Unofficial FLL FAQ06-c - Rules
UFAQ Table of Contents
Q3.1) 'deleted'
Q3.2) I have a team member turning 15 on X date. Is he/she eligible?
A) The cut of date is January 1 of the year in question. Since the competition is in December, you can certainly
have some 15 year olds at the tournament.
Q3.3) What should I do if I have a question on a rule interpretation?
A) The best solution is to craft a carefully worded email and send it to Scott Evans at FIRST (flltech@usfirst.org).
Please put the word Challenge in your subject line.
As of 2005, rule interpretations are no longer private affairs. You may find your question answered in the FLL Q&A page. If you have been granted some special interpretation you should
bring a printed copy with you to give to the head referee BEFORE the competition.
Q3.4) Please explain the rule for objects classes (retrieval, deliverable, movable).
A) Looking for a new paragraph to explain the new rules!
Q3.5) Deleted.
Q3.6) Are projectiles legal?
A1) Yes. As long as the device is under the robots control. Using a projectile to solve your own
mission problems is quite appropriate. Using a projectile to harass the other team is counter productive.
a) The other team can ask for the projectile to be removed from the table.
b) It violates the "Gracious Professionalism" prime directive.
A2) Projectiles can't score points till such time as the robot fully leaves the base.
Q3.7) Once fired can we retrieve our projectile without penalty to use it again?
A) Not unless the projectile is tethered to the robot. If it is loose, the "LOSS OF CONTACT" rule takes effect
and you loose it.
Q3.8) Can you program your robot to return to the base but while there NOT touch it?
A) Some teams like to save on a programs slot by returning to base, wait, manually placing a delivery object in front of it, then let it continue. This is legal.
With the new "STARTING TECHNIQUE" rule, you have even more freedom on starting techniques.
This approach is legal but rather risky. If the first half of the mission fails, the whole mission must be rerun.
Q3.9) Our team is wondering if we could build a robot with two motors attached via long wires to the RCX/NXT.
The RCX/NXT would remain in base, and we would manually control the robot using touch sensors attached to the RCX/NXT.
We would not be touching anything outside of the base. Is this legal?
A) No. This violates several rules including the "Autonomy" rule. The robot must complete
missions by itself. The second problem is that as soon as you touch your remote you must return
the robot to base as per the "Restarts" rule. Finaly, you can not achieve any points until such
time as the robot fully leaves the base as per the "Robot must leave base".
Note that a split robot as you suggest is legal if you do not use human intervention during a mission attempt AND all parts of the robot leave base before it attempts to score points.
Q3.10) Can we create a little satellite robot that attaches to our primary robot using some of the long wires?
A) A satellite robot is legal as long as it is under RCX/NXT control. It would not be legal to make a
satellite that was controlled by a human back at the base (see Q3.9). After the robot is started, no
human intervention is allowed without terminating the mission attempt. Of course the satellite is
subject to all the same rules as the primary robot as long as they stay connected.
Notice that it would be legal to retrieve the satellite by having a human pull it in on its tether
if the robot was in the base!
This would terminate the mission but you would not be subject to a robot return penalty. The reason that this is legal is that part of the robot is in base. Just remember that retrieval objects must return to base under their own power.
Q3.11) Can we have one end of a long wire attached to a touch sensor in the base, and the other end of the wire on the RCX/NXT outside the base to control it?
A) No. This is similar to the above question. The mission will end as soon as you touch any part of the robot including your wired remote control. See Q3.9
Q3.12) Our satellite robot uses a LEGO windup motor to power the vehicle. We understand that the robot has to initiate the satellite robot, but is it against the rules to have the motor pre-wound before we get to the tournament table?
A) A pre-wound motor is legal but you MUST have the robot release the satellite, not a human
player. Also read the "Robot must leave base" rule very very carefuly.
Q3.13) Can we drag a long wire from our robot and leave the free end in the base to preclude the Return To Base penalty?
A) No. Rule #16 prevents the robot from scoring any points until such time as it fully clears the base.
Q3.14) Can we use more than three motors if they are not attached at the same time?
A) No. The robot cannot have more than 3 motors total. The robot is defined as the sum of all parts that are
brought to the competition table.
Q3.15) Explain how the robot starts in the base.
A) At the start of each mission attempt, all parts of the robot must start fully in the base. Consider the base
to be an imaginary box with a ceiling of 40cm. The robot must start each mission attempt fully inside this box
and not just at the start of the *first* mission attempt.
As a concrete example of this, consider a real-life analogy:
* The robot is a big-city hook-and-ladder fire truck.
* The base is the fire station garage.
* At the start of a mission, the fire truck needs to fit inside the fire station garage.
* However, the big-city hook-and-ladder truck probably has a ladder than can reach at least 10 stories high.
Q3.16) When can we touch our robot without penalty?
A) You can touch your robot when it is in the base without any penalty. When returning from a mission, you can
touch the robot as soon as the robot breaks the 'imaginary box' over the base without taking a robot return
penalty. If you are returning objects, each retrieval object must also cross the 'imaginary box' before you touch
the robot to gain points.
Q3.17) Can we use tools or alignment aids inside the base?
A) Yes, but these must be made out of LEGO as well. No paper or other materials. You can also forget the
cardboard box the Mindstorms kit came in! According to the rules, the alignment aid is a strategic object.
As such it must stay completely inside the base at the start. Read rules 20 and 26 carefully.
Q3.18) I have heard that we should cover the IR RCX port with tape. Why should we and is it legal?
A1) Strictly speaking it is not legal. Some tournaments provide a house rule that allows this. The issue here is
to prevent another team from programming your robot by mistake. With careful robot handling procedures, tape is
not needed. If you do use tape, make sure it is opaque to IR light. Some tapes including certain black
electrician's tape are transparent to IR light!
A2) Forget tape, use LEGO! Make a cover over the port using LEGO elements. This can snap on and off easily
and leaves no sticky mess. It has been noted that yellow LEGO bricks are not completely opaque to IR light!
Q3.19) Does the 40cm high base rule apply for returning robots?
A) There are no size restrictions on a returning robot written or implied anywhere. The robot could leave
base, grow to 4 feet high and return to base without penalty.
Q3.20) What are strategic objects and how can they be used?
A) Strategic objects are objects made out of LEGO that are used by your robot to accomplish one or more of
the tasks. To be strategic objects they cannot be physically connected to your robot. They could be
platforms to set things on, jigs, ramps, projectiles, etc.
Q3.21) Is the coach allowed to touch the robot during competition?
A) During the competition (as well as the whole season!) only the kids should be running the robot.
The adults should keep their hands off! The only exception I have ever seen was a team that got hit by the
flu. Only one student was able to make it to the tournament. During the ‘teams’ match, the coach stood
nearby and handed him parts as he called for them.
Q3.22) Can a robot touch the top of the wood border?
A) When the robot first starts from the base, it must be fully inside the base. The base is defined as the INSIDE wall of the border. This means that initially you can't touch the top of the border. But once the robot has been legally started, it can then extend out over the border and touch its top. Just remember that not all competition tables are built the same! Some may have obstructions in non standard locations to support the lights.
Q3.23) Are attachments to the robot (like an arm) considered part of the robot?
A) The rules indicate that the robot is the RCX/NXT and anything connected to it. For example: if a robot has a long arm that crosses into the base ahead of the RCX/NXT, then the robot is considered to be in base and can be manually manipulated without penalty. Just remember that retrieval objects must cross into the base before you touch the robot for them to score. Conversely, that long arm must be fully inside the base to be allowed to start the robot on its next outing.
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Disclaimer: This FAQ is not an official FIRST document.
It is an accumulation of knowledge derived from six thousand messages posted to
the FLL forum over three seasons. It has been reviewed by numerous people, but may
still contain errors. Use at your own risk.
Readers are encouraged to submit errors, suggested wording changes, new topics,
or comments to Skye Sweeney at skye@fll-freak.com
Copyright 2003-2006 Skye Sweeney; Last Updated on 10/28/2006