Reach for the Stars - B Division (3/18/08): We will be using a portable SkyLab planetarium for the stellar identification part of the State Competition.

Shoes, sandals, and flip-flops are not allowed in the planetarium. The reason for this is to protect the planetarium from tracked dirt and excessive wear. It is therefore advisable for participants to wear or bring socks to the event.

In addition to the materials listed in the rules, each team is required to bring a clipboard and either a red-filtered flashlight or a red LED flashlight. These flashlights emit red light. Laser pointers are NOT allowed. A simple red-filtered flashlight can be constructed by attaching red cellophane, available from most bakeries, over the lens of a flashlight with an elastic band.

Road Scholar - B Division (2/21/08): The map needed for Road Scholar at the State Competition is the AAA Idaho-Montana map.

Car of Tomorrow - B Division (2/12/08): The track that will be used at the State Competition at New Paltz has side rails that match the NYSTEA Maglev Track specifications, with side rails that are 1 1/4" high.

Car of Tomorrow - B Division (2/11/08): It has been brought to our attention that the newest Pitsco maglev track does not meet the NYSTEA (New York State Technology Education Association) Maglev Track specifications. The height of the side rails on the new Pitsco track is 1 7/8", rather than the specified 1 1/4". Coaches are urged to contact their Regional Coordinator to determine if the track that will be used at their event will be the new Pitsco track with the higher side walls or if it will be the Kelvin track, the older Pitsco track, or a home-made track that has side walls based on the specs of the NYSTEA.

Sumo Bots - C Division (2/9/08): We have received a number of questions recently that begin with "Since the rules don't specifically prohibit it, can our bot…..". Keep in mind that it is impossible to write rules that prohibit everything that should not be done - no matter how many scenarios the people who write the rules come up with, students will think of something they did not anticipate. While that is, in general, a good thing, there are some possibilities that common sense should tell you will not be allowed:

1. All teams MUST have the same surface to compete on. The person who made the two rings for the State Competition spent a lot of time ensuring that the rings are identical, not only in size and shape, but also in the amount of friction each surface provides. We CANNOT allow a bot to compete if part of the strategy of the team is to alter the surface - that would be unfair to all of the teams that compete in that ring the rest of the day. Therefore, teams will not be allowed to: use substances on their wheels or tracks designed to give them more friction with the ring surface if that substance leaves a sticky residue behind; use wheels or tracks that gain traction by making holes in the ring surface (think about the marks a bulldozers track leaves behind on an asphalt street); or spray any substance on the ring surface. If you think this ruling is unfair, consider this scenario: your strategy involves using a sticky substance on your bots wheels to give you extra traction and make it more difficult for your bot to be pushed out of the ring. One of the bots in the bout before yours has sprayed oil all over the ring surface. When you attempt to make your bot move forward, you discover that the oily residue left on the ring not only counteracts the sticky substance on your wheels, but leaves your bot sitting in the start position, wheels spinning. Meanwhile, your opponent, who is using a track that digs into the plywood, slowly but surely advances to your position and pushes your helpless bot out of the ring.

2. The judges at impound will look the bots over to determine if there is anything improper on them, or anything that should be removed because they believe that it will damage the opponent's bot. It is possible that some bots may have functions that aren't readily apparent when looking at the bot sitting on a table. Students should make sure they point out those features to the judges so that they can decide if they will be allowed or not - its better to find out that something on your bot will not be allowed at impound, when it can be removed or disabled, then to find out it isn't allowed after a bout when the judges have decided that you should either forfeit the bout or be disqualified.

Sumo Bots - C Division (2/7/08): Question: Is it within the rules to build a broad-spectrum transmitter into your bot to jam the communications of your opponent during the competition, allowing you to easily push the opposing bot out of the ring? Answer: Trying to jam your opponent's communications would be a violation of the spirit of the competition. The rules are specific about the need to be able to operate on several frequencies so that interference can be avoided. If we then let teams build in jammers to their devices, we are contradicting ourselves. At the actual competition, if a team were to complain that they were suffering from interference problems, we would allow them to change the frequency and would have the bout start over again. If a team had a built-in jammer, we could be trying all day to complete their bout. In addition, at the State Competition, we have two bouts going at the same time. A broad-spectrum transmitter would not only affect their opponent, but would also interfere with the bout taking place in the other ring.

Sumo Bots - C Division (2/5/08): Question: May a sumo bot spray an oily substance at the opposing robot's wheels in an attempt to remove the opposing robot from the ring? This does not currently violate the rules, as this would neither be a projectile, flame, sharp object, nor magnet. Answer: The answer to your question is no. There are two reasons why this will not be allowed at the competition:

1. All teams must have the same surface conditions to compete on. If a team sprays the surface of the ring with oil, there is no way to insure that all of the oil has been removed after the bout; in that case, all teams that follow (not just your opponent) would be required to compete on a surface that has significantly less traction than the teams that competed before your bout.

2. There is also no way to insure that spraying oil at the wheels of your opponent does not damage their bot (whether it results in an oily film on their wheels they cannot remove or the oil misses the wheels and gets into other parts of their bot). This could be appealed as a deliberate attempt to damage their bot, and, if the appeals committee upheld the appeal, you would be disqualified from the tournament.

Trajectory - B Division (1/21/08): Question: The device must fit in an 80 cm cube when ready to launch. Nothing says the cube must be aligned so that a flat face of it is pointing downrange. Can a launcher be placed in the larger launch area so it is aligned corner to corner downrange as long as an 80cm cube will still fit over it? Answer: As stated in the rules, the device must fit inside an 80 cm cube (no orientation of the device is mentioned in the rules). The launch area is a box 1 meter wide and 1.5 meters long. The device may be placed inside this launching box in any orientation - the only thing required in the rules is that the device be inside the boundaries of the launching box before the launch and after the launch (it could actually move outside the launching box during the launching process, so long as it returns to a position where the entire device is inside the box at the conclusion of the launch).

So long as the device itself will fit inside an 80 cm cube (in any orientation) and the students place it completely inside the launch box prior to launch, and the entire device is inside the launch box at the conclusion of the launch, the requirements of the rules have been met.

Sumo Bots - C Division (1/17/08): Question: Are we allowed to use 27MHz channel 7 to 12? Answer: Channels 7 to 12 are really intermediate channels between 1 - 6 (for example, channel 7 uses a frequency between the frequencies of channels 1 and 2). Only the most modern transmitters/receivers can use those channels without causing interference - for example, if you are using channel 7 for your bot, you could cause interference for a competitor using channel 1 or channel 2 if they had an older transmitter/receiver.

Since the purpose of requiring the bots to be able to operate on different frequencies is to avoid interference, bots in the 27 MHz range will be limited to channels 1 - 6, as specified on the web site at http://www.newyorkscioly.org/SOPages/SumoFrequencies.html.

Sumo Bots - C Division (1/17/08): Question: May the power from the batteries be converted to higher or lower voltages by transformers or other devices? May capacitors be used to store energy as long as all the energy comes from the batteries? Would batteries in parallel whose output is less than 18-V be allowed if the sum of the labelled voltages is over 18 volts? Answer: The purpose of the rule on battery voltage is to set a maximum voltage that can be used by the bots. Using transformers, capacitors, or other devices to increase the voltage would be viewed as an attempt to circumvent the rule regulating allowed voltage, and would not be allowed.

Also, the rules specifically state that the combined voltage of all batteries in the bot cannot exceed 18 volts - no reference is made as to how individual batteries are connected. The test to insure that the bot meets specs is simple - add up the voltages of all batteries in the bot; if the total is 18 volts or less, the bot meets the voltage rule, if the total exceeds 18 volts, it does not. Whether the batteries are connected in series or parallel is unimportant with respect to this rule.

Robo-Cross - B Division (1/12/08): Question: Are students allowed to use two motors, each with its own 9V battery (on two separate circuits) to propel their vehicle? Answer: Students may use two motors, each powered by 9.6 volt batteries, to power their car, provided they are not powering the same wheels. For example, one motor could power the front wheels while the second could power the rear, or one motor could be used to power the right wheels while the other powers the left. The second example is very useful, as it eliminates the need to add a steering mechanism - if you want to turn left, just power the right wheels forward while giving no power to the left wheels. You can even shorten the turning radius by powering the right wheels forward and the left wheels backwards. Turning right would require the opposite actions.

Sumo Bots - C Division (1/12/08): Question: Can we use a vex kit for the base and drive system? Answer: Any commercial robot or R/C car can be used as the starting point for the bot. The modification portion of the rules simply implies that the students will add parts to the kit as it comes out of the box (for example, the students could not purchase a remote-controlled bulldozer, take it out of the box and use it as-is; they would have to add some features to it). Those additions could be adding a shell over the dozer that would, in their opinion, make it more difficult for their opponents to shove around, adding moveable parts that could lift their opponent to make it easier for them to shove it out of the ring, or many other things. The concept behind the modification requirement is to get the competitors thinking about the event and building something, not just purchasing a kit and using it directly out of the box.

The direct answer to your question is that a VEX kit can, indeed, be used for the base and the drive system as long as the students add parts of their own creation (not just accessories they have ordered from Vex Labs). They must also be sure that they can operate on the required three different frequencies.

Sumo Bots - C Division (1/1/08): Please remember that the object of the competition is to force your opponent out of the ring - NOT to avoid being pushed out yourself. As a clarification, please view the three diagrams below:

Car of Tomorrow - B Division (12/11/07): We've received the following question: "The rules for the dimensions of the maglev car state: 'The width must be 6.3 cm ± 0.2 cm in order to fit on a standard maglev track.' I have a question about this: Can the parts above the track (particularly the propeller) be wider than the 6.3 cm limit as long as the car can properly fit in the track?

Answer: As long as the car fits on the standard maglev track, the portion above the track is not restricted to the 6.3 cm width. The following diagram would be acceptable:

Car of Tomorrow - B Division (11/5/07): The dimensions of the track are officially expressed in English units. Metric units listed in the rules are the result of conversion, and may differ depending on your conversion unit. If you are building your own track, please build it to the specifications in English units (2 9/16 inches wide, 8 feet long) to insure that it will match the track you will find at competition. Tracks already owned by a school's Technology program and those purchased from Pitsco or Kelvin are the standard size, and any car that works on those tracks will work on the tracks at the competition.

Road Scholar - B Division (11/5/07): The map that will be used at the Regional Competitions is Alaska. The map for the State Competition has not yet been announced.

Towers - B Division and Boomilever - C Division (11/5/07): Towers and Boomilevers WILL be impounded at all levels in New York State. Check the schedule of the competition you are entered in to determine the impound times.

Robo-Cross - B Division (10/31/07): As clarified on the National web site ( FAQ #3, found at http://soinc.org/faq/categories.php?categoryid=52), tipping the coffee can goal over to place items inside is allowed. At the State competition, we will also allow turning the can over and placing it over the items as this doesn't appear to be any different (indeed, the design of the robot would have to be more sophisticated to accomplish it). Please note that only those items completely within the coffee can will count as being in the Goal Box - any item that is partially outside the goal box (including items that part of the can is resting on) will not be counted as having been placed in the goal, but will instead receive the points for the area of the playing field in which it is located.

Sumo Bots - C Division (10/22/07): The areas of competition (rings) used at the State Competition at West Point will be 4' by 4' pieces of 3/4 inch cabinet grade plywood. The surface that the bots will run on will receive a coat of water based polyurethane finish, and the gym floor around the perimeter of the rings will be covered with the vinyl runners used as the ring surface last year (to protect the gym floor and avoid a change in surface friction when a bot is partly on the ring and partly off)

Car of Tomorrow - B Division (8/21/07): There was a typo in the dimensions for the vehicle in the rules as originally posted - the width of the car should be 6.3 cm ± 0.2 cm, not 6.3 cm ± 0.2 mm as written in the original rules. The rules have been updated and reposted to the web site. Please make sure that you use the rules with the date 8/21/07 at the bottom of the page rather than those with the date 8/8/07.

Sumo Bots - C Division/Car of Tomorrow - B Division (8/8/07): Students are strongly urged to impound extra batteries for their bot/vehicle. Only batteries that have been impounded will be allowed during competition - students MAY NOT obtain a different battery from any place other than the impound area. There will be NO facilities at the State competition for recharging batteries.

Sumo Bots - C Division (7/3/07): The rules for SumoBots have been changed from those used last year. Please be sure you download this year's rules (the ones with the 7/3/07 date at the bottom of the page).

If you have questions about the requirement that your bot can be operated on three different frequencies, please click here for a more detailed explanation.

The box/container holding the bot that the students bring to impound for the competition should include the following information: School Name and Team Number, along with the frequencies the bot can operate under.

Competition is a double-elimination tournament. Click here for a sample double elimination grid for 9 teams.

State Tournament Schedule: Teams will be scheduled to compete in groups of 9 every hour. At 3:00 PM, the top two teams from each hour will meet to determine the top 12 places.

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