Hangin'-A-Round was the name of the robotics contest at the 2006-2007 FIRST Vex Challenge. The contest involved building a robot from a kit that could attain a higher score than the opposition by placing the softballs into the colored goals, possessing the “atlas ball”, and by being parked on the platform or hanging from the bar.

The game

Competitors were put on two-team alliances in the qualification matches. The competitors could place their robot anywhere on their side of the field. Each match had a 20-second autonomous

Autonomous robot

Autonomous robots are robots that can perform desired tasks in unstructured environments without continuous human guidance. Many kinds of robots have some degree of autonomy. Different robots can be autonomous in different ways...

period. During the autonomous period each robot's program could drive autonomously to score points without human control. Once the 20 seconds were over, the operators controlled them for the following 2-minute operator control period.

Scoring

The robots' main objective was to score softballs into a low corner goal for 1 point each or score softballs into a tall, triangular goal for 3 points each. In the center was a square platform placed on a dolly. On the platform was a raised bar, 36" off the ground, from one corner to the opposite corner diagonally. A robot parked on the platform and not touching the foam mats would win 5 points. A robot hanging from the bar at the end of a match without touching the platform or the foam would win 15 points. A large, yellow ball called the Atlas Ball was placed on the platform at the beginning of each match. The Atlas Ball would double the points that an alliance made by scoring balls in goals if it was mostly on their side. Also, the alliance that scored the most points in the 20-second autonomous period would gain a 10-point autonomous bonus.

External links

• 2006 Hangin'-A-Round Game Manual