Introduction to Soccerates

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Soccerates is TigerTronics' fourth robot, built duing the 2010 FIRST build season for competition in the 2010 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC). Soccerates is designed to play the game game for the 2010 FIRST season, called Breakaway, and competed in two official FIRST competitions: the Finger Lakes Regional in Rochester, NY, and the Buckeye Regional, in Cleveland, OH. Soccerates features a mechanum wheel drive system, allowing it to move in any direction without needing to turn, a raisable roof capable of blocking flying balls from entering goals, and an advanced pneumatics system with a variable speed and distance kicker, capable of kicking soccer balls up to 60 feet.

Contents

  1. The Game
  2. Design
  3. Competitions

The Game

Soccerates is designed to play the 2010 FIRST game, Breakaway. Breakaway is played in a large rectangular field which is separated into three parts my dividing ramps with a single tunnel between them. On the Red end of the playing field are two Red goals, which are slightly raised off the group with ramps leading up to them. The same is true of the Blue side: two Blue goals are present with ramps leading up to them. In Breakaway, teams are grouped into opposing alliances (Red and Blue) of three FIRST teams each. The goal is for an alliance to score points by pushing or kicking standard soccer balls through the alliance color's goals, or by earning bonus points at the end of matches by hanging from center-field structures. The alliance with the highest score at the end of a match is the winner of the match.

Each match is 2 minutes and 15 seconds long. The first 15 seconds of each match is the "Autonomous" period, when robot's run autonomously from their own code. The remaining 2 minutes of each match is the "Teleoperated" or "Driver Operated" portion of the match, when human drivers take direct control of their robots using remote driver stations.

As soccer balls are kicked or pushed into goals (or out of the playing field), they are returned via an overhead ramp to the center of the playing field. This makes the center of the playing field, where no goals are, and important part of the game if a large number of soccer balls have been scored. If too many soccer balls have been scored, there may be few left in play except in the center of the field. When this happens, it is necessary for robots to go to the center and bring balls back to the end parts of the playing field to score on goals.

Design

Soccerates is designed to be fast, maneuverable, and able to drive over the center-field dividers as well as under the center field ramps. Soccerates is capable of effectively playing in both offensive and defensive positions.

Soccerates gains most of its maneuverability from its four mechanum wheels, each of which is powered by a dedicated motor and transmission. Mechanum wheels allow Soccerates to move in any direction without having to turn, while still keeping most of the traction provided by traditional wheels. In addition, being powered by four motors gives Soccerates additional power and pushing power.

When playing defense, Soccerates physically blocks other robots by driving between them or deliberately pushing them. Soccerates' maneuverability and speed allows it to chase other robots and quickly move into strong defensive positions, even when there is little to no turning room. When playing defense, Soccerates is also able to raise a pneumatic "roof" which acts as an extended goal blocker. The roof can block and deflect flying balls, and is useful at blocking balls which could otherwise be kicked over Soccerates or other robots and into goals.

When playing offensive, Soccerates is able to score goals by either pushing or, with is pneumatic kicker, kick balls into goals. At the 2010 FIRST Buckeye Regional, Soccerates' front ball guard (which prevents balls from rolling under Soccerates) was upgraded, and now allows Soccerates to retrieve balls from difficult parts of the field, such as from against walls and from corners. Soccerates is also equipped with a device which helps it "grab" balls and keep position of them while moving. Like while playing defense, Soccerates' impressive speed and maneuverability allow it to dodge robots defending it and to escape from being pinned or otherwise blocked while playing offense.

Competitions

Soccerates competed in two official FIRST compeitions in 2010:

  1. 2010 FIRST Finger Lakes Regional in Rochester, NY
  2. 2010 FIRST Buckeye Regional in Cleveland, OH
In the 2010 Finger Lakes Regional, Soccerates was selected to compete in the regional's final elimination round. It was selected to compete in the final elimination bracket during the 2010 Buckeye Regional as well. However, during the last qualification match of the 2010 Buckeye Regional, Soccerates' on-board computer failed and TigerTronics was not able to repair it before being selected to compete in the final elimination brackets. TigerTronics therefore declined to participate in the elimination rounds and allowed a different team, with a working robot, to compete instead. Therefore, although Soccerates and TigerTronics were selected to compete in the final elimination bracket at the 2010 Buckeye Regional, they ultimately did not compete due to technical issues.