Robotics 101: Get to Know Rebuilt

Ever wonder just what our robotics team thinks about each season? How does the game really work? And why does it change every year?

We got the details from student Alec Gupte '26. The team also provided a handy graphic to reference when you're cheering on Team 1218 during this year's tournaments.

Thanks to you and your team for creating the graphics for those of us who want to learn more about this year's game, Rebuilt! Tell us, how does the "game" alter from year to year?

Imagine you play on a football team, and you've spent the last year learning the basics to help you win games. Now imagine the next season: You have to score the football in a basketball hoop instead of an endzone, and the ball is a tennis ball instead of a football, and the field is an ice rink instead of turf. That is essentially how the FRC games change every year.

Everything is different: the field layout, the obstacles, the scoring areas, the scoring objects, the pacing. Nothing is the same each year, which makes it rare for teams to be inclined to reuse robots or mechanisms from a previous year, which encourages creativity and innovation every time build season comes around.

How do you prepare for a new game each year?

At our kickoff, we spend a few hours as an entire team discussing needs and wants—things we think will be necessary for the robot to do and things we think will be only a luxury. For example, last season, there were multiple ways to score one of the game pieces called "algae," either in a high net or in a low, ground-level goal. We decided that being able to score in the high net, although it would be beneficial, was only a want at the start of the season. The mechanisms on our robot made it possible, but not consistently or efficiently, and we chose to allocate our time to refining other parts. These "wants" often end up becoming needs as the competition gets better, though, like at the World Championship, where all the best robots could score in the high net with ease.

After kickoff, the programming, mechanical, and strategy/data subteams meet to discuss how we want to build the robot. Our ideas usually evolve as the build season goes on, but it's important for us to start construction of the robot as early as possible so that we have time to fix any issues and practice using it at the end of build season.

How does a team have to change their strategy when their scoring Hub is "off" versus when it is "on"?

This game is unique because it's the first time in a long time that the game itself dictates what your robot can and cannot do. When the Hub is on, a team should only be scoring. The only way to get points during the teleop phase is to score in the Hub, so it's important for teams to take advantage of all the time they have. When the Hub is off, a team should be working to bring as much Fuel into their section as possible. This will likely lead to the gameplay loop of a team scoring in the Hub, going to the middle to collect Fuel while their Hub is off, and then coming back as soon as the Hub turns on again and scoring the fuel they collected.

At the very end of the game, robots can try to climb a Tower. They get 10 points for the lowest bar, but 30 points for the highest. Why might a team choose to play it safe on the low bar instead of reaching for the top one as the timer runs out?

Choosing to only climb to the low bar could be for many reasons. The simplest one being that building an effective climber is difficult, let alone one that can climb three times without having a ground to go off of. Some teams may choose to spend more time perfecting their shooter or collection system if they think they won't be able to build a three-story climber at all. Additionally, the Tower is very narrow (relative to the robots). If there are already two robots on the top rung, then it might make more sense for the last robot to just stay on the bottom rung to not risk messing with either robot on the top or falling off itself. 

This game has "outposts" where human students can hand fuel to the robots. How does having a "human player" make this a true team sport rather than just a competition between machines? 

Each game has a human player, and often the role of the human player is to just give an object to the robot. This game is unique, though, because the human player can score just like the robot can. The human player can not only hand off fuel to the robots, but they can choose to throw the fuel into the Hub while it's active, which will give the team one point (the same amount of points as a robot scoring). Having a human player helps give people who were less involved with the construction of the robot the opportunity to impact the team on the field. 

And why does having that human element in the game matter?

FRC, and FIRST as a whole, is all about innovation and technology, and they recognize that in order for technology to be impactful and useful, it must work in conjunction with humans. Having a human player who interacts with the robots every match helps to emphasize that connection.