2022 Day 1: Rapid React: Rules, Impressions, Strategy Questions, Climber Ideas

 2022 FIRST Robotics Competition Game - Rapid React

Game Manual (Rules): https://firstfrc.blob.core.windows.net/frc2022/Manual/2022FRCGameManual.pdf

First Impressions

This looks to be a very well-made game that will play well at all levels of play. Robots will be chasing down game pieces, launching cargo from all across the field, and playing strategic defense while trying to win every match. The end game climb has 4 levels the most of any game (2013 is similar if you count scoring the pyramid goal discs). This challenge will allow young teams ways to succeed early and still provide a very hard challenge for the top teams especially if they want to get to the 15pt rung fast.

The field looks to be designed very well and it seems like more time was put into creating the Team Versions of the field to provide multiple options for teams which is a big improvement.

The new organization of the game manual was a big improvement and executed very well, the new green rules will help the community remember the rule numbers much easier and the layout flowed very nicely. 

Strategy

We were able to have some of our team watch the stream in-person kickoff and then spend several hours reading over the entire manual and discussing the game strategy and concepts.

Questions (some answers)

1. Tall vs short (What is tall? What is short?

1. Drive under the low bar (sub 48 in), max-height 52 in, 

1. not critical but probably helpful to able to drive under the low bar if can still climb and score at that shorter height.

2. The placement of each subsystem (intake and shooter on opposite sides? Something more like Gamma 2021?)

Balls

1. How consistent are the balls going to be?

1. Can we accurately launch them with a flywheel from distance? 

2. How much compression will we need?

3. What material wheels?

4. How much will balls be damaged/deformed, and will this matter?

1. This we very much need to test.

2. High goal vs low goal? Both?

3. Launcher Configurations?

1. All the same options as 2020/21, flywheel, flywheel+top rollers, side wheels, etc.

2. Catapult (probably not unless other things don’t work, slow to reload and we can hold two balls)

4. Ball funneling to the shooter? Tower, indexer, etc.

1. How consistently feed the ball to the launcher

5. From what positions on the field should we shoot from?

1. Fender - Yes

2. How far back do we go after that??? Field Perimeter shot

6. Floor intake, feeder intake, or both?

1. MULTIPLE INTAKES??? Probably not

2. Velcro intake roller?

3. How to get the balls to center? Meccanum intake? CD7?

7. Do we ever intake opposing cargo?

1. Maybe right before we climb? Or if we are playing D.

8. Will balls bounce out if we yeet them in too hard? How to experiment with yeet optimization?

9. Turret Time? What is the value of being able to shoot while driving? 

1. pick up one on route and shoot

2. Fast shooting once we stop moving is better 

10. Adjustable Hood?

1. Adjustable angle is more important with the horizontal goal?

11. Spin ball?

1. Probably won’t matter but we can test it, backspin is probably best

12. Are we gonna shoot from the launchpad?

13. Hold one ball or two?

1. May score one at a time if needed but the ability to hold two will save time.

Climb

1. Able to sense shadow line?

2. How high?

1. Traversal rung matters?  (Only 5 more points than high bar)

2. High Bar Matter? (only 4 more points than mid bar)

3. Mid Bar Matter? (Only 2 more points than low bar)

4. Low bar matter? (Only 4 points)

5. Should be climb at all? YES

3. Climb how?

4. Ideas: 

1. Weight moved with pneumatics to influence swing

2. Other stuff on whiteboard and slides

Auto

1. Where is the best shot?

2. Where should we get balls? 

3. What are the likely auto paths for top teams?

Max balls we think the best team in the world can score in auto? 5-6

Climber Ideas

We are still going through a lot of ideas but here are some of our whiteboard and cad sketches for our climber ideas.

- Spectrum