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.
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.
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!
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.
There are no rules against this, as long as it follows all other widget rules (i.e. most quadcopters are more than 18" wide).
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.
BunnyBots rules updated to v1.1. Major change is as follows:
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.
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
The BunnyBot rules have been updated to 1.21. Changes are:
During qualification matches, the red alliance has one minute to place their widgets when loading their robot on the field followed by the blue alliance for one minute. During elimination matches, a coin toss will determine which alliance goes first. Team members of an alliance can’t move the widgets of the opposing alliance. Widgets that aren’t placed in that one-minute span will be randomly placed by the referees. Each team MUST bring five widgets to the field.
and…
Humans cannot physically interact with widgets on the field while a match is underway. Teams intentionally doing so will be given a red card. Interaction that doesn’t involve touching a widget directly or indirectly is fine. For example, don’t touch widgets on the field or poke them with a stick while a match is going on.
The pinning rule has been removed for last 30 seconds of the match. This was done to give teams a fighting chance at de-scoring widgets. Otherwise, robots will likely be too hard to catch.
Clarification that 180 degrees around widgets must be accessible during the 30 second endgame. This was always the intent but the new wording hopefully makes it clear.
Clarification that there must be at least 2’ between widgets at the beginning of the match and that each alliance must place exactly 15 widgets at the beginning. www.team1540.org/bunnybots
BUNNYBOT SHIRT PREORDER
By popular demand, the BunnyBot T shirts are back. Pre-order yours now for pickup at the event. www.team1540.org/bunnybots-shirt-orders
Rules have been updated with a clarification to v 1.31. The minimum of 180 degrees of widget exposure during the endgame must be continuous and cannot be split into multiple pieces. For example, you can’t have two 90 degree areas of exposure and satisfy the requirement of a minimum 180 degrees of continuous exposure of widgets during the endgame. www.team1540.org/bunnybots
Rules updated to 1.32 with graphical examples added to obscuring rules and clarification that every point on a widget must be accessible for 180 degrees on a plane parallel with the floor assuming it’s above the 1” lip of the pan.
