On January 3, 2015, the new FRC game was announced, ushering thousands of students into a new, hectic, six-week build season. The game, Recycle Rush, is played on a 27 ft. by 54 ft. field by two alliances of three teams each who aim to score as many points as possible in a 2 ½ minute match.
The field is divided into the Red Alliance and Blue Alliance’s respective sides by the neutral Step running across the center. Each side has 3 sections: 1.) the Staging Zone, 2.) the Auto Zone, and 3.) the Landfill. Each Auto Zone is roughly framed in by two Scoring Platforms, each 15 ft. 7 in. long, 1 ft. 8 in. wide, and 2 in. tall. The central Step is surrounded by and covered with 68 Gray Totes and 4 Recycling Containers.
For the 15-second Autonomous Period, robots start off in the Staging Zone and follow pre-programmed instructions to score points by completing a Robot Set [all 3 robots move into the Auto Zone], Tote Set [all 3 Yellow Totes are moved into the Auto Zone], Stacked Tote Set [all 3 Yellow Totes are stacked in the Auto Zone], and/or Container Set [all 3 Recycling Containers are moved into the Auto Zone]. For the remaining 2 minutes and 15 seconds, robots engage in the Teleoperated Period during which Drivers take control of their robots. Teams can win points by stacking Gray Totes onto the slippery Scoring
Platforms and topping them with Recycling Containers. Additional points are earned by putting “Litter”, 4 ½ ft. long pool noodles, into the holes in the tops of the containers. To encourage Coopertition® between alliances, the game also offers a way for teams to score points for both sides by working together to stack 4 yellow totes on the Step.
This year Mechanical Mayhem is registered to participate in 3 district tournaments: 1.) Granite State District Event at Nashua South High School from February 26-28, 2.) UMass District Event in North Dartmouth from March 12-14, and 3.) Northeastern District Event in Boston from March 26-28.