Field

The playing field was a carpeted, rectangular area with two 6 ft (2 m) high goals located midfield, one goal for each alliance. There is a 30 in (76 cm) clearance bar under each goal. Between the goals is an 8 ft (2 m) wide ramp with a 5 ft (2 m) clearance bar, which robots may hang on to score points. Around the perimeter of the field are four stations for human players, who work with remote controlled robot

Robot

A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...

s on the field to score points. At the start of each match, each alliance station contains seven yellow balls and one black ball. Fifteen yellow balls and two black balls are located at the far end of the playing field.

Robots

Each robot can weigh up to 130 lb (59 kg), and must start each match small enough to fit inside a 30" x 36" x 5' space. The robots are powered by a sealed lead-acid battery

Lead-acid battery

Lead–acid batteries, invented in 1859 by French physicist Gaston Planté, are the oldest type of rechargeable battery. Despite having a very low energy-to-weight ratio and a low energy-to-volume ratio, their ability to supply high surge currents means that the cells maintain a relatively large...

 from Yuasa Exide, Inc. and use motors from S-B Power Tool Company, ITT Automotive, Keyang, Globe Motor, and Delphi

Delphi

Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...

 Interior and Lighting. They also use speed controllers and a programmable control system supplied by FIRST. Drivers use joysticks from CH Products and switches from Honeywell

Honeywell

Honeywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....

 to remotely control the robots via a radio link which uses RNet wireless modems from Motorola.

Scoring

Each match is two minutes long. Alliances receive one point for each yellow ball and five points for each black ball in their goal, and not in contact with their robot. Robots that are completely on the ramp each earn five points for their alliance. A robot hanging from the horizontal bar connecting the two goals earns ten points for its alliance.

"Co-Opertition"

The idea of Co-opertition stems from the games scoring for the qualifying matches. The winning alliance receives 3x the loser's score as their qualifying points. Thus, it is more beneficial to win a match 10-9 than 20-0.

Events

The following regional events were held in 2000:
Week 1

• Kennedy Space Center Southeast Regional - Kennedy Space Center, FL
• Great Lakes Regional - Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI

Week 2

• Johnson & Johnson Mid-Atlantic Regional - Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
• NASA Langley/VCU Regional - Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
• Lone Star Regional - Astro Arena Complex, Houston

Week 3

• Philadelphia Alliance Regional - Drexel University, Philadelphia
• Motorola Midwest Regional - Northwestern University, Evanston, Il
• Long Island Regional - Suffolk County Community College, Long Island, NY

Week 4

• UTC New England Regional - Meadows Music Theater, Hartford, CT
• NASA Ames Regional - San Jose State University, San Jose, CA

Championship

The national championship was held at Epcot Center, Disney World, Orlando. The Championship Alliance consisted of Teams 255, 232, and Team 25. Teams 255 and 232 no longer compete.

External links