This 12 months, a mixture of discipline design, recreation design, and robotic guidelines has led to a notable improve in harm to each the sphere and robots on account of what would have traditionally been thought of regular and anticipated recreation play. Please know that I’m not blaming groups for designing robots and methods or pupil drivers for executing these methods primarily based on the sport, discipline, and robotic guidelines introduced to them.
There can be work achieved by FIRST® Robotics Competitors workers and teams of volunteers to take a look at choices to implement into the 2025 recreation and future years to mitigate harm. These teams will have a look at all three points: discipline design, recreation design, and robotic guidelines (together with motor energy). I’ll share extra particulars about that work and the way group members can contribute after the FIRST® Championship.
We now have fewer choices for mid-season changes as we don’t wish to meaningfully change the sphere or the principles on which groups designed their robots and methods. We’re investigating mechanical modifications to the sphere that can have minimal affect on the crew expertise. Another choice is escalating the severity of violations in response to a robotic inflicting harm, and I don’t suppose that asking Referees to provide out Yellow or Crimson Playing cards each time one thing occurs to the sphere is honest or fascinating to both the Refs or the groups.
So, I’m writing right this moment to ask for everybody’s assist. If there are modifications that may be made, comparable to avoiding excessive velocity impacts when and the place potential, that may assist scale back or remove the harm occurring to the sphere and one another’s robots, please do. I ask our discipline volunteers to please proceed to work with Occasion Help to assist forestall any accidents and be certain that the sphere is working as designed.
Working collectively, we will help hold drive crew members and discipline volunteers secure and the fields and robots functioning for the remainder of the season.