Radars of the Lost Ark, Module Ⅳ

Table of Contents

1. Game Rules
2. Regulations
3. Specifications
4. Competition Structure
5. Awards
6. Revisions
7. Station Names

Game Rules

1. The game, called Radars of the Lost Ark, is a game of territorial control, in which robots compete to gain the most territory.
2. The game is played between two robots.
3. Each match lasts for 120 seconds.
4. Territories start the game unclaimed. They may be claimed and thereby belong to one robot.
5. The territories and starting zones form a network as shown in the specifications section. Territories which are adjacent (within the network) to another territory or a zone are said to be linked to that territory or zone.
6. A territory can only be claimed by a robot if it is linked to their starting zone or a territory already owned by that robot.
7. When a claim completes, if the territory was already owned by the claimant, the territory becomes unclaimed.
8. Two territories are connected if they are linked and both owned by the same robot.
9. If a territory owned by a robot is no longer connected, either directly or through other territories, to that robot’s zone, it becomes unclaimed.
10. Robots are awarded points at the end of the match for the number of territories currently held:
    • Plain territories are worth 2 points each,
    • bronze territories 4 points each and
    • gold territories 8 points each.
11. At the end of the match the robot with the most points wins. In the event both robots have the same number of points, the match is a tie.
12. The arena is a rectangle of the design specified in the specifications section.
13. Two of the internal walls in the arena are moveable. At the start of the match these walls are raised. At 60 seconds into the match these start to descend, it takes 1 second for the walls to fully descend. Once fully descended robots are able to drive over them.
14. In the centre of each territory is a tower.
15. To capture a territory, a robot approaches the tower, and from within the territory transmits a radio signal to it.
16. Each tower has a station code, which it continuously broadcasts; the robot can use the radar functionality of its radio to identify the signal strength and relative bearing to any tower. Station names are defined in the station names section.
17. This is the fourth module of the game.

Regulations

1. All robots must be safe.
2. The Judge’s decision is final.
3. Any assistance from Student Robotics volunteers is provided without guarantees.
4. Student Robotics reserves the right to examine teams’ robot software at any time.
5. Teams are expected to conduct themselves within the normal principles of good sporting conduct.
6. While accidental bumps and scrapes are inevitable, the sport is non-contact.

Specifications

1. The above figure represents, to scale, the design of the arena. The arena is 15m along its long axis, and 7.5m along its short axis.
2. The green boxes denote the robot start locations. Starting zone 0 is on the left, starting zone 1 is on the right.
3. Dark grey regions indicate internal walls of the arena, which are impassable to robots.
4. Light grey regions indicate moveable internal walls of the arena, which are impassable to robots only while raised.
5. The salmon-shaded regions indicate the territories. Those with the gold or bronze coloured rings are worth more points.
6. The orange circles in the centre of the territories denote the towers. Underneath each tower in the figure is its station code.
7. The light blue regions indicate links between territories.
8. The canonical specification of all features of the arena is the simulator itself.

Competition Structure

1. The competition is structured in two phases: the leagues and the knockout.
2. The leagues take place across four different dates.
3. At the end of each game played within a league, league points are awarded. The team whose robot won the match are awarded 4 league points, and the team which lost the match are awarded 2 league points. In the event of a tie, both teams are awarded 3 league points. If for any reason a team is disqualified from a match, they will not receive the league points.
4. At the end of the leagues, positions in the leagues are used to seed a knockout. This will be used to determine the final 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd awards.
5. The knockout will consist of play-in matches to identify the top 16 teams followed by four rounds of single-elimination matches.
6. Third place will be decided by a play-off between the teams which place second in their semi-final matches.

Awards

Main Competition Awards

Awarded to the teams that place highest in the knockout at the end of the competition. The teams in 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place receive awards.

Rookie Award

Awarded to the team, competing in Student Robotics for the first time, which places highest in the league.

Committee Award

Awarded to the team that displays the most extraordinary ingenuity in the design of their robot. It is not awarded for complexity of design, but rather elegance, simplicity, and good engineering.

Online Presence

Awarded to the team judged to have the best online presence. The hashtag for the competition is #srobo2021. Teams are reminded not to post private information about their members or others.

Revisions

1. Explicitly calling out sport as being non-contact (enacted 2020-12-10).
2. Resize arena diagram to match the arena in the simulator (enacted 2021-01-16).
3. Update rules for module 2 (enacted 2021-01-16).
4. Update rules for module 3 (enacted 2021-02-06).
5. Define the full names of stations and clarify the starting zones (enacted 2021-03-06).
6. Update rules for module 4 (enacted 2021-03-20).
7. Update rules to describe the knockouts (enacted 2021-04-24).

Station Names

Station Code	Station Name
BE	Beeston
BG	Badgerness
BN	Banananess
EY	Eye Trumpeton
FL	Flailsbury
HA	Hattersly
HV	Hivekirk
OX	Oxmouth
PL	Port Lucent
PN	Pinkton
PO	Ponyhurst
SF	Scarborough Fire
SW	Switchstow
SZ	Scarzingford
TH	Tudor Hammer
TS	Tall Ship
VB	Chipping Variable
YL	Yelloware
YT	Yamlot