Key Facts

• First robot to follow the ‘Systemetric approach’ of being build from welded steel tubing
• One of a few robots to compete in New York designed to stack boxes
• Employed a mix of pneumatic and electrical controls
• Stacked by picking up one box and then putting it on top of another box, then took the bottom box and placed this on top of another box, with the other boxes balanced on top of this
• Could repeat the manoeuvre as many times as required
• In trial runs a stack of 11 was made before running out of space, so it was capable of making a larger stack given enough boxes and space

Game Details - Stack Attack

Two alliances of two robots each attempt to win by moving large plastic boxes into their zone and arranging them into stacks. At the beginning of the match, each alliance is given 4 boxes, which they may arrange as they see fit. In the center of the field on top of a ramp is a large stack of 29 boxes.

Points are scored for every box in an alliance's scoring zone, multiplied by the height of their highest stack. Additional points are earned for each robot on the top of the ramp at the end of the match. The game starts with a 10 second human player period to move the initial 4 boxes, followed by a 15 second autonomous period. Each box is marked with a retroreflective tape that is highly visible to infrared sensors, which the robots can use during the autonomous period to find boxes.