FIRST Overdrive

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FIRST Overdrive is the 2008 game for the FIRST Robotics Competition, announced on January 5, 2008.

In Overdrive, teams race around the field and compete to complete counterclockwise laps around a central barrier while manipulating large 40-inch (1 m) diameter “Trackballs” over and under overpasses to score additional points.

An archive of the game rules can be found on the FIRST website 2008 FRC Manual and Related Documents

Game Overview

FIRST Overdrive is played on a 54 foot × 27 foot (16 m × 8 m) track divided lengthwise by a lane divider which divides the field into a Red side and a Blue side. The lane divider is crossed by a 6 1/2 foot tall overpass marking the red and blue finish lines. Two three-team alliances race around the track in a counter clockwise direction manipulating their alliance’s Trackballs.

The game is made up of two scoring periods. The first 15 seconds of play is the Hybrid period in which robots are autonomous, and may also respond to digital signals sent by team Robocoaches stationed at the corners of the track.

The next two minutes of play is the Teleoperated period. At this time, robots are radio controlled by team operators standing at either end of the field.

Offical Game Summary[1]

In the 2008 game, “FIRST Overdrive,” students’ robots are designed to race around a track knocking down 40” inflated Trackballs and moving them around the track, passing them either over or under a 6’6” overpass. Extra points are scored by robots positioning the Trackballs back on the overpass before the end of the 2 minute and 15 second match.

Scoring

During the Hybrid period, robots traveling in a counter clockwise direction score:

8 points for each of their Trackballs knocked off of the overpass
8 points for each of their Trackballs passed over the overpass
4 points whenever their robot crosses a lane marker
4 points whenever their robot crosses their opponent’s finish line
4 points whenever their robot crosses their finish line
2 points whenever their trackball crosses their finish line

During the Teleoperated period, robots traveling in a counter clockwise direction score:

2 points whenever their robot crosses their finish line
2 points whenever their Trackball crosses its finish line by itself
8 points whenever their Trackball hurdles its overpass

Alliances score an additional 12 points for each of their Trackballs that are positioned anywhere on the overpass at the end of the match.

Hybrid Period

Hybrid period is a new addition to an FRC game. Rather than the pre-game autonomous modes of previous years where robots were prohibited from receiving input from humans, robots may receive signals via an infrared (IR) remote control from a designated Robocoach during the Hybrid period.

The number of different IR signals the IR board is physically able to receive is 4. The number of distinct commands that are allowed to be sent is also 4, thus ruling out multi-signal combinations.

Robots

FIRST Overdrive challenged many teams to score points utilizing the large ball game pieces. The result was a mixed pool of robots that managed to score points using the balls in different ways.

“Lifters” were the most straight forward robots which utilized either an arm or lifting device to lift the ball over the overpass.
“Pushers” were one of the more common robot types. These robots scored by pushing the balls around the track. These robots could also score more points by simply going in circles around the track at high speed, earning points with each lap.
“Shooters” were one of the least common, yet most successful, robot types. Many teams considered the possibility of shooting the game pieces over the overpass, but they had thought that it would be a difficult task to accomplish due to the large game pieces and height of the overpass. However, many teams did successfully build robots which could score over the overpass by shooting the balls over it. The speed at which these robots could score was unmatched by most other types of robots, making them some of the most successful of the season.

Official Documents

2008 Q & A as of 2/27/2008
Section 0 - Introduction
Section 1 - Communication
Section 2 - Team Organization
Section 3 - At The Events
Section 4 - Robot Transportation

Section 5 - The Awards
Section 6 - The Arena

Calendar of Important Deadlines
Robot Shipping
Consent and Release Form (File not found as of 3/26/17)
2008 Trophy and Medallion Reorder Form (File not found as of 3/26/17)

Team Updates

Team Update #1
Team Update #2
Team Update #3
Team Update #4
Team Update #5
Team Update #6
Team Update #7
Team Update #8
Team Update #9
Team Update #10
Team Update #11
Team Update #12
Team Update #13
Team Update #14
Team Update #15

Email Blast Archive

09/07/2007 FRC Robot Control System Survey
09/12/2007 Get Ready for 2008 FRC Event Registration!
09/12/2007 Updated Alliance Pairing Algorithm
09/13/2007 Seventh Annual Women in Science and Technology Forum
09/13/2007 Senior Mentor Conference Call Monday, September 20th
09/21/2007 FTC 2007 Game Challenge Revealed - Quad Quandary!
09/24/2007 Initial Event Registration Reminder!
09/25/2007 Senior Mentor September 20th Conference Call Available Online Now!
09/28/2007 Multiple Teams at One School
10/01/2007 NASA Grant Application Now Available
10/08/2007 FIRST Forums
10/10/2007 Reminder: 7th Annual Women in Science and Technology Forum (File not found as of 3/26/17)
10/15/2007 4th Annual Safety Animation Contest Details Announced!
10/19/2007 2008 FRC Connecticut “Double Regional” (File not found as of 3/26/17)
10/23/2007 Second Regional Event Registration Opens Thursday, October 25, 2007 (File not found as of 3/26/17)
10/24/2007 Autodesk FIRSTbase to Re-launch for the 2008 FRC Season! (File not found as of 3/26/17)
10/30/2007 NASA Grant Application Closing October 31st (File not found as of 3/26/17)
10/31/2007 NASA Grant Extension for Disaster Southern California Area FRC Teams (File not found as of 3/26/17)
11/02/2007 Senior Mentor Conference Call “Registration Deadlines”, November 5th at 7 PM EST (File not found as of 3/26/17)
11/06/2007 Practice Match Poll (File not found as of 3/26/17)
11/07/2007 Unrestricted Event Registration Opens November 8th (File not found as of 3/26/17)
11/08/2007 FRC Practice Match Poll and Forum Passwords (File not found as of 3/26/17)
11/08/2007 2008 FIRST Scholarships Available (File not found as of 3/26/17)
11/14/2007 Kit and Kickoff Registration Reminder! (File not found as of 3/26/17)
11/15/2007 FIRST Announces PTC Collaboration Software Sponsorship! (File not found as of 3/26/17)
11/20/2007 NASA Grants Announced (File not found as of 3/26/17)
11/20/2007 The Autodesk FIRSTbase site has re-launched for the 2008 FRC Season! (File not found as of 3/26/17)
11/21/2007 2008 FRC Competition Manual Sections Posted (File not found as of 3/26/17)
11/26/2007 4th Annual Safety Animation Award Deadline Extension Announced (File not found as of 3/26/17)
11/27/2007 Connecticut “Double Regional” Update (File not found as of 3/26/17)
11/27/2007 Founder’s Reception and Hotel Information (File not found as of 3/26/17)
11/29/2007 Championship Hotel Reservation Information and Award Section Update (File not found as of 3/26/17)
11/30/2007 Call for Proposals - 2008 FIRST Robotics Conference (File not found as of 3/26/17)
12/03/2007 Championship Hotel Reservation System Open (File not found as of 3/26/17)
12/04/2007 PTC Online Workshop (File not found as of 3/26/17)
12/11/2007 2008 Program Book Deadline Approaching! (File not found as of 3/26/17)
12/11/2007 FIRST Scholarship Alert (File not found as of 3/26/17)
12/14/2007 FRC Volunteer Survey (File not found as of 3/26/17)
12/20/2007 Reminder - Call for Proposals for the 2008 FIRST Robotics Conference (File not found as of 3/26/17)
12/21/2007 FRC Game Hint #2 (File not found as of 3/26/17)
12/28/2007 Robot Transportation Section Now Available (File not found as of 3/26/17)
01/02/2008 FRC Game Hint #3 (File not found as of 3/26/17)
01/03/2008 FRC Competition Manual Encrypted Sections Now Available for Download! (File not found as of 3/26/17)
01/07/2008 Important – Team Update #1 (File not found as of 3/26/17)
01/07/2008 Reminder - Replacement Parts Request Process (File not found as of 3/26/17)
01/08/2008 Competition Manual Q & A System Live on Wednesday, January 9th, 2008 (File not found as of 3/26/17)
01/10/2008 Scholarship Materials (File not found as of 3/26/17)
01/11/2008 Update on Connecticut Regional Field (File not found as of 3/26/17)
01/11/2008 Autodesk Updates (File not found as of 3/26/17)
01/14/2008 Altium Designer Available for Teams to Download! (File not found as of 3/26/17)
01/18/2008 Awards, Judges Info, and Additional Payment Deadline Approaching (File not found as of 3/26/17)
01/23/2008 Shipping your Robot - FedEx Donation Information Available! (File not found as of 3/26/17)
01/25/2008 Trackball Exchange (File not found as of 3/26/17)
01/28/2008 “Communicating within Your Community” Teleconference - Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008 (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/01/2008 Reminder - FRC Workshops Available on the Web (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/05/2008 “Building the Crate; Shipping the Robot” Teleconference - Monday, February 11th, 2008 (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/05/2008 igus Donation Announcement (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/07/2008 Awards Submission Deadlines! (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/08/2008 Judges Information for the Team Yearbook (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/11/2008 Robot Ship Date Quickly Approaching! (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/12/2008 FIRST Scholarship Mid-February Update (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/13/2008 Website Award Submission Deadline Tomorrow! (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/14/2008 Robot Take Home Letter Deadline Reminder! (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/18/2008 Reminder - Robot Ship And Judges Information Deadlines Reminders (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/18/2008 FIRSTawards.org Tips for Upcoming Award Submissions (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/20/2008 Your Regional Event; What to Expect Teleconference - Monday, February 25th, 2008 (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/25/2008 Revved up for FIRST Overdrive! (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/26/2008 “Before You Go” Document (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/27/2008 Condensed Game Q & A Document Posted (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/27/2008 Important Championship Information for Regional Qualifiers (File not found as of 3/26/17)
02/28/2008 Early Team Update (File not found as of 3/26/17)
03/03/2008 FLL to FRC Participants! (File not found as of 3/26/17)
03/06/2008 Important Event to Event Shipping Reminder (File not found as of 3/26/17)
03/06/2008 Early Team Update #15 - Rule Intent (File not found as of 3/26/17)
03/07/2008 FIRST Scholarship Early March Update (File not found as of 3/26/17)
03/12/2008 Championship – Water Shortage Concern (File not found as of 3/26/17)
03/24/2008 Important Reminders (File not found as of 3/26/17)
03/27/2008 Atlanta Storm Damage Update (File not found as of 3/26/17)
04/02/2008 WGBH’s Design Squad Opportunity (File not found as of 3/26/17)
04/02/2008 Championship FIRST Finale Ticket Information
04/03/2008 Deadline for Conference Registration Approaching! (File not found as of 3/26/17)
04/04/2008 FIRST Scholarship Alert - Championship (File not found as of 3/26/17)
04/07/2008 Pre-Order Lunch and Airline Considerations (File not found as of 3/26/17)
04/07/2008 Championship Mini-Seder Information (File not found as of 3/26/17)
04/08/2008 Championship Essential Information Document Available Now! (File not found as of 3/26/17)
04/08/2008 Trophy and Medallion Re-Order Form (File not found as of 3/26/17)
04/10/2008 Important Pit Load In and Load Out Information (File not found as of 3/26/17)
04/11/2008 New Q&A Forum for Championship Teams (File not found as of 3/26/17)

FIRST Overdrive

Game Overview

Offical Game Summary[1]

Scoring

Hybrid Period

Robots

Official Documents

Official FIRST Drawings

2008 Team Drawings

IR Board Information

Additional Technical Resources

Team Updates

Email Blast Archive