We’re just under a week out from the release of BunnyBots 2024, now in its 15th season! The game rules will be announced here on Sept 1st: BUNNYBOTS — Team 1540 | The Flaming Chickens
This thread will be used for the official Q&A and rules updates.
BunnyBots is an annual fall competition created to prepare new members with the skills necessary to be successful in the build season. This rough and ready, often whimsical approach helps lower stress and leads to a fun and engaging entry to FRC robotics.
We are beyond thrilled to announce a second event this year in Washington, hosted by the wonderful 3218 Panther Robotics.
Oregon BunnyBots will be held at the Catlin Gabel School in Portland on Dec 14th. Check back for event details and registration here: team1540.org/bunnybots
Washington BunnyBots will be held at Bonney Lake High School in Bonney Lake on Dec 14th. Check back for event details and registration here: frc3218.org/bunnybots
The game manual, CAD and field drawings can be found at team1540.org/bunnybots, along with Portland event details and registration. Bonney Lake event details and registration can be found at frc3218.org/bunnybots.
Remember to subscribe to this thread and ask any questions here.
Excellent question! We want to allow teams to manipulate totes, but in a sensible manner.
Where we’ve landed is this:
Possession will be updated to include robot contact as a qualifier.
Robots will only be allowed to possess one tote.
This means you are allowed to grab a tote and the balloons inside do not count toward your possession limit, as long as you are not in contact with them.
Bumper rules were meant to allow frames similar to years prior. Use the 2023 bumper rules for corners and cutouts.
I’ll have an update shortly clarifying a number of other questions.
Mini bots NOT being RC cars is nice to see. They need to “generally follow the same rules and are subject to the same penalties as their larger counterparts”, I didn’t see in the exceptions that they do NOT need bumpers… so do mini bots need bumpers?
Lots of excellent questions so far. The rules and field/drawings have been updated to v1.1. Changelog is below (also in the game manual, p2).
Nope! Rules updated to clarify. You’ll want to make sure everything is filed well, though, to avoid penalties from popped balloons.
No limit for minibots. However, we did clarify that minibots cannot be launched.
Refs will do their best to give penalties for descoring or removing totes commensurate with their point values, or 6 points at a minimum. Balloons outside of the field won’t be scored, though.
V1.1 CHANGELOG:
Clarified in field setup that teams request balloons once corral is repopulated. [FIELD SETUP]
Clarified balloon measurement diagram. [BALLOONS]
Updated bumper rules to match FRC 2023 rules. [ROBOT RULES, 5]
Updated low zone scoring to include the field perimeter between the short rail segments. [SCORING SUMMARY]
Updated balloon scoring in totes so stacked balloons within totes count. [SCORING SUMMARY]
Added 2 second delay for bunny scoring between auto and teleop. [AUTO PERIOD]
Updated standard penalty from 4 to 6 points. [TELEOP PERIOD, PENALTIES AND RED CARDS]
Added red card for blocking access to the corral. [PENALTIES AND RED CARDS]
Updated definition of “possess” to include contact with object and that balloons must be inflated to count. [PENALTIES AND RED CARDS]
Added possession limit of 1 tote per robot. [TELEOP PERIOD, PENALTIES AND RED CARDS]
Added tote numbers to short side of tote for driver visibility and field reset. [TOTES]
Updated all AprilTag IDs to simplify field reset and normalize numbering. [APRILTAGS]
Clarified that all balloons, inflated or not, must be removed from corral for the Coopertition bonus. [TELEOP PERIOD]
Added red card for launching minibots. [PENALTIES AND RED CARDS]
Clarified that minibots do not require bumpers. [MINIBOT RULES]
Penalties 11 & 12 seem to be at odds with each other, at a regular event ramming is not allowed AND is ungracious behavior, for BunnyBots is it just incidental high speed ramming that is allowed, or are we being warned that this is a “bare knuckle” event and we’d better design accordingly… I assume we are still gracious enough to not flip other robots when possible to avoid? (I know someone during our design session is bound to suggest a “mini robot flipping ram bot”… because they’re kids, and we have this piece of 45deg sloped frame material left over from stronghold that we’ve never figured out what else to do with…)
It’s definitely a bit fast and loose - there are many new/inexperienced drivers at BunnyBots, and bumpers have historically been optional. But you’re right, intentionally flipping or hitting teams that are down or struggling is certainly ungracious. We won’t be giving red cards if robots collide and one falls over, though.
Can Minibots have bumpers and if they do, do the bumpers count as part of the 18-inch cube? I assume bumpers are allowed and with normal FRC bumpers the actual max square Minibots footprint on field will then be more like 23x23” including bumpers (18x18 without). Thanks.
As the rules are written, they certainly could have bumpers and they wouldn’t count toward the size limit (since minibot rules are an extension of robot rules).
We may want to add some additional rules regarding bumper materials and corner/cutout limitations for minibots so FRC-style bumpers aren’t the required format. That likely would be anything within the traditional FRC bumper zone is acceptable, if it is functionally a bumper. Open to suggestions on this.
Since colored flags instead of bumper color will identify alliance, there’s no need to ever switch bumpers, and it seems like bumpers for Minibots could be “built in” rather than detachable.
So… we can “blast” other robots as long as they don’t look “down or struggling”? I’m looking for an answer that has less wiggle room. It sounds like full speed contact is fine, but no flipping over robots that are in distress (either from their design or operation) and if a well designed and operated robot gets bulldozed and toppled then ce la vie…?
Absolutely! It’s actually advised that they aren’t red or blue for that matter, so ignore the CAD Fixed bumpers are highly recommended to keep the show going and morale high.
That’s about it. We certainly don’t want to be handing out red cards for simply playing the game as intended, like this:
But at the same time, intentionally driving full-bore into a tipped robot can ruin their robot and event, and we only have the one day of competition. This is a great opportunity to discuss what it means to compete fiercely but professionally!
One of the concerns brought up by the team i’m on was static discharge. We were wondering if we could use a static discharge chain (just a really small metal chain which drags along the ground), as it probably wouldn’t pop balloons or damage the carpet?
Also, if balloons happen to stick to the robot due to static, will those balloons be considered under control (because you can only control 3 balloons at once)?
Fixed bumpers are highly recommended to keep the show going and morale high.