Royal Robothon – Rules

Setup

  1. For the Royal Robothon Pilot in January 2025, all runs must be recorded on an official FLL Submerged playing field, and the robot must be wholly contained by one of the home areas at the start of each run.
  2. All challenges being attempted must be set up in their proper starting positions.
  3. The robot must not have more than 4 motors and 1 brain.
  4. For runs completed on an official FLL Submerged playing field, a brief (~1 second of mostly still camera) close-up video shot of each mission model must be included at the start of the recording, to demonstrate that the mission models are in the proper location.
  5. Teams may only submit videos of robots constructed and coded entirely by students on that team. Drawing inspiration from other teams or sources is allowed.

During the Run

  1. Once the code is started, all hands must stay off the robot. Teams cannot restart the code  or adjust the robot once it starts moving. Remember, teams can attempt a run as many times as they wish before making a final submission, and can even resubmit a new run later in the month.
  2. The robot must be visibly started by the button on the hub, not through a computer.
  3. Once the robot has started, teams should not touch the challenges or interact with the robot.
  4. The video submission should show the entirety of the robot, home area, and challenges for the entirety of the run, with the exception that brief top-down shots are allowed before the run starts and after the run ends showing the robot’s starting and final positions. 

After the Run

  1. The robot must come to a stop during the video, and without team interaction. 
  2. The video may not include anyone touching models after the run.
  3. The entire run must be completed in 90 seconds or less, measured from the click of the start button. The robot must come to a complete and final stop before 90 seconds elapse.

Submission

  1. The team’s name must be clearly shown for at least two full seconds at the start of the video. Steadily filming a legible sign in real life, or editing in a slide with the team name, are examples of acceptable ways to accomplish this.
  2. The video must show the full run, including:
    1. Adherence to setup rules. A close-up visual inspection of the robot is not necessary, but it must be obvious that the robot adheres to the starting size and position rules. Do not leave room for interpretation. A top-down view is the best for demonstrating that the robot is fully within the home area.
    2. Any missions being completed.
    3. The robot coming to rest at the end of its run.
    4. Obvious visual evidence that any missions have been successfully completed, including fully leaving and/or returning to the home area, and that the robot is not touching any missions at the end of the run.
  3. Other than optional edits to ensure rule 1 is fulfilled and to crop the video’s length, the video must not be post-processed.
  4. Each run must be its own submission. Do not edit multiple runs into a single video. (Multiple missions may be accomplished in a single run, but do not edit runs together.) To submit more than one mission when each mission is accomplished in a separate run, complete the submission form multiple times.
  5. Teams must score themselves accurately. Failure to do so may result in the run being disqualified.
  6. Videos must not be longer than reasonably necessary to complete these requirements. Submissions with excessively long videos will be disqualified.

All runs are subject to review by Royal Robothon administrators. All runs that place top 3 on the leaderboard for a given month will be reviewed, and a handful of runs will be reviewed at random. Some runs may not be reviewed depending on submission volume. Reviews may not happen right away.  Ensure that your self-review and self-scoring is accurate, and that submission rules are followed to avoid a situation where your run is disqualified or adjusted towards the end of the month, leaving you without enough time to re-submit.

In the case of any dispute regarding the legality or scoring of a run, the word of Royal Robothon administrators will be final. Reviewers will use their best judgment. Reviewers will not debate rulings or discuss hypotheticals. It is recommended to complete runs, and record and submit videos, in a way that makes it very obvious what the score should be to remove any room for doubt.