IRI - Dates, Info and Rule Ideas

[Chris Fultz]

IRI 2012 is July 20 - 21. Same location as 2011.
Details on timing for applications, invitations, fees, etc. will be coming soon.

For now - what ideas for rule / play adjustments do you have?

Remember, the goal of the IRI is to maintain the primary focus of the FIRST game, but sometimes make tweaks to rules or game play based on the benefit of seeing multiple events and how the game has played out. So, we won't make major changes or radical departures form the game teams have designed robots to play.

As thought starters, here are a few ideas i have heard -

1. Less value on co-op bridge (1 point vs. 2).
2. Use a "money ball" at the end that has extra bonus value if scored (option to help offset 40 point triple balance).
3. Longer Autonomous to encourage the use of Kinect.
4. Longer Teleop to allow for strategies to play out differently (3 minutes?).

[lemiant]

This probably wouldn't fit in IRI, but it would be pretty awesome to see a "hybrid" that was a minute long, where balls got returned.

Co-op balances with 1QP for every team past 1 and allow sketchier balancing devices.

[Wetzel]

If you want to drive Kinect use, allow a Kinect driven robot to ignore the backcourt violation.

Wetzel

[P.J.]

One thing I've been thinking about all season is maybe changing the rules involving hanging on the bridge. I don't know if this would be considered too "radical," but basically allowing structures like 118's original bridge hanging device from their initial reveal video to be used without incurring penalty.

[Billfred]

Instead of altering timing (which I'm a bit leery of, given how longer runs get our CIMs way too hot on last year's robot), how about this: A Kinect-using robot can pre-load a third ball.

A money ball could be fun to fight over--say that the ref puts it in the corral of the alliance that "won" the hybrid period at 30 seconds (at the train whistle). If there's a tie, put one in both corrals. With the right point value (+10 over the basket's value? 15?), it could open up a lot of new strategies (both offensive and defensive).

[Koko Ed]

Dump the Kinect. Waste of floor space.

[P.J.]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

Dump the Kinect. Waste of floor space.

I vote for this. Totally agreed.

[Brandon Zalinsky]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

Dump the Kinect. Waste of floor space.

Another +1 to that from me. At Boston, one team used it. I don't know how it was across the rest of FRC.

[JosephC]

Originally Posted by Flak-Bait

Another +1 to that from me. At Boston, one team used it. I don't know how it was across the rest of FRC.

I believe one team wanted to use it at Northville, but it was broken.

[Chris is me]

Replays in eliminations for communication issues on the field.

I know it'll never happen, but a man can dream, right?

[OZ_341]

Every year in recent memory, there has been something about the rules that really bugged me. Lane incursions, mini-bot point values, etc.....
But I really think that the GDC nailed this one. What about the crazy idea of leaving well enough alone?

Either way, we are hoping to go to IRI and get taken to the "wood shed" once again. Its a valuable, fun, and humbling experience.

[rick.oliver]

Originally Posted by OZ_341

Every year in recent memory, there has been something about the rules that really bugged me. Lane incursions, mini-bot point values, etc.....
But I really think that the GDC nailed this one. What about the crazy idea of leaving well enough alone?

Either way, we are hoping to go to IRI and get taken to the "wood shed" once again. Its a valuable, fun, and humbling experience.

No changes is also a very good suggestion. Also hoping to attend again this year and would add that while it is humbling, it is also inspiring.

[PayneTrain]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Replays in eliminations for communication issues on the field.

I know it'll never happen, but a man can dream, right?

We could just go cold turkey and roll with the IFI equipment, right? We can loan out a few of those.

[EricH]

OK, brilliance. The GDC themselves said that they could adjust the balance points in either direction at Championships, by 5-15 points per robot, if they wanted to. ([G40] blue box)

The IRI organizers should do the same thing. How is up to them.

[Duke461]

One really important rule change will need to be on the maximum amount of basketballs in the corral and with the human players during the teleop period.

Bolded is the rule change:

[G31]
Only Inbounders may contact Basketballs; each Inbounder may hold a maximum of two Basketballs. During Teleop, Inbounders must remove Basketballs from the Corral immediately upon arrival, unless doing so forces an Inbounder to posess more than two Basketballs. All Basketballs in the Alliance Station must be held by Inbounders once removed from the Corral.
Violation: Foul

Blue Box
The addition of the six-ball exception is intended for situations where a large amount of basketballs are scored in a small period of time, not for strategic benefits to the alliance. Strategies aimed at starving basketballs to gain an advantage through this rule will be kept under strict observation and may still result in foul, as determined by the appropriate referee
Blue Box

The idea behind this is for a situation where it's basically impossible to keep it under six basketballs. Most likely cause of this is a ton of scoring all at once, e.g, 2-3 basketballs per robot, robot A scores in left middle, robot B scores in right middle, robot C scores in top/bottom. While this rule kind of goes without saying, we definitely want to avoid someone complaining and claiming that there was a penalty on the opposing alliance after they score 9 basketballs in a matter of seconds. And since it's IRI, this very well could happen.

-Duke