Robot Skills Challenge Rules

<RSC1> Standard rules apply in most cases. All rules from previous sections apply to the Robot Skills Matches, unless otherwise specified.

<RSC2> Scoring Robot Skills Matches. The point value per Goal is determined at the end of the Match, based on how many Switches have been Cleared by the end of that Match. See the following table for details.

<RSC3> Robot Skills Field setup. The Field is set up the same as a Teamwork Challenge Match (i.e., per <SG1>), with the following modifications:

1. In addition to the Preload, Teams may place a second Ball anywhere in Starting Zone 1 (i.e., the one closest to the Pickup Zone) to begin the Match.
2. Robots must begin in Starting Zone 2 (i.e., the one closest to the Loading Station).

<RSC4> Loading differences. All criteria listed in <SG4> and <SG5> apply as written (e.g., no more than two Balls on the Field, Robots may not be in the Load Zone during Loading, etc.). However, Rapid Loading is modified as follows:

1. Starting Zone 2 (i.e., the one closest to the Loading Station) is the only Starting Zone that may be used for Rapid Loading.
2. In Driving Skills Matches, the Rapid Load Period is defined as any time after the mid-Match Driver switch takes place.
3. In Autonomous Coding Skills Matches, the entire Match is considered a Rapid Load Period (i.e., there is no requirement to use the Loading Station).

Note: In both Driving Skills Matches and Autonomous Coding Skills Matches, any Driver who is not currently operating the Robot may also serve as a Loader (i.e., a Team may have two Loaders at any given time).

<RSC5> Skills Ranking at events. For each Robot Skills Match, Teams are awarded a score based on the skills rules and skills scoring rules. Teams will be ranked based on the following scores and tiebreakers:

1. Sum of highest Autonomous Coding Skills Match score and highest Driving Skills Match Score.
2. Highest Autonomous Coding Skills Match score.
3. Second-highest Autonomous Coding Skills Match score.
4. Second-highest Driving Skills Match score.
5. Highest sum of Skills Stop Times from a Team’s highest Autonomous Coding Skills Match and highest Driving Skills Match (i.e., the Matches in point a).
6. Highest Skills Stop Time from a Team’s highest Autonomous Coding Skills Match (i.e., the Match in point b).
7. Third-highest Autonomous Coding Skills Match score.
8. Third-highest Driving Skills Match score.
9. If the tie cannot be broken after all above criteria (i.e., both Teams have the exact same scores and Skills Stop Times for each Autonomous Coding Skills Match and Driving Skills Match), then the following ordered criteria will be used to determine which team had the “best” Autonomous Coding Skills Match:
   1. Points for Cleared Switches
   2. Points for Goals Scored
10. If the tie still cannot be broken, the same process in the step above will be applied to the Teams’ highest Driving Skills Matches.
11. If the tie still isn’t broken, the Event Partner may choose to allow Teams to have one more deciding Match, or both Teams may be declared the winner.

<RSC6> Skills Rankings Globally. Teams are ranked based on their Robot Skills Match scores globally using the following tiebreakers:

1. Highest Robot Skills score (combined Autonomous Coding Skills Match and Driving Skills Match from a single event).
2. Highest Autonomous Coding Skills Match score (from any event).
3. Highest sum of Skills Stop Times from the Robot Skills Matches used for point a.
4. Highest Skills Stop Time from the Autonomous Coding Skills Match used for point b.
5. Highest Driving Skills Match score (from any event).
6. Highest Skills Stop Time from the Driving Skills Match score used in point e.
7. Earliest posting of the highest Autonomous Coding Skills Match score.
   1. The first Team to post a score ranks ahead of other Teams that post the same score at a later time, all else being equal.
8. Earliest posting of the highest Driving Skills Match score.
   1. The first Team to post a score ranks ahead of other Teams that post the same score at a later time, all else being equal.

<RSC7> Skills Match Schedule. Teams play Robot Skills Matches on a first-come, first-served basis. Each Team will get the opportunity to play exactly three (3) Driving Skills Matches and three (3) Autonomous Coding Skills Matches. Teams should review the event agenda and their Match schedule to determine when the best possible time is to complete their Robot Skills Matches. If the Robot Skills Challenge area closes before a Team has completed all six (6) Robot Skills Matches, but it is determined that there was adequate time given, then the Team will automatically forfeit those unused Matches.

1. Robot Skills Matches are only available to Teams who participate in Qualification Matches, unless the event is an approved Skills-Only Event.
2. Skills scores recorded by ineligible Teams will be deleted from Tournament Manager before the event is finalized on RobotEvents.com.

<RSC8> Handling Robots during an Autonomous Coding Skills Match. A Team may handle their Robot as many times as desired during an Autonomous Coding Skills Match.

1. Upon handling the Robot, it must be immediately brought back to Starting Zone 2.
1. Drive Team Members may reset or adjust the Robot as desired from this position, including pressing buttons on the Robot Brain or activating sensors.
2. All Balls must be removed from the Robot and from the Field, and can be returned through the Loading Station or Rapid Loaded.
3. As described in rule <S1>, Students cannot step into the Field at any time during a Match. If the Drive Team Members cannot reach the Robot due to the Robot being in the center of the Field, they may ask the Head Referee to pick up the Robot and hand it to the Drive Team Members for placement according to the conditions above.”
2. During an Autonomous Coding Skills Match, Drivers may move freely around the Field, and are not restricted to the Driver Station when not handling their Robot.
1. The rest of <G8>, which states that Drive Team Members are not allow to use any communication devices during their Match, still applies.
2. An intent of this exception is to permit Drivers who wish to “stage” Robot handling during an Autonomous Coding Skills Match to do so without excessive running back and forth to the Driver Station.

<RSC9> Starting an Autonomous Coding Skills Match. Drivers must start a Robot’s Autonomous Coding Skills Match routine by pressing a button on the Robot Brain or manually activating a sensor. Because there is no VEX IQ Controller hand-off, only one (1) Driver is required for an Autonomous Coding Skills Match (though Teams may still have two (2) if desired).

1. Pre-match sensor calibration is considered part of the standard pre-Match setup time (i.e., the time when the Team would typically be turning on the Robot, moving any mechanisms to their desired legal start position, etc.).
2. Pressing a button on the VEX IQ Controller to begin the routine is not permitted. To avoid any confusion, Teams are advised not to bring controllers to Autonomous Coding Skills Matches.

<RSC10> Skills Stop Time. If a Team wishes to end their Robot Skills Match early, they may elect to record a Skills Stop Time. This is used as a tiebreaker for Robot Skills Challenge rankings. A Skills Stop Time does not affect a Team’s score for a given Robot Skills Match. Drivers and field staff must agree prior to the Match on the signal that will be used to end the Match early.

1. As noted in the definition of Skills Stop Time, the moment when the Match ends early is defined as the moment when the Robot and Balls have come to a rest and the Driver provides the agreed upon visual and audio signal to the Scorekeeper Referee.
2. Teams who intend to attempt a Skills Stop Time must “opt-in” by verbally confirming with the Scorekeeper Referee prior to the Robot Skills Match. If no notifica is given prior to the start of the
Match, then the Team forfeits their option to record a Skills Stop Time for that Match.
3. This conversation should include informing the Scorekeeper Referee which Driver will signal the stop. The Match may only be ended early by a Driver for that Match.
4. The agreed-upon signal to stop the Match must be both verbal and visual, such as Drivers crossing their arms in an “X” or placing their VEX IQ Controller on the ground.
5. It is recommended that the Driver also provides a verbal notice that they are approaching their Skills Stop Time, such as counting out “3-2-1-stop.”
6. If a Team runs multiple Robot Skills Matches in a row, they must reconfirm their Skills Stop Time choice with the Scorekeeper Referee prior to each Match.
7. Any questions regarding a Skills Stop Time should be reviewed and settled immediately following the Match. <T1> and <T3> apply to Robot Skills Matches.

<RSC11> Robot Skills at League Events. At league events in which Teams may submit Robot Skills Challenge scores across multiple sessions, the Robot Skills scores (combined highest Autonomous Coding Skills Match and Driving Skills Match scores) used for rankings will be calculated from Matches within the same session.

For example, consider the following scores for a hypothetical Team across two league event sessions:

This Team would have a Robot Skills score of 200 for this event’s rankings, and their scores from Session 1 would be used for the Event and Global tiebreakers listed in the above two sections.