Charged Up (FIRST)

There are two game pieces in Charged Up: Cones and Cubes. Cones are yellow rubber cones, approximately 1 foot (30 cm) tall with an approximately 8 inches (20 cm) square base. Cubes are cube-like objects made of purple fabric that are inflated to approximately 9.5 inches (24 cm) when measured from face to face. Cubes have rounded corners and may not have flat surfaces.[7]

There are two alliance stations on the short sides of the field, one for each alliance. Each station is divided into three smaller stations where the teams that make up the alliance control their robots. The opposing alliance's Loading Zone is located on the far side of each alliance's station when viewed from the scoring table.[7]

The Loading Zones, or human player stations, are used to introduce game pieces onto the field and form a right angle around the two far corners of the field. Each Zone consists of a Single Substation and a Double Substation, with the former located on a long side of the field and the latter located on a short side next to the opposing alliance's station. Each substation includes a portal that human players can place game pieces into.[7] The Single Substation's portal is a ramp that drops the game piece onto the field, while the Double Substation's portal can either be used to drop a piece onto the field or place the piece on a sliding shelf for one of the alliance's robots to pick up.

The six Grids (three for each alliance) are located in front of their respective alliance station wall. Each set of grids consists of two outer grids and a coopertition (co-op) grid, each of which are divided into three rows (top, middle, and bottom). Within each grid, game pieces can be placed on nine Nodes, with two Nodes reserved for Cubes and four Nodes reserved for Cones. The remaining three Nodes, known as hybrid nodes, can accept either game piece. Alliances earn points for placing game pieces on the Nodes, with more points awarded for pieces scored on Nodes in the top and middle rows of each grid.[7]

Alliances can also earn points by placing game pieces on three adjacent Nodes in the same row, which is known as a Link. If five Links are created, the alliance earns the Sustainability Bonus ranking point (RP). This threshold can be lowered to four for both alliances if both of the co-op grids have at least three game pieces placed in them.[7]

The two Charging Stations (one for each alliance) are 8 feet (2.4 m) by 6.5 feet (2.0 m) rectangular structures located approximately 8 feet (2.4 m) from the edge of their respective alliance's Grids and centered on the width of their alliance's Community. Similar to the bridges in Rebound Rumble, the Charging Stations can be driven onto and balanced by robots in order to earn points in both the autonomous and teleoperated periods. While the stations are large enough to fit all three of an alliance's robots, only one robot can score points on their alliance's station during the autonomous period.[7]

In both periods, points can be earned if a robot Docks or Engages with their alliance's station. A robot is Docked if they are only contacting their Charging Station and/or other objects (ex. other robots) that are directly or transitively supported by the station. A Docked robot is also Engaged if their Charging Station is level and all other robots from their alliance that are contacting the station are Docked. Additionally, alliances can earn the Activation Bonus RP by scoring at least 26 Charging Station points during the match.[7]

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