| 4 | | Local competitions are held in high-school gymnasiums; Regional competitions are held in university stadiums and are very large. Competitions are structured as many qualifying matches where teams compete for points; the teams with the most points proceed to quarter, semi, and final matches until a winner is declared. Each match consists of 6 teams split into two "alliances" (red and blue) with each alliance consisting of 3 teams. The red and blue sides compete for points according to the specific rules of the competition. Each match consists of two phases: "autonomous" where the robot operates completely under software control with no human intervention and "teleop" where the robot is controlled by a human driver using wireless communications (like a remote-control car). During qualification matches, teams are assigned, but during quarter, semi-final, and final matches, alliances are formed by the competing teams and strategy and negotiation for forming become very important. |
| | 4 | Each year, FIRST releases a new challenge and FRC teams build robots to meet that challenge. The challenge is released via an official [http://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc/kickoff kickoff] which reveals the challenge details and competition rules. Each team then has 6 weeks to build a robot that meets the challenge. The finished robots then enter Local, Regional, and National events where they compete to see which robots best met the challenge. Competitions are 2-3 day events with local competitions held in high-school gymnasiums, regional competitions held in university stadiums, and national competitions held in convention centers in St. Louis. The competitions are the culmination of the season and are big deals; the best way to understand what an FRC competition is like is to [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnOBCEhCTqY watch one]. Competitions start with many qualifying matches where teams compete for points; the teams with the most points proceed to quarter, semi, and final matches until a winner is declared. Each match consists of 6 teams split into two "alliances" (red and blue) with each alliance consisting of 3 robots; the robots then play 3 vs. 3. The red and blue sides compete for points according to the specific rules of the competition. Each match consists of two phases: "autonomous" where the robot operates completely under software control with no human intervention and "teleop" where the robot is controlled by a human driver using wireless communications (like a remote-control car). During qualification matches, teams are assigned, but during quarter, semi-final, and final matches, alliances are formed by the competing teams and strategy and negotiation for forming become very important. |
