Search the manual

Rule G415

G415 Expansion limits. A ROBOT may not extend more than 1 ft. 6 in. (~45 cm) beyond the vertical projection of its ROBOT PERIMETER.

If the over-expansion is due to damage and not used for strategic benefit, it is an exception to this rule, and no penalty is imposed.

Violation: MINOR FOUL, or MAJOR FOUL if the over-expansion is used for strategic benefit, including if it impedes or enables a scoring action.

Examples of compliant and non-compliant extensions are shown in Figure 7‑2. ROBOT A violates this rule for having an extension that is too long, while ROBOTS B, C, and D do not violate this rule.

Figure 7‑2 Examples of compliance and non-compliance of this rule (examples A and B are side views, examples C and D are top views)

Figure showing compliance and non-compliance of the expansion rule G415.

The intent of this rule is to prevent piling on a punitive response to a ROBOT that’s already experienced hardship and not leveraging that hardship for gain. Examples for this rule include the following:

A. a physical device on a team’s ROBOT, whose purpose is to restrain their CORAL scoring arm from extending beyond the limit, breaks after a collision with another ROBOT. Provided the ROBOT does not use the now-too-long extension to score SCORING ELEMENTS, no violation is assigned.

B. a vertical structural member of a ROBOT breaks at the bottom and rotates out such that it breaches the limit imposed. The ROBOT then parks such that its extension blocks opponent ROBOTS from reaching their PROCESSOR. A MAJOR FOUL is issued.

Rule R105

R105 ROBOT extension limit. ROBOTS may not extend more than 1 ft. 6 in. (~457 mm) beyond the vertical projection of their ROBOT PERIMETER.

Figure 8‑2 ROBOT PERIMETER extension

Figure showing ROBOT PERIMETER extension limit.

Teams should expect to have to demonstrate a ROBOT’S ability to constrain itself per above during inspection. Constraints may be implemented with either hardware or software.

See section 7.4.3 ROBOT for height and extension restrictions for various areas of the FIELD.

Rule R403

R403 *BUMPER extension limit. BUMPERS must not extend more than 4 in. (~101 mm) from the ROBOT PERIMETER.

Rule E702

E702 *Carts shouldn’t be too big. Carts must fit through a standard 30-inch door.

Rule R505

R505 *Don’t overload controllers. Each power regulating device may control electrical loads per Table 8‑2. Unless otherwise noted, each power regulating device shall control 1 and only 1 electrical load.

Table 8‑2 Power regulating device allotments

Electrical Load	Motor Controller	Relay Module	Pneumatics Controller
AndyMark RedLine Motor Banebots CIM CTR Electronics Minion REV Robotics NEO Brushless REV Robotics NEO 550 REV Robotics NEO Vortex VEX Mini-CIM WCP RS775 Pro	Yes	No	No
AndyMark 9015 VEXpro BAG	Yes (up to 2 per controller)	No	No
AndyMark PG KOP Automotive Motors NeveRest Snow Blower Motor REV Robotics HD Hex	Yes (up to 2 per controller)	Yes	No
Linear Actuator	Yes (20A breaker max)	Yes (20A breaker max)	No
CTR Electronics/VEX Falcon 500 Nidec Dynamo BLDC Motor w/ Controller Playing With Fusion Venom WCP Kraken X44 WCP Kraken X60	Yes (integrated controller only)	No	No
Compressor	No	Yes	Yes
Pneumatic Solenoid Valves	No	Yes (multiple)	Yes (1 per channel)
Electric Solenoids	Yes (multiple)	Yes (multiple)	Yes (1 per channel)
CUSTOM CIRCUITS	Yes (multiple)	Yes (multiple)	Yes (multiple)

Rule E114

E114 *Limit flag and flagpole size. Flags and flagpoles may not be of unreasonable size and weight.

As a guideline, reasonable flags are less than 3 ft. by 5 ft. (~91 cm by 152 cm) in size and weigh less than 2 lbs. (~907g). Reasonable flagpoles may not be more than 8 ft. (~243 cm) long and weigh less than 3 lbs. (~1360g).

Rule R101

R101 *ROBOT PERIMETER must be fixed. The ROBOT (excluding BUMPERS) must have a ROBOT PERIMETER, contained within the BUMPER ZONE and established while in the ROBOT’S STARTING CONFIGURATION, that is comprised of fixed, non-articulated structural elements of the ROBOT. Minor protrusions no greater than ¼ in. (~6 mm) such as bolt heads, fastener ends, weld beads, and rivets are not considered part of the ROBOT PERIMETER.

To determine the ROBOT PERIMETER, wrap a piece of string around the outer most parts of the ROBOT (excluding BUMPERS) at the BUMPER ZONE described in R405 and pull it taut. The string outlines the ROBOT PERIMETER.

Example: A ROBOT’S chassis is shaped like the letter ‘U’, with a large gap between chassis elements on the front of the ROBOT. When wrapping a taut string around this chassis, the string extends across the gap and the resulting ROBOT PERIMETER is a rectangle with 4 sides.

Figure 8‑1 ROBOT PERIMETER example

Figure showing ROBOT PERIMETER example.

Rule E402

E402 *Load-In person limit is 5. Only 5 team members (one of which must be an adult) may be in the pit area during any Load-In period prior to pits opening.

Violation: Extra team members must leave the venue.

Rule R502

R502 *Only 4 propulsion motors. A ROBOT may not have more than 4 propulsion motors. A propulsion motor is a motor that enables the ROBOT to move around the FIELD surface. Motors that generate small amounts of thrust as a secondary or incidental feature are not considered propulsion motors.

Examples that are not considered propulsion motors include:

A. motors that primarily alter the alignment of a wheel in contact with the FIELD surface (such as a swerve steering motor),

B. motors that run MECHANISM wheels (e.g. for CORAL manipulation) that occasionally happen to contact the carpet, but without enough force to generate significant thrust, and

C. motors that change the speed of the drive wheels using a shifting MECHANISM without significantly contributing to propulsion.

Rule E603

E603 Practice Field attendance is limited. Only team members actively working on the ROBOT are allowed to be on the Practice Field.

The intent of this rule is to limit the number of people directly next to ROBOTS that are enabled. The recommendation is no more than 5 members per team, but some events may limit further due to available space.

Teams may have additional team members watching from a distance, provided the venue has space, but those members should be a safe distance from all ROBOTS operating at the Practice Field.

Rule E502

E502 *Stay in your pit. Teams may neither allow their materials to expand beyond their team pit (including running power or internet lines from their team pit to any other area), swap team pits with other teams, nor move themselves to empty team pits.

Rule E505

E505 *Nothing too big. Floor standing power tools are prohibited.

Examples include but are not limited to full-size drill presses, band saws, and table saws.

Violation: Teams will be asked to remove or not bring in floor standing power tools. Any items that are deemed unsafe or outside specifications by FIRST personnel, event management, and/or local committee members must be removed.

Rule R104

R104 STARTING CONFIGURATION – max size. A ROBOT’S STARTING CONFIGURATION may not have a ROBOT PERIMETER greater than 120 in. (~304 cm) and may not be more than 3 ft. 6 in. (~106 cm) tall.

Be sure to consider the size of the ROBOT on its cart to make sure it will fit through doors. Also consider the size of the ROBOT to ensure that it will fit into a shipping crate, vehicle, etc.

Note that rules contained in section 8.4 BUMPER Rules may impose additional restrictions on ROBOT design.

Rule R102

R102 *STARTING CONFIGURATION – no overhang. In the STARTING CONFIGURATION (the physical configuration in which a ROBOT starts a MATCH), no part of the ROBOT shall extend outside the vertical projection of the ROBOT PERIMETER, with the exception of its BUMPERS and minor protrusions such as bolt heads, fastener ends, rivets, cable ties, etc.

If a ROBOT is designed as intended and each side is pushed up against a vertical wall (in STARTING CONFIGURATION and with BUMPERS removed), only the ROBOT PERIMETER (or minor protrusions) will be in contact with the wall.

The allowance for minor protrusions in this rule is intended to allow protrusions that are both minor in extension from the ROBOT PERIMETER and cross-sectional area.

If a ROBOT uses interchangeable MECHANISMS per I103, Teams should be prepared to show compliance with this rule and R105 in all configurations.

Rule R103

R103 *ROBOT weight limit. The ROBOT weight must not exceed 115 lbs. (~52 kg). When determining weight, the basic ROBOT structure and all elements of all additional MECHANISMS that might be used in a single configuration of the ROBOT shall be weighed together (see I103).

For the purposes of determining compliance with the weight limitations, the following items are excluded:

A. ROBOT BUMPERS,

B. ROBOT battery and its associated half of the Anderson cable quick connect/disconnect pair (including no more than 12 in. (~30 cm) of cable per leg, the associated cable lugs, connecting bolts, and insulation), and

C. tags used for location detection systems if provided by the event.

Rule R904

R904 *OPERATOR CONSOLE physical requirements. The OPERATOR CONSOLE must not

A. be longer than 5 ft. (~152 cm),

B. be deeper than 1 ft. 2 in. (~35 cm) (excluding any items that are held or worn by the DRIVERS during the MATCH),

C. extend more than 6 ft. 6 in. (~198 cm) above the floor, or

D. attach to the FIELD (except via the loop tape as described in section 5.6.1 DRIVER STATIONS).

There is a 4 ft. 6 in. (~137 cm) long by 2 in. (nominal) wide strip of hook-and-loop tape (“loop” side) along the center of the DRIVER STATION support shelf that should be used to secure the OPERATOR CONSOLE to the shelf. See section 5.6.1 DRIVER STATIONS for details.

Please note that while there is no hard weight limit, OPERATOR CONSOLES that weigh more than 30 lbs. (~13 kg.) will invite extra scrutiny as they are likely to present unsafe circumstances.

Rule G435

G435 The PROCESSOR AREA has a storage limit. HUMAN PLAYERS may not store more than 4 ALGAE in the PROCESSOR AREA. ALGAE can only be stored in the following locations:

A. 3 in the holders on top of the PROCESSOR, and

B. 1 at the end of the PROCESSOR exit ramp

HUMAN PLAYERS making a good-faith effort to immediately move or enter additional ALGAE is an exception to this rule.

Violation: MAJOR FOUL per additional ALGAE.

Rule E802

E802 *Pit person limit during Ceremonies is 5. No more than 5 team members may be in the pits during Ceremonies outside of Playoff MATCHES.

Rule G431

G431 *DRIVE TEAMS, watch your reach. A DRIVE TEAM member may not extend into the CHUTE.

Violation: MINOR FOUL.

Rule G421

G421 1 defender at a time. No more than 1 ROBOT may be on the opponent’s side of the FIELD (i.e. containing the opponent REEF) with its BUMPERS fully outside and beyond the BARGE ZONES.

Violation: MINOR FOUL, and for every 3 seconds in which the situation is not corrected, a MAJOR FOUL is assessed.

7.4.4 Opponent Interaction

Note, G422, G423, G424 are mutually exclusive. A single ROBOT to ROBOT interaction which violates more than 1 of these rules results in the most punitive penalty, and only the most punitive penalty, being assessed.