Rulebook

Watson Combat Robotics League Fall 2023 Rulebook

Version 4.0 | Revised 2023-08-05

Overview

Disclaimer

These rules are subject to change with revisions indicated by underlined text and a higher revision number posted above. Competitors will receive notice of changes through the official WCRL Discord.

Questions answered by an Executive Board Member in the official WCRL discord serve as a revision to the rules and shall be treated as such until the next official revision of the rules is released. The WCRL Executive Board will not answer any rule-pertinent questions in private forms of communication, and if, for whatever reason, these questions are answered privately, they do not serve as official rulings and shall not be treated as such.

The Watson Combat Robotics League Judging Committee and Executive Board reserve the right to remove any team from matches, tournaments, or the league at any time for any reason (including, without limitation, failure to meet safety and/or technical requirements) in its sole and absolute discretion. It is the responsibility of each team to understand and abide by all rules herein.

Scope

This document outlines the requirements for any team that intends to compete in the 2023-2024 Watson Combat Robotics League (WCRL) (Spring Specific), including the league’s competitions and tournament.

The Watson Combat Robotics League is an officially recognized Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Student Organization under the oversight of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and facilitated by the Watson Combat Robotics League Executive Board.

The following rules have been constructed to be as unrestrictive to the design process as possible while balancing fairness to other competitors, arena damage, scheduling issues, and the safety of any and all competitors, crew, and audience members. Any discrepancies in the rules will be enforced based on the interpretation of the rules, as written, by the WCRL Executive Board.

Definitions

  • Arena: The arena is approximately 1.83m x 1.83m x 0.91m (6ft x 6ft x 3ft). The arena is outlined in detail in section 6.
  • Bot: Any movable combat robot that is designed by a WCRL team following the rules as they are outlined herein.
  • Competition: Any event hosted by the WCRL in which two or more teams compete against each other**
  • Competition Attachment: A movable, 3D printed component that is attached to a bot that can seriously hinder, halt, or otherwise disrupt the operation of another bot (I.E., a bot’s weapon).
  • Control System: Any device used to send user input to the Bot, i.e. a remote control.
  • Executive Board: The governing body of the Watson Combat Robotics League, listed in section 4.1.
  • Inspection Checklist: A document provided to teams prior to the tournament and/or any subsequent tournaments that outlines the most common rule violations to help ensure bots are in compliance with the rules contained herein.
  • Inspection Period: A portion of the tournament, and/or any subsequent tournaments, in which bots are weighed, measured, and are otherwise verified to abide by these rules. Any bots who do not pass inspection by the end of the inspection period are not eligible to demonstrate/compete on that day.
    • Note: WCRL Executive Board Officers will be holding open lab hours weekly leading up to the competition and can inspect bots to ensure rule compliance upon team request.
  • Judging Panel: The judges of the tournament. These judges will determine the winner of individual matches, and decide two of the three awards, as indicated in section 3.3.
  • League: The league refers to the entire 2023-2024 competition season
  • Power Switch: Mechanically and directly shuts off power to the entire bot as explained in section 5.8.
  • Tournament: A larger competition hosted by the WCRL one weekend per semester.**
  • BOM: Bill of materials, a complete list of all component parts on the bot including specifications, number of items, and prices.

Executive Board

Judging Committee

Due to potential scheduling conflicts, the judging committee is subject to change at any time without formal notice in this rulebook. In the event of a tie, a member of the Executive Board will act as the tie-breaking vote.

Competitors

Teams must register to compete in the WCRL by having each member of their team complete the Google Form Registration and join the Discord. Once all members are registered, the team can reach out to the Eboard with their members and team name, to officially register a team.

Official bot name, team name, and attachment file names must be school-appropriate and cannot contain the word “weapon” or reference to weapons.

  • Team and bot names are subject to Executive Board approval.
  • There can be multiple bots per team – each additional bot will be the team name followed by a letter.
    • Bots must be sufficiently distinct from one another to be able to compete under the same team name. As in, spares of one bot competing as a “new bot” wouldn’t count.
    • Ex. Awesome Bot A, Awesome Bot B, …

League Overview

The league refers to the entire 2023-2024 competition season. During this time teams will brainstorm designs, prototype their design, build bots, compete, and rebuild bots.

Matches

There will be two or more matches a month held in the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Fabrication Lab - Engineering Building E1. Two or more teams will compete against each other at each competition, with the competition being live-streamed.

Dates for matches and tournaments can be found on our public WCRL Event Calendar.

Matches are 2 minutes and 30 seconds long, but may be called early for safety concerns or if a winner is decided based on the below criteria.

Pinning:

  • For the first 1 minute and 30 seconds: A bot can pin another bot for a maximum of 8 seconds before having to release the bot for a minimum of 8 seconds. The 8 second limit will be counted down by the WCRL Executive Board member in charge of the match.
  • With less than 60 seconds remaining: If a bot is pinned for more than 5 seconds, the pinned bot will lose. The 5 second limit will be counted down by the WCRL Executive Board member in charge of the match.

Bot Control:

  • Bots who lose mobility will lose the match following the same 5 second countdown (i.e., you are not pinned, but your wheels stop being able to move your bot).
  • Bots are allowed to lose the ability to control their competition attachment after the initial inspection (outlined below) without forfeitting the match.

Tournament

There will be one tournament per semester, held in the Binghamton University Innovative Technologies Complex Rotunda. The tournament will run from approximately 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. To be eligible to compete in the tournament, teams must either win one competition or compete in two competitions.

More information on the tournament will be released as it becomes available. Any teams not signed in by the end of the inspection period on the day of the tournament will not be allowed to compete.

Awards

There will be three awards presented at the Tournaments, effectively serving as a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, respectively:

  1. Competition Champion: Presented to the team that wins the double-elimination bracket.
  2. Competition Runner-Up: Presented to the team that loses in the finals of the double elimination bracket.
  3. WCRL Choice: Presented to the team who excels in bot design, as selected by the judging panel and executive board based on a set of predetermined criteria.

Bot Requirements

Mobility

  • The bot must move around in a controlled manner without causing intentional damage to the arena.
  • No flying, hovering, or otherwise floating bots will be permitted.
    • If a bot is lifted from the floor in the normal course of the match, the bot will not be penalized.
    • Jumping bots are permitted.

Bot Control

  • The driver(s) must maintain control over all of the bot’s functions at any given time.
  • There is not an autonomous portion of this competition. This is subject to change in future competitions.

Core Specifications

  • The maximum weight for any bot is 1,000g (1kg).
  • The maximum height for any bot is determined by the height of the arena.
    • Suggested maximum height is 25 cm.
    • Bots can be weighed on scales made available by the WCRL Executive Board
    • There are no other size restrictions on bots.
      • Note: The arena is 1.83m x 1.83m x 0.91m (6ft x 6ft x 3ft), so keep this in mind for bot design (More on this in section 6.1).
  • Each bot shall be entirely 3D printed with an approved 3D Printing material, outlined below:
    • Permissible 3D printing materials include: ABS, PLA (and PLA variants), PETG, Resin, and TPU. Filaments not listed must be approved by the Executive Board.
  • The following items are exceptions to the 3D printed requirement: motors, wheels, electronics, axles, bearings, pins, fasteners, rubber bands, belts, adhesives
    • These items must be used in their intended fashion and can not be used to armor the bot
  • Flex seal, duct tape, or similar products, are not allowed on the bot.
    • Paint may be allowed on the bot for the purpose of decoration only. Any paint or other coating that adds structural integrity is prohibited.
  • Bots cannot intentionally damage the arena

Competition Attachments (Weapons)

  • All bots must have at least one independently powered, 3D printed competition attachment that can seriously affect the operation of another bot. (Note: Bots that have an attachment that cannot cause significant damage to another bot will be seen as not having a competition attachment. This includes flippers that move, but cannot move the weight of the bot with enough power to cause damage).
    • A wedge is permissible, as long as it is accompanied by an additional active competition attachment.
    • Competition attachments may be swapped between matches, but may require re-inspection.
    • There is no limit on the number of competition attachments on a particular bot.
    • The following items are not permitted under any circumstances:
      • Competition attachments that are in any part enhanced with a non-3D printed material
      • Fire/heat.
      • Liquids.
      • Projectiles of any type.
      • Fouling devices such as, but not limited to, glue, nets, fishing line, ball bearings, particulates, etc.
      • EMP generators or other devices intended to damage or jam the opponent bot’s electronics.
      • Bright lights, lasers, deliberate smoke generators, etc., that are distracting or dangerous to vision.
      • Competition attachments that purposefully detach from the bot and are left on the field.
      • Hydraulics or pneumatics.

If a team is concerned about their bot abiding by these rules, WCRL Executive Board members will be holding office hours weekly for the duration of the league. Specific design questions or concerns can also be addressed to any member of the WCRL Executive Board in a private chat.

Electronics

  • Only LiPo Batteries that do not exceed 14 V (4s) nominally are allowed
    • Refer to Appendix 1 for more information on Battery Safety
  • The maximum voltage anywhere on the bot is not to exceed 24V.
  • Batteries must be sufficiently protected.
    • I.E., If one could jam the blade of a long screwdriver through gaps in the 3D printed shell/frame of the bot and hit the battery, it is not sufficiently protected.
  • During the competition, the WCRL executive team will swap drained batteries for fully charged ones to prevent the need for any team to charge their own batteries.
    • If you do not use a WCRL provided battery, they must be charged using a proper battery bag and charger
    • These batteries will be available in designated areas the day of the tournament, and located in EB E1 during the league.
    • Teams must return the provided battery prior to utilizing another one.
  • Teams using WCRL provided batteries must have under-voltage protections in place to prevent damaging the batteries. An under-voltage alert buzzer circuit will be available to teams to use in their designs.
  • Bots must have a visible LED that is on whenever the bot is on.
  • Power Switches
    • There must be a Power Switch on the bot.
      • The power switch must be located on the exterior of the bot
        • Power Switch operation must be simple enough to allow anyone present to use it.
        • Normal Power switch operation cannot require any lifting or tilting of the bot.
        • Switch operation cannot require that a person get in the path of any competition attachment.
        • No tools must be required to utilize the Power Switch.
        • An insertable/removable jumper plug is an approved (and preferred) alternative to other types of Power Switch.

Remote Control

  • No signal jamming, or deliberate signal interference is permitted.
    • If using Bluetooth controls, renaming the Bluetooth transceiver and adding a password is required to prevent signal interference.
    • Taking control of another team’s bot is prohibited
  • All control systems must be in compliance with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations, including only accessing and utilizing permitted channels.
  • WCRL, WCRL partners, or WCRL sponsors are not liable if teams do not comply with FCC regulations.
  • The type and manner of power supply for the controller are left to the team’s discretion as long as the selected design does not aid the performance of the bot beyond allowing driver input to reach the bot.
  • There is no restriction on the number of drivers for any one bot as long as all drivers on a team are collectively controlling one single bot.

Inspection Period

Each bot will be evaluated for rule compliance by the WCRL Executive Board or other official staff prior to being admitted to any competition or tournament. Failure to comply with the rules or pass inspection may result in disqualification from the match, competition, or tournament.

The WCRL Executive Board has the right to refuse any bot deemed particularly dangerous or damaging to people or property.

Once a bot passes inspection, the bot will then have a quick inspection prior to each match. This inspection will ensure that the bot is mobile and has a functional competition attachment (as outlined above). Both are required for a bot to be eligible to compete in the match.

Arena

  • The arena is 1.83m x 1.83m x 0.91m (6ft x 6ft x 3ft)
  • Note: The floor of the arena is subject to change, and may not be perfectly flat. Testing is recommended prior to the competition to ensure your bot can traverse the arena successfully.
  • Once the bot is placed inside the arena, there shall be no further physical interaction with the bot by team members.
  • The arena may have additional active and passive field elements to contend with.

3D Printing

General Rules

  • These parts must not appear to be traditional weapons.
  • These competition attachments file names must also not be named in such a way that makes them sound like weapons. (I.e., do not name the item “Blade” or “Knife”).
  • Print as soon as possible; there may be delays due to the printing of senior projects which take priority.
  • The Watson Combat Robotics League does not print parts for teams nor pay for parts printed by teams.

Watson Fabrication Lab (Binghamton University Specific)

  • Teams can submit models to be printed in the Watson Fabrication Lab by completing the “Request for Fabrication” form posted in the Fabrication lab.
  • By printing in the Fabrication Lab, teams agree to any and all Fabrication Lab rules and regulations.

Emerging Technology Studio (ETS) (Binghamton University Specific)

  • Click here for more information on the ETS.
    • Capabilities of printers as well as the print process is outlined on the aforementioned website.
  • By printing in the ETS, teams agree to any and all ETS rules and regulations.
  • Teams are responsible for the cost of all 3D prints. ETS policy has prints charged to a student’s BUC$ account.
  • It is advisable for teams to buy their own filament, and bring it to the ETS, as then there would be no charge to use ETS printers.

Testing

  • An arena will be available in the Watson Fabrication Lab (E1)
  • A bot’s competition attachment can only be tested if the bot is fully within the closed arena.
  • This arena is available for use during standard Watson Fabrication Lab hours, or extended hours if a WCRL member is present
  • The lid of the arena must be closed during the entirety of the test.
  • Teams may use any empty shells in the arena for testing – these shells are in limited supply, and will not be replaced on any set schedule.
    • If your team has any failed bot shells, please consider donating them for other teams to test.
    • Scrimmages are allowed. Please let the WCRL executive team know if you are going to compete against another bot (we’d love to watch!)
    • If your bot starts smoking during one of the tests (not the battery smoking), unplug the battery as quickly and safely as possible.
    • If your battery catches fire, leave the bot where it is inside of the arena, clear the immediate area, and notify one of the shop technicians for assistance.
  • If you are concerned about running a test, please run the test during WCRL office hours as we would be happy to assist you.

Use of Workspace

  • While using communal spaces such as the Watson Fabrication Lab, ITC, and other spaces, teams must be responsible for:
    • Ensuring all equipment is clean and put away in the proper place.
    • Ensuring that the workspace is properly cleaned.
  • Damage to equipment or the arena during bot assembly or testing should be reported to the Executive Board or a shop technician.
  • Not adhering to workspace maintenence guidelines will result in action from the Executive Board.

Finances

  • Each team is limited to a budget cap of $125.
    • 3D printed parts will not be counted towards the budget due to the necessity of spares for multiple matches.
    • The $125 refers to parts on the bot at any given time. Spare parts are not included in the budget cap.
    • This maximum budget for bots includes all control systems, unless you are using a mobile device (cell phone, tablet) for controlling your bot or you have built the controller yourself. In which case, the device itself does not count in the budget.
  • Donated or salvaged items must be recorded in the budget as costing an equivalent price to the same part online, sold and shipped by Amazon or Alibaba.
    • If there is any confusion on pricing, the final ruling will be made by the Executive Board.
  • WCRL Partners (I.E., Watson student groups) can sponsor their respective teams with any amount of funding. However, each team is still subject to the budget cap.
  • Teams must have receipts and a Bill of Materials of all of their parts and pricing available to be reviewed by a judge upon request. Failure to comply with these rules may result in disqualification of a team for award consideration.
    • Teams must use the provided BOM template with accurate pricing to be submitted 24 hours prior to the start of matches and/or tournaments.

Resources