BunnyBots 2023 is right around the corner! Tomorrow afternoon, game rules will be posted and registration will open here: BUNNYBOTS — Team 1540 | The Flaming Chickens . This thread will be used for rules updates and as the official Q&A.
For the uninitiated, BunnyBots, now in its 14th year, is an annual fall competition designed to help teams develop knowledge and skills to prepare them for build season. We try to lower the stress and stakes for an easier introduction to FRC, and have found over the years that one of the best ways to learn how to build robots is, in fact, to build robots!
This year BunnyBots will take place at Catlin Gabel School in Portland, OR on Dec. 16th.
P.S.: We’re always looking for partners to bring BunnyBots to new regions - ask myself or @Dale how to get involved.
Some portion of the bunny just has to cross the vertical projection of some portion of the home zone. If a crate has been pushed into the home zone, and you put a bunny on top of it, that still scores.
We learned a lot about radio interference in the gym last year. One of the RC bunnies was fine, the others (using AndyMark’s quick and dirty control system) were not!
Hey, I noticed a discrepancy in the rules. Under ‘Robot Rules’ it states “Control means if the robot moves forward, backwards, left, and right the bunny moves with the robot.” However, under ‘Penalties and Red Cards,’ it says ‘or’ instead of ‘and’. Which one is correct?
In our effort to be as Cool at 1540, we hope to make a remote control bunny this year. We plan to use a simple 4 channel remote relay controlled by a FOB. Similar to an older garage door opener. Should we be worried about radio interference?
We found that AndyMark’s Quick and Dirty RC system worked fine in the lab but was brought to its knees in the gym during the event last year. It runs in the 2.4ghz band, evidently not in a very sophisticated way. On the other hand, the bunny that was based on an RC car was more immune to interference. That’s what I know.
Maybe test it at a sporting event or some other place where a LOT of people are on their phones? A garage door opener that is digital (with security codes) might have a good chance of working. A more primitive system might have issues. Depends on the frequency band.
Time for a rules update and clarification! Thanks to everyone who brought forth questions and concerns.
First and foremost - this game involves launching balls, potentially at high speed. DO practice safety in the design and testing of your launching mechanisms! We will be placing a ~6-8’ high net around the field (except by the loading zones) to protect the audience, field personnel, and drivers.
Ball hits don’t count when a robot is disabled.
Reminder that robots can be disabled during Hybrid due to target hits!
Robots can cross the centerline in Hybrid.
Non-FRC motor controllers are allowed, but must be proven during inspection to stop when the robot is disabled.
There is a 5 point penalty for each ball possessed beyond the 5 ball limit.
The meaning of “control” has been clarified as: "… regardless of the direction of motion of the robot, the bunny moves with the robot (such as when captured within an intake or hopper). Note that pushing or bulldozing one or more bunnies does not count as ‘control’. "
Robots only earn the 3 point bonus during Hybrid for leaving their home/loading zone once.
Bunnies may possess and launch balls (keep in mind that they must still appear as bunnies!).
Bunnies cannot detach parts of themselves.
Bunnies cannot expand beyond the 18" cube limit, the exception of aesthetic components such as limbs/ears/tails.
Friendly fire and ricochets count as hits (barring rate limiting and enable/disable state)!
Totes may be stacked, but only in a safe manner. 5 feet is okay, any higher may be deemed unsafe by the refs (depending on location on the field).
Frame perimeter extension limit is based on nearest distance to the frame perimeter. A rectangular frame would result in an extension limit with rounded corners.
Before my team goes to far down their rabbit hole I thought I’d ask…
When pre loading a ball is it legal to attach said ball to the robot? In this case attaching it to a string? I believe the concept is to either use a ball on the end of a string offensively much like a paddle ball game, or defensively by having them on the end of a 14" string twirling vertically as a shield.
I’m pretty sure the defensive version is illegal because 14" from any given SIDE does NOT include the top. The offensive one is likely illegal for the same reason because in order to strike the opponents bucket the string would cross the 36" threshold. I believe the string counts as part of the robot and is therefore only legal when below 36" and within 14" of the frame perimeter.
Clever out of the box thinking but you are correct on both counts. The string is part of the robot so can’t extend outside 14” from the robot perimeter on any side. You are also correct that the string can’t go above the 36” height limit and hence would never be able to contact a bucket of an opposing robot. Also, in it’s spinning around, it would likely wrap around your own bucket support pole!
The rulebook states “Humans may not throw balls at opposing robots”, Would this include the use of slingshots or other ball shooting devices as well? My team is not going to bunnybots of course, I just love loopholes.
Sure if you can make it look like a bunny Those balls that are part of a bunny wouldn’t be useful in scoring hits on opposing robots, though, since you can’t preload balls.
Those balls that are part of a bunny wouldn’t be useful in scoring hits on opposing robots, though, since you can’t preload balls.