An updated version of the BunnyBot rules can be found at
http://www.oregonfirst.org/events/bu...bunnybot-2011/ . The changes from the previous version are in red. Highlights:
1) The plywood center divider has been removed. The more I thought about the amount of pushing and shoving that’s going to go on in the middle of the field the more it seemed like that divider was going to be destroyed quickly. The field will be held together with something very thin under the carpet instead.
2) Our experience from Girls’ Generation showed that we spent more time waiting for the robots to connect with their drivers station than actually playing matches. To fix this we’ll have people turn on and connect to their robots when they are on-deck. That means drivers stations will need to be battery powered … there will be no AC at the drivers station tables of the course. This won’t affect teams with dual-band N laptops or those using laptops with external USB dual band N network adapters (assuming their laptop batteries are functional) but it will affect teams using AC-powered routers as their radio. Those teams will either need to break down and buy a USB dual band N adapter, get an inverter to power their router/laptop and run everything thing from a robot battery, or do some other clever electronic engineering. Details are in the rules.
3) Clarifications on the possession rules when bunnies are elevated.
4) The queue management system is in flux as we try to design a system that is fair for everyone and ensures you are playing with as many different teams as possible in balanced matches. The rules detail our current thoughts but that could be refined as the time grows near. Right now we’re planning to remove the ability of teams to rig the system by moving themselves in the queue.
5) The finale will be played 3 on 3 instead of 2 on 2. It gives more teams a chance to play.
6) Clarification that you can bring any equipment that you like to the driver’s station. In particular teams may want to bring a stop watch or smartphone to time the match. There’s no central clock teams can see.
7) The current teams taking part in BunnyBots 2011 can be found at
http://www.catlin.edu/bunnybots . Send me any updates. There are 22 robots so far. I’m still in need of payment from some teams.