Wednesday, November 1, 2017

November Mission Model Discussion: How this works and a list of Rule Reminders

Welcome to the November Mission Model Discussion! From now until just before Thanksgiving this space will feature ONE part of the FIRST LEGO League HYDRO DYNAMICS game challenge per day. The Robot Game is only 1/4th of the overall FIRST LEGO League challenge for teams this year!
This post is meant to be an aid, not a replacement for carefully reading the Challenge Guide!


Before we dive into each individual mission lets take a good look at some of the rules and specifics of the game board. This does NOT replace having every member of your team read the Challenge Guide!


Thank you Oregon Head Referee Tom Mosher for identifying these key items.

  • Base and the three Target areas extend to their adjacent wall, even if there is a gap between the mat and the wall. You may have noticed that your mat is a bit smaller than your field. The map should be flush against the South wall (where you stand) and centered East to West, so that it is either touching both or neither of the short walls - see the Field Setup Guide for details.
  • The black line that marks an area is included in the area. Example: one of the borders of Base is the outside edge of the black circular line. An object can be in if it is touching the line as long as it is not also outside the line.
  • A Target area includes the volume above the mat, not just the surface of the mat. Unless specifically stated, scoring items do not need to touch the mat to count.
  • Understand the difference between “Completely In” and “In contact with”. “Completely In” usually refers to the entire volume of an area or Target. “In contact with” usually just refers to the surface of the mat. Read each mission rule carefully.
  • For every Launch the entire Robot (which includes any Equipment you have combined with it) must be Completely In Base. For example, nothing may overhang the inside edges of the walls around Base, or extend outside of the curved line on the mat. The Referees may stop any improper Launch, or may not allow any accomplishments made after an improper Launch.
  • Base has a robot height limit! The Robot must be at most 12 inches tall for every Launch. Outside of base, this limit does not apply.
  • You may receive up to six penalties for Interrupting the Robot. After six penalties, the match can continue with no additional penalties assessed for interrupting your robot.
  • If you Interrupt the Robot while it’s Transporting something that came from Base during the most recent Launch, you may keep that thing.” (Updated the Leniency to cover not just mission models) Robot Game Update #1 (updated) Leniency for Rule R14 “Interrupting” while Transporting an object.
  • Understand R11 MISSION MODEL HANDLING, Some models start in base and your team will be able to handle them directly. One exception to part of R11 is the Slingshot Model. The Slingshot with Rain and Dirty Water installed is considered one Mission Model. Teams may remove the Rain and Dirty Water from the Slingshot while in Base - R11 “Mission Model Handling” does not apply in this situation.

This is a LOT of information for today. Future NMMD posts will focus on one mission, or concept. There just isn't enough November to skip cover them all that way. Join us tomorrow for Mission 1: Pipe Removal!

2 comments:

  1. The challenge guide does not state the robot needs to be in a certain location at the end of the time period. So if the robot is in the middle of a mission when the time runs out and the robot needs to be immediately stopped by a team member then this is considered an interruption and subject to a 5 point penalty.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your question. At the end of the 2.5 minutes if the robot is still running the stop button will be pushed by a referee as quickly as possible. If the robot is in the process of scoring a mission the state of the table the moment the 2.5 minutes ends. The team will not have a penalty for the robot being on the table. The team should NOT pick up the robot and return it to base at the end of the match, they need to leave the entire table as it is until the referee and team have agreed on which missions are complete.

      If the team picks up the robot and returns it to base before the 2.5 minutes are up, the team will receive the -5 point penalty token (if all 6 have not already been placed on the board), even if the team does not relaunch the robot.

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