This year’s game, in keeping with the style of past year’s games, is played on a carpeted field roughly a third the size of a basketball court (54’ by 26’). Robot operators (students from the teams) stand on two opposing sides of the field, with their robots on the other two opposing sides. This year’s scoring object is a small foam ball 7 inches in diameter, resembling a two tone miniature basketball, manufactured by the venerable Poof-Slinky Corporation. Balls scored in the low goals are worth 1 point each, versus 3 points for those scored in the high goals. On either side of the field are three goals, two low to the ground and one high in the air. The high goals are 30 inches in diameter, slightly larger than your average car tire, the top of which is roughly the height of a regulation basketball hoop (10’). The low goals have 6 inch ramps in front of them, an obstacle that prevents robots from simply pushing in the scoring object.

Above is the field of play upon which the GM Robotics Team’s entry will compete against others from around the USA.

In all of the above details, this game is not terribly different from those of previous years. The radical departure comes in a new rule, forbidding robots from ever extending beyond their initial 60 inch (roughly the size of an eighth grader) height, forcing teams to design innovative ways to throw them if they decide to go that route.

“It’s a lot like Quidditch”, mused junior Graham Downey during tests of a ball launching prototype this Monday. After extensive journalistic prodding, eighth grader Dan Hunt offered “It’s the most interesting game I’ve seen,” which may very well be true, as it’s his first year on the team. As alumni Dustin Rottner (Rensallear Polytechnic) and Nathan Ballou (Virginia Tech) fired up the softball pitching machine inspired foam ball cannon, junior Fritz Langford characterized it as “Well… incredibly dangerous”

This year’s team is the largest ever in terms of students involved and funding. This season also marks the first year the team has involved a professional engineering mentor from industry, in addition to the dedicated parents and teachers who have flexed their engineering prowess in the past.