BunnyBots 2014 Rules Release

[Jacob Bendicksen]

It's that time of the year again - the rules for the 2014 BunnyBots game, PANdemonium, are officially out!

PANdemonium is played by two alliances of three robots each. The goal of the game is to place as many team-provided “widgets” as possible onto the “pans” of the team’s robot, or that of their alliance partners, while simultaneously attempting to de-score the widgets on the robots of the opposing alliance.

The full rules can be found at http://team1540.org/bunnybots/. Make sure to 'like' the BunnyBots Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/bunnybots1540) to stay up to date on the latest developments - of course, critically important information will be going out by email, as well.

If you haven't already registered for BunnyBots, now would be a good time to do so! Visit http://team1540.org/fall-2014-event-registration/ to register for BunnyBots and other 1540 offseason events.

Good luck!

[Dale]

Oh, in case you didn't figure it out, the BunnyBots competition takes place Saturday Dec 20th in Portland, OR. If you're interested in hosting BunnyBots in your area, PM me. BunnyBots has always been a game that takes a minimum of course construction but this one is about as easy as it gets. Got 27' x 54' of FRC style carpet? Got White Gaffers tape? Got a barrier around the field (we use 4x4s?) You're done.

[feverittm]

Originally Posted by Dale

Oh, in case you didn't figure it out, the BunnyBots competition takes place Saturday Dec 20th in Portland, OR. If you're interested in hosting BunnyBots in your area, PM me. BunnyBots has always been a game that takes a minimum of course construction but this one is about as easy as it gets. Got 27' x 54' of FRC style carpet? Got White Gaffers tape? Got a barrier around the field (we use 4x4s?) You're done.

The part I like best is that a widget can be 'active' as well as a simple object just sitting there. It brings up some interesting possibilities.

[Jacob Bendicksen]

Originally Posted by feverittm

The part I like best is that a widget can be 'active' as well as a simple object just sitting there. It brings up some interesting possibilities.

This is definitely one of our favorite parts, too. One of the things that we really like about it is that it gives more team members a chance to be involved - if they're not working on the robot, they can be working on a widget!

[BBray_T1296]

Originally Posted by feverittm

The part I like best is that a widget can be 'active' as well as a simple object just sitting there. It brings up some interesting possibilities.

Widgets anyone?

[SoftwareBug2.0]

Originally Posted by BBray_T1296

Widgets anyone?

Did you miss the part about bumpers-optional and unlimited motors?

[feverittm]

I was actually thinking more along the lines of this

[lamk]

Is a quadcopter a legal widget?

[Dunngeon]

Fantastic game this year 1540, the widget concept is a great way to force compatible design.

[Jacob Bendicksen]

Originally Posted by feverittm

I was actually thinking more along the lines of this

One of us on the GDC was thinking about this - could be an interesting way to get your widgets to vacate an opponent's pan, though it also seems like a waste of time/money/energy.

Originally Posted by lamk

Is a quadcopter a legal widget?

There are no rules against this, as long as it follows all other widget rules (i.e. most quadcopters are more than 18" wide).

Originally Posted by Dunngeon

Fantastic game this year 1540, the widget concept is a great way to force compatible design.

Thanks! We're looking forward to it.

[Bryce2471]

Originally Posted by Dunngeon

Fantastic game this year 1540, the widget concept is a great way to force compatible design.

Yeah, I'm really excited for this year's game. I'm especiallylooking forward to seeing the finals! My only real complaint is that I can't find where it says how long a match is. :/

[Dale]

Sorry about that! Matches are 2.5 minutes. We'll fix that in the next rules revision.

[Dale]

BunnyBots rules updated to v1.1. Major change is as follows:

17. Widgets may not operate in the 5Ghz 802.11n band used by FRC robots and can not interfere with robot communication, intentional or not. Widgets (or other devices) may not intentionally interfere with another widget’s communication. Don’t, for example, design widgets or devices that intentionally jam widgets. That being said, it is expected that some unintentional interference will occur. After all there are only so many frequencies available. That’s part of the game. Robots can shield (but not jam) widget communication if desired.

Also in v1.1 a clarification that the matches last 2.5 minutes, thanks Bryce.

[Bryce2471]

Originally Posted by Dale

BunnyBots rules updated to v1.1. Major change is as follows:

17. Widgets may not operate in the 5Ghz 802.11n band used by FRC robots and can not interfere with robot communication, intentional or not. Widgets (or other devices) may not intentionally interfere with another widget’s communication. Don’t, for example, design widgets or devices that intentionally jam widgets. That being said, it is expected that some unintentional interference will occur. After all there are only so many frequencies available. That’s part of the game. Robots can shield (but not jam) widget communication if desired.

Also in v1.1 a clarification that the matches last 2.5 minutes, thanks Bryce.

Great! Thanks for the clarification.

[Dale]

Version 1.2 of the BunnyBot rules have been posted. This one excludes teleoperated widgets with more than one motor/servo/solenoid. The reason for this is the game breaking strategy developed by one of the our own Catlin teams involving 15 radio controlled cars who all drive into a base robot during autonomous which just stacks them up hiding them until the last 30 seconds. A boring but guaranteed to win strategy. Can't have that! Download the latest at http://team1540.org/bunnybots