Robot Requirements#

Every FRC robot has to meet certain requirements, regarding safety and some other regulations to be eligible to compete in competition.

Overview#

You will receive the robot requirements for the each season’s game in the manual that you get on kickoff. This manual descibes what the robot will do as well as the constraints it must operate under
The manual also shows the field and the different elements, or gamepieces the robots will interact with

See table of contents for a breakdown of this section.

Each year the FRC game manual will tell you the max frame perimeter and weight your robot can have.
The frame perimeter is measured in length width and height, and the constraints are met if your robot can fit in a "box" of the given dimensions (This is your starting configuration)
- Ex: In 2018 the frame perimeter was 33" x 28" x 55" tall
The manual also typically gives you a max length that you are allowed to extend outside your frame perimeter, as long as it can be stored, within the frame at the start of a match
Robots are required to be inspected at each competition before competing in any matches
- Inspections look at the size, weight, safety, price, and bumpers of the robot
- Robots cannot have sharp edges, or dangerous components that can harm other robots
Every robot is required to wear a set of pool noodle bumpers, that mount to it's outermost frame
- Extending past your bumpers is risky because components outside the bumpers are not as well protected
Robots can only be constructed with components that are not outlawed in the game manual
- Ex: Robots cannot use hydraulic pistons because they are marked as illegal in the game manual

After reading through the game manual, teams then decide which tasks from it, they plan to have their robot complete
After deciding these teams typically break their robots into subysystems, or different task completers, that make up their whole robot

Some common subsystems used in most games include