1.0 SozBots Event Information

SozBots is a single weight-class competition consisting of sixteen oz remote controlled robots. Legged robots can be granted a weight bonus. The event is a double elimination format with a robot melee afterwards. The double elimination events are 2 minutes long and either knockout or judges points will decide a winner.

2.0 Arena Specifications

2.1     Arena Floor
          2.1.1 Size is 5 ft x 5 ft
          2.1.2 Material: Steel
          2.1.3 Surface is sanded flat and painted with Glidden
                    Universal Gray Latex Flat Evermore Interior Paint from Home Depot.
                    2.1.3.1 Paint to be applied with 1/2" NAP semi-rough roller
2.2     Arena Walls
          2.2.1 6" high polycarbonate walls surround the arena. The thickness of the polycarbonate will be a minimum of .125"
          2.2.2 Two 12" openings shall be located in center of the 2 neutral walls.
          2.2.3 External uprights that do not extend above the height of the wall shall support the polycarbonate. The construction of the walls will not place any part of the upright inside the arena.
2.3     Starting Boxes
          2.3.1 A red and blue starting box will be outlined on the arena floor with red and blue paint.
          2.3.2 The inside perimeter of the starting boxes will be 12 inches in diameter be centered on opposing, non-neutral walls.
2.4     Arena Placement
          2.4.1 The arena shall be placed on a support table such that the support table is at least 4 inches below the level of the arena floor.
          2.4.2 The arena floor shall be placed at a height of 3 ft off the room floor.
2.5     Arena Enclosure
          2.5.1 The arena shall be enclosed by 1/8" or thicker polycarbonate at a minimum of 7 ft by 7 ft. by 3 ft tall. The enclosure can be hinged to allow for easy access to the arena. The enclosure may be made bigger to allow for space around the walls to facilitate robots getting tossed over the wall.
          2.5.2 The arena enclosure cannot have any joint gaps larger than 1/16" to ensure spectator and operator safety.
2.6     Game Clock
          2.6.1 A stoppable timer shall be used to time the events. The clock will either be in full view or kept in the hands of an official.
2.7     Standing positions
          2.7.1 The robot operators will stand on the room floor directly behind their starting box.
          2.7.2 Judge(s) will stand behind openings on one neutral wall.

The double elimination event will place the robots into the arena 2 at a
time until a single winner emerges. Winning robots will advance to the
next round; losing robots in the winners bracket will get automatically
placed in the losers bracket. If one robot loses twice, it is eliminated from
the competition. The winner of the losers bracket will face the winner of
the winners bracket. The losers bracket winner must beat the winners
bracket winner twice to win the championship. The winners bracket
winner must only beat the losers bracket winner once to win the
championship.

3.1     Pre-Fight
          3.1.1 Robots will be placed in the arena in the starting boxes.
          3.1.2 The arena enclosure will be made ready to fight.
          3.1.3 Each robot must have all electric motors stopped. No external component of the robot can be moving.
          3.1.4 All flame devices cannot be emitting an external flame.
          3.1.5 Operators will be allowed to check their radio by moving the robot without leaving the starting box only after the arena enclosure has been made ready to fight.
3.2     Fight
          3.2.1 Any robot that no longer functions or is immobilized shall be declared the loser.
          3.2.2 Any robot that cannot demonstrate when requested a continuous linear travel of 1 inch in 5 seconds shall be declared immobilized.
          3.2.3 The first robot that touches the outer floor first shall be declared the loser.
          3.2.4 Robots will be asked to stop pinning another robot after 15 seconds. If robots don't comply within 5 seconds after the request, they will be disqualified.
          3.2.5 If robots become unable to separate, the clock will stop and an official will separate them. The robots will maintain the same orientation they were in at the time of the clock stopping and separated by at least 1 inch but no more than 2 inches.
          3.2.6 If a robot is upside down at the time of the clock stop, they will remain upside down.
          3.2.7 If a robot is on the verge of falling out of the arena at the time of the clock stop, they will be placed in the arena directly in front of the arena opening such that the entire robot is inside the arena.
          3.2.8 At no time during a fight shall any person or object other than the robot enter the arena enclosure with the exception of an official.
          3.2.9 If the arena or another robot catches fire, the match will be stopped until the fire is extinguished. The clock will be stopped and restarted after the arena has been made safe.
3.3     Post-Fight
          3.3.1 After a winner is declared or if 2 minutes of fight is finished, the robots operators will be asked to be stop all motion on their robots.
          3.3.2 If after 2 minutes there is no winner, the judge(s) will be allowed to inspect the robots before anyone else touches them.
          3.3.3 After inspection, the arena enclosure will be opened or removed to allow removal of the robots and further inspection by judge(s).
          3.3.4 The arena floor will be brushed clean if it has become excessively dirty.
          3.3.5 The judge(s) will be given 5 minutes to decide a winner.

4.0 Robot Melee

The robot melee is a 3-minute free-for-all battle where the last robot
standing wins. Typically 8 robots will be placed in the arena for each
round. Depending on the number of robots eligible for the melee, at least
1 and up to 4 of the robots will advance to the next melee round. In the
final melee round, one robot will be crowned as the champion.

The breakdown is as follows:

	First Round			Second Round			Third Round
# Robots Entering Melee	# of Heats	# Robots in each heat	# Robots advancing in each heat	# of Heats	# Robots in each heat	# Robots advancing in each heat	# of Heats	# Robots in each heat
4-8 9-16 17-32 33-64	2 2 4 8	4 8 8 8	2 4 2 2	1 1 1 2	4 8 8 8	4	1	8

The number of robots entering the melee will be evenly divided into each
heat so that each heat in the first round has roughly the same number of
robots. Robots will be randomly assigned into the heats.

4.1     Pre-Fight
          4.1.1 Robots will be placed evenly spaced around the center.
          4.1.2 The arena enclosure will be made ready to fight.
          4.1.3 All robots must have all electric motors stopped. No external component of the robot can be moving.
          4.1.4 All flame devices cannot be emitting an external flame.
          4.1.5 Operators will be allowed to check their radio by moving the robot without encroaching on the other robots.
4.2     Fight
          4.2.1 Any robot that no longer functions or is immobilized shall be eliminated.
          4.2.2 Any robot that cannot demonstrate when requested a continuous linear travel of 1 inch in 5 seconds shall be declared immobilized.
          4.2.3 Any robot that touches the outer floor shall be eliminated from the round.
          4.2.4 Robots will be asked to stop pinning another robot after 15 seconds. If robots don't comply within 5 seconds after the request, they will be eliminated.
          4.2.5 At no time during the fight shall any person or object other than the robot enter the arena enclosure with the exception of an official.
          4.2.6 If the arena or another robot catches fire, the match will be stopped until the fire is extinguished. The clock will be stopped and restarted after the arena has been made safe.
4.3     Post-Fight
          4.3.1 After 3 minutes, the melee is finished, the robot operators will be asked to be stop all motion on their robots.
          4.3.2 The judge(s) will decide who is moving on to the next round. Any robot that has been eliminated will not continue to the next round.
          4.3.4 The arena floor will be brushed clean if it has become excessively dirty.
          4.3.5 The judge(s) will be given 4 minutes to decide the winner(s).

5.0 Robot Construction Regulations

5.1 The following shall not be allowed on any robot:
          5.1.1 Any liquid of any type that can come in contact with another robot or the arena.
          5.1.2 Any chemicals that can cause a chemical reaction with another robot or the arena.
          5.1.3 Any flammable gases other than butane.
          5.1.4 Any entanglement devices such as adhesives or nets.
          5.1.5 Any electronics that generate high frequency (radio frequency) or high voltage intended to disrupt the electronics of other robots.
          5.1.6 Any Class 2, Class 3 or Class 4 lasers or any uncertified or unclassified lasers.
          5.1.7 Any material that is considered hazardous and presents an immediate danger or risks bodily harm.
5.2 The following shall be allowed only if the officials determine that there will be no danger to the operators or any bystanders.
          5.2.1 Butane devices that have been unmodified.
          5.2.1 Pneumatic systems with a pressure greater than 300 psi.
          5.2.1 Spinning devices with a high RPM.
          5.2.1 Projectiles can have a tether 1 ft in length maximum as long as the tether won't break before the projectile stops when fired.
5.3 Robot Requirements
          5.3.1 Robots must weigh 16.0 oz or less unless they are legged robots.
          5.3.2 Legged robots will be given a weight bonus of 1 oz plus 1 oz per ¼-inch of leg length. There is a maximum weight of 32.0 oz for a legged robot.
          5.3.2.1 Leg length will be measured vertically from the floor contact point to lowest leg pivot axis of the shortest leg.
          5.3.2.2 Legs cannot continuously rotate in the same manner as a wheel. Leg motion must be non-continuous.
          5.3.2.3 Prior approval for the weight bonus must be applied for. Please email legbonus@sozbots.com for more info.
          5.3.3 The robot must fit inside a 12-inch diameter by 12-inch tall cylinder.
          5.3.4 Safety covers will be required on all sharp edges.
          5.3.5 Restraints will be required for any moving parts that can cause bodily injury while handling.
          5.3.6 Robots must have a power switch that can be switched on and off easily.
          5.3.7 Robots will employ a wireless remote control. If radio control is used, all FCC regulations must be adhered to.

6.0 Robot Inspection

Robots will be required to pass a series of safety and weight inspections
before they are allowed to compete.

6.1 Safety Inspection
          6.1.1 Robots will be required to complete a safety inspection to ensure the construction regulations are adhered to.
          6.1.2 After a robot passes inspection, any modifications to the robot must conform to the construction regulations
6.2 Weight Inspection
          6.2.1 Robots will be required to pass a weight inspection. The robot cannot weigh more than the posted limits.
6.3 Post-Fight Weight Inspection
          6.3.1 A competitor may ask for a post fight weight inspection in which case both robots will be check for weight violations.

7.0 Judging

Judges will serve as the enforcers of the rules during the event and also
may be performing the inspection. Judges decisions are final.

7.1 Judges
          7.1.1 There will be 3 active judges at all times.
          7.1.2 Judges may rotate in and out to provide breaks.
          7.1.3 Judges cannot be competitors in the event.
7.2 Scoring fights
          7.2.1 To determine a winner, each judge will award a total of 3 points to the competitors as follows:
          7.2.1.1 1 point for damage awarded to the robot that does the most damage.
          7.2.1.2 1 point for strategy, awarded to the robot that has the best strategy.
          7.2.1.3 1 point for aggressiveness, awarded to the most aggressive robot.
          7.2.2 All the judges' points will be added up and the robot with the majority of points will be declared the winner.
7.3 Single Judge Provision
          7.3.1 If needed, a single judge will be allowed to judge an event. If elected, the entire event will only have one judge.
          7.3.2 Judges may rotate in and out to provide breaks.
          7.3.3 Judges cannot be competitors in the event.
          7.3.4 The judges points will be multiplied by 3 so that a total of 9 points will awarded as follows:
          7.3.4.1 3 points for damage, awarded to the robot that does the most damage
          7.3.4.2 3 points for strategy, awarded to the robot that has the best strategy.
          7.3.4.3 3 points for aggressiveness, awarded to the most aggressive robot.

8.0 Fun Requirement

8.1 Have Fun!
          8.1.1 SozBots is about getting together with friends and having a good time.