3.25 in. tall by 6.5 in. wide, bottom
of opening located 1 ft. 6.5 in. above carpet
– Litter chute: 6in. By 6 in. opening, with bottom of
opening 4 ft. 6 in. above carpet
2.2.3- Human Player Zone
• Red and blue located on each end of the field,
behind alliance wall and each bounded by the
edge of carpet, human player station, starting
line, and white gaffers tape
2.3.1- Totes
• 2 types: yellow and gray
• Dimensions: 26.9 in. long, 16.9 in. wide, 12.1
in tall
• Rigid plastic, ~7.8 pounds
• Lids secured with cable ties
Staging Zone Locations
Gray tote locations on the step
Gray tote locations in alliance zone
2.3.2- Recycling Containers
• 32 gallon green rubbermaid recycling
containers
• Have “single stream recycling” style lids
• Dimensions: 28.8 in tall (height includes lid),
diameter of 21.9 in
• Weighs about 8.65 pounds
• Lids weigh about 2 pounds
• Dimensions of lid: 4.75 inches
2.3.3 Litter
• Pool Noodle (4 ft. 10 in.(length) x 2.6 in.(Diameter))
• Start: 10 Noodles in White Bin
• White Bin:
– Dimensions: 30.5 in. tall x 17.75 in. (diameter)
– Location: carpet, behind Middle Player Station,
Back edge of carpet tangent to bin
• Replacing of Noodle:
– Length of Noodle Shortened (length determined by
referee)
– Other (determined by referee)
2.4 The FIELD Management
System(FMS)
• Play Station connects to Operator Console w/ Ethernet
Cable & Operator Console with FMS
• Ports Available: (*2=bi-directional, 1=uni-directional)
– (*2)TCP 1180: Camera data(roboRIO Driver Station (DS))
when the camera is connected the roboRIO via USB
– (*2)TCP 1735: SmartDashboard
– (*1)UDP 1130: Dashboard ROBOT, control data
– (*1)UDP 1140: ROBOT Dashboard, status data
– (*2)HTTP 80 and HTTP 443: Camera connected via ROBOT
switch
– (*2)UDP/TCP 554: Real-Time Streaming Protocol for h.264
camera streaming
– (*2)UDP/TCP 5800-5810: Team Use
The Game/Scoring
RECYCLE RUSH is played by:
● 2 Alliances of 3 Teams
Points earned by:
● Stacking Totes on Scoring Platforms,
● Placing Recycling Containers on top of scored, stacked Gray Totes
● Disposing of Litter in Recycling Containers, Landfill Zone, or opposite
side of the Field.
● *(except for unprocessed Litter) if the actions of one Alliance cause any of
the other Alliance’S game elements to no longer be in scoring position, the
affected Alliance will be credited points for the displaced game elements
at the conclusion of the MATCH.
Match Timing
● The Total Match time is 2 minutes at 30
seconds.
● The auto period is the first 15 seconds
● The Teleop is the the remaining 2 minutes
and 15 seconds
During Autonomous Period...
Points are awarded for:
● Robot Sets- ALL Robots on an Alliance move themselves to
and are completely in their auto zone at the end of the auto
period.
Tote Sets- ALL 3 yellow Totes from an Alliance are fully
contained by the auto zone, but do not meet the requirements
of a stacked tote set, at the end of auto.
During Autonomous Period (Cont.)...
● Container Sets- Any 3 Recycling Containers are fully
contained by the auto zone at the end of auto.
● Stacked Tote Sets- 3 Yellow Totes from an Alliance are
arranged such that, at the end of auto
❖ the Yellow Totes are stacked one on top of another in a
single column,
❖ only the bottom-most Yellow tote is in contact with the
auto zone,
❖ the entire structure is fully contained by the auto zone
❖ the entire structure is free of contact from Robots
Coopertition
Teams can receive points for:
● Coopertition Set- at least 4 yellow totes are fully
supported by the step
● Coopertition Stack- at least 4 yellow totes are arranged
❖ they are stacked one on top of another in a single
column,
❖ the structure is fully supported by the step
❖ the entire structure is free of contact from robots for
at least three seconds
Teleop
During teleop, points are awarded for scored totes, Recycling
Containers, and Litter.
● A gray tote is scored if it is fully supported by a scoring
platform and no portion of the tote extends above the top of
the backstop.
● A Recycling Container is scored if it is fully supported by only
scored gray totes. Points for a scored Recycling Container are
awarded based on the lowest level in which any portion of
the Recycling Container resides
Teleop Cont.
Each Litter can be scored in one of three ways:
● In or on a scored Recycling Container,
● In the red or blue landfill zone, or
● As unprocessed Litter on either the red or blue side of the
field.
*Litter is considered scored in a landfill zone when it is fully
contained within a landfill zone, with each Alliance credited
for the Litter scored in the landfill zone on their side of the
field.
Unprocessed Litter bonus for each Litter that is
fully contained by the opposite side of the
field and not scored in the landfill zone or
scored in a Recycling Container.
Points
ROBOT SET- 4
TOTE SET- 6
CONTAINER SET- 8
Scored Gray Tote - 2 per Tote
Scored Recycling Container - 4 per LEVEL
Litter Scored in/on a Recycling Container-
6 per Recycling Container
STACKED TOTE SETLitter Scored in a Landfill Zone-1 per Litter
20
Action
Valu
Unprocessed Litter Bonus -4 per Litter
Coopertition Set* 20 for each Alliance
Coopertition Stack* 40 for each Alliance
Penalties in the Game
• If any of the rules are violated:
–Offending team will receive a foul
–Get 6 points deducted from their
ALLIANCES’ team
Match Logistics
• Any game elements that are thrown out of the field
remain out for the remainder of the match
• Any damaged game elements won’t be replaced until
the end of the match
– No arena fault if the match begins w/ damaged
game elements; responsibility of the drivers to
check arena for damaged elements prior to start
of match
• During a field reset period, all elements will be
returned to their respective starting positions where
they are to remain until start of match
Match Logistics
• When drive team loads robot onto field, they may
choose to remove the yellow tote from the staging
zone and place it, instead, in the alliance station
• If they choose to leave on the field, then they must
leave it as positioned by the field staff
• If one or more robots do not show, then the alliance
may choose whether or not to leave the yellow tote
on the field or place it in the alliance station
Safety FIRST Guys
-Robots with unsafe designs or mechanisms are prohibited from
participating
-When the player station LEDs are green, drive teams are
permitted to enter the field. The violation of not following this
rule is a yellow card.
-drive teams cannot step on the step and can only enter through
the gates(yellow card)
-drive teams cannot extend body parts into the field( red card)
-only one alliance member its allowed in the human player zone
at a time (foul)
- a human player may not be in contact with a tote and chute
door simultaneously
Pre Match and Post Match
-The robot must pass inspection before entering the field
-The robot is allowed on the when if:
-it is fully supported by the floor
-it is completely outside the auto zone and land fill zone
-Drive teams may not leave other items on the field. Otherwise,
the match will not start.
-Drive teams can bring only any kind of HAND tool to fix/
assemble their robot on the field (referee may give a yellow
card)
-Repeated or significant delays will result in the offending robot
being disabled
More Pre/Post Match
-Drive teams may not cause significant or repeated
delays to field reset at the end of the match (yellow
card)
-Drive teams must be in the alliance station and behind
the starting line otherwise the match will not start
-Drive teams may not rearrange totes or litter prior to
the start of the match unless it is a yellow tote
-Robots will not be re-enabled after the end of the
match, nor will teams be able to tether the robot
(red card)
General Rules
-Everyone must be civil to everybody, including mentors, team
members, and opposing team members (salty behavior may
result in a yellow or red card if repeated)
-Robots may not push or react against the white step horizontal
step. Incidental interactions with the totes or recycling
containers are allowed.(foul. if repeated, offending robot will
be disabled)
-robots may not contact anything beyond the step in the middle
of the field. If the robot is stuck while reaching over, the
prolonged contact will not be counted as a foul. Contact as a
result of interaction over the step is allowed. Grabbing totes
from the other side over the step will result in a foul.
Auto Rules
• Drive teams remain behind starting line (foul)
and do not touch operator console (yellow
card)
• Control devices with drivers/human players
must be disconnected from operator console
(foul)
• Drive team cannot directly or indirectly
interact with robots or operator consoles (foul
and yellow card) (examples: webcam, Kinect)
Robot Actions
• Cannot exceed height of 6ft 6in (height of alliance
wall) during match (foul, disabled if strategic)
• Cannot cause totes, recycling containers, litter to
completely transfer to opposite side of field (foul,
disabled if strategic/egregious)
• Cannot intentionally detach/leave parts on field
(red card)
• Cannot destruct/inhibit robots by attachment,
damage, tipping, entanglements (foul and yellow
card, red card if egregious)
• Cannot contact anything outside of field (includes
objects in control e.g. totes) (disabled)
Human Actions
• Drive teams wear buttons visibly at all times in arena,
alliance captain displays identifier during playoff
matches (match delayed until corrected)
• Only drive teams allowed in alliance stations (match
delayed until corrected)
• Drive team remains fully in alliance station for entire
match (foul, red card for alliance if strategic)
• Coaches cannot touch totes or litter (foul)
• Robot can only be operated by drivers/human
players of that team (disabled)
• Litter can only be introduced to field during teleop
through litter chute or over alliance wall during last
20 seconds (foul per litter)
• Totes can only be introduced to field through tote
chute (foul per tote)
Tournament Overview
• Played by two 2 alliances of 3 teams each 
objective = gain points by stacking totes,
placing recycling containers on top of totes,
and disposing litter
• Practice Matches, Qualification Matches,
Playoff Matches (changed from “Elimination
Matches”)
• 2 minutes of setup, 2 ½ minutes of gameplay
per match, 1 minute field reset period
Practice Matches
• Played on first day of event
• Opportunity to operate robot on the field
prior to qualification matches
• Practice matches are not guaranteed at all
district events
• Filler Lines  used to fill open spots at events
for practice matches  teams wanting
additional practice matches may join a Filler
Line under the following requirements…
Filler Line Req’s
A. Robots in the Filler Line must have passed
Inspection;
B. Drive Teams must join the Filler Line with their
robot;
C. Teams may not work on their robot while in the
Filler Line;
D. Teams may not occupy more than one spot in
the Filler Line;
E. If a Team is queued up for their Practice
match, they may not also join the Filler Line.
5.4.1 Alliance Selection Process
● Team chooses alliance representative to arena, called alliance captain
● Alliance captain invites team seated below them to join their alliance
● Round 1: In descending order (1 to 8) each alliance captain invites a
single team. Representatives say if they accept or not
o accepts:becomes a part of that alliance
o declines: not eligible to be picked again alliance captain can ask
another team
● Process continues until eight teams make successful invitation
● Round 2: Same exact as round 1 except in reverse order, (Team 8 picks
first, Team 1 last)
5.4.2 Backup Team
● Of the remaining eligible teams Highest seeded teams (up to
8) should be ready to play as backup team, in the case of an
emergency with the robot
● Team with robot problem remains on alliance for awards, but
is not allowed to return for play
● If backup team is part of championship alliance, that alliance
would have four teams
5.4.3 Playoff Advancement
●
●
●
●
8 Alliances will play 2 matches during quarterfinals
Top 4 alliances will advance to semi-finals where they will play 3 matches
Top 2 alliances will advance to finals where winner is decided
Advancement of the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds is based on average score
of 2 games (QF) and 3 games (SF)
● Scores are set to 0 at beginning of semifinals and finals after quarterfinals and
semifinals
● In case of tie, this table is used
5.4.3 Playoff Advancement cont.
● final matches-teams do not earn match points
o
they earn win, loss, or tie
● no tie breaker rules awarding additional points during final
matches
● Third match will be played if both alliances have a Win
● Additional matches if needed
5.4.4 Playoff Match Format
● Order:
5.4.5 Pit Crews
● Extra team members maintain robot between
field and pit area
● Max 3 pit crew members per team who can
help with robot maintenance
● Pit crew members cannot be in alliance
station
Safety and Security Rules
• Safety glasses and closed-toed shoes while in the arena
• Wireless ROBOT is only permitted on the Field or Practice
Field
• ROBOTS musty be operated by tether when outside the
Field/Practice Field
• ROBOTS must use the provided Practice Field radio for
communication if operating wirelessly
• Do not set up own wireless communication (EX: hot spot)
• Do not interfere with any other Team's wireless
communication
• While transferring the ROBOT throughout the event, the
ROBOT must not exceed a volume of 28 in. wide x 42 in. long x
78 in. tall
Eligibility and Inspection
• During practice matches, the ROBOT may be determined unsafe
and may be prohibited further participation until the ROBOT passes
inspection
• If a ROBOT will not report for a match, the Lead Queuer should be
informed and at least one member of the DRIVE TEAM should
report to the field for the match to avoid receiving a RED CARD
• A team can play only if their ROBOT has passed inspection
(Violation: before match starts: ROBOT is not eligible to participate
in the match. After match starts: entire alliance receives a RED
CARD for that match)
• At the time of inspection, the ROBOT must be present with all
mechnisms, configurations, and decoration that will be used on the
ROBOT during the event
• The ROBOT Bill of Materials, listing all items on the ROBOT and their
relevant costs, must be presented at the time of inspection
• Inspections must take place with RIOBOT powered off, pneumatic
unpressurized, and other stored energy devices in their lowest
potential energy states
Referee Interaction
• The Head REFEREE has the ultimate authority in
the ARENA during the event
• IF a DRIVE TEAM needs clarification on a ruling or
score, one pre-college student from that TEAM
should address the Head REFEREE after the the
FIELD Reset signal. A DRIVE TEAM member
signals their desire to speak with the Head
REFEREE by standing in the corresponding
RED or BLUE Question BOX
Yellow and Red Cards
• Head referee stands in front of player station
with card for rule violation or egregious
behavior (robot or team member)
• 2 yellow cards=red card (hold up yellow and red)
• Red card=disqualification
• Yellow cards clear after qualification matches
• Red cards: entire alliance for playoff matches (0
points, lose if finals)
Arena Faults
• Broken field elements, power failure, errors by
field staff, etc.
• Affect outcome: match replayed
Timeouts and Backup Teams
• No timeouts in practice/qualifications
• 1 timeout per alliance in playoffs: 6 min
• Field timeouts issued if alliance plays back-toback during playoffs
• Coupon must be submitted 2 min before
match starts
• Backup team coupon must be submitted 2
min before end of timeout or 2 min after field
reset (w/o timeout)
• No timeouts/backup teams after playoff
match stopped by head referee
• Arena open 1 hour before qualification
matches start: teams can survey/measure
field.
• Allowed in alliance stations: operator console,
non powered signaling devices, decorations,
equipment for a disability, items for tracking
strategy that do not attach to console, field, or
another alliance member, do not
communicate outside of arena or have
wireless electronic communication, or affect
the outcome
Championships
• 8 alliances of 4 teams each
• May use any 3 of 4 during playoffs