FIRST® is always trying to evolve and improve our processes to lead to better results for our community. One area we’ve committed to is improving our scoring element (game piece) design, sourcing, and testing process. This blog will talk through some of the changes that were made to help increase consistency and provide an elevated community experience.
It’s worth noting that each season, the scoring elements have characteristic requirements that differ – and some are easier to standardize than others. Each season comes with new “lessons learned” to carry over to future seasons. For the past few years, we have been doing more testing than in the past to try to ensure that the scoring elements would behave how we expected and meet our criteria.
Planning for REBUILTTM presented by Haas, we knew we had significant characteristic requirements for the scoring element. With over 500 elements on the playing field, we knew there were unique challenges that would need to be solved in order to make the game not only fun for participants but functional as well.
One challenge is scoring element consistency. In 2025, for REEFSCAPESM presented by Haas, we worked directly with a manufacturer and had them make a specific mold for the Algae which we tested and were pleased with the results. Unfortunately, after Kickoff we learned that there was more than 1 type – a characteristic not-so-important for playground usage, but much more important for robot design. This obviously was not what we intended, and as such, we committed to more oversight during the manufacturing process to minimize inconsistencies moving forward.
For teams, holding and serializing multiple scoring elements is a challenge. In previous seasons, such as 2020/2021 INFINITE RECHARGESM, the scoring elements were robust and durable, but the grippy coating on the outside made them a significant challenge for robots – they stuck to everything! A smooth, non-grippy surface was a “must have” characteristic to allow for teams to be able to create mechanisms that could hold and serialize many of these elements without jamming.
Another significant design challenge was in the field itself. The ability for each Hub to funnel and count hundreds of scoring elements each match, and thousands over the course of the season both quickly and accurately was non-trivial. In addition to a smooth outside surface, which in addition to being good for robots, is also good for counting on the field as well, the requirement for a robust sphere that would hold it shape throughout the match and event was essential. 2017’s FIRST STEAMWORKSTM was another game with many scoring elements on the field that served as a baseline for what was needed. We knew a lesson from 2017 was that it was preferred to have a uniform outside surface; the holes in the 2017 Fuel were at times problematic for sensing and counting. This season, with the requirement of scoring elements recycling back onto the field after scoring, we knew these characteristics were essential to allow us to design an effective goal and counter mechanism.
With REBUILT having many “must have” scoring element requirements, we decided to implement a new process where we created a Request for Proposal (RFP) starting around October 2024 that was shared with limited suppliers to help us improve the process. This allowed us to specify the desired scoring element characteristics and requirements for what we wanted without specifically locking into a single option or eliminating options that may be feasible and a better choice. The RFP included specifications about shape, approximate size, robustness, and a general idea of quantity and how this element would be used in the game. Additionally, the RFP looked at the feasibility and cost of manufacturing a large quantity of scoring elements for both event needs and team usage in a relatively short amount of time.
Through this process, we had several suppliers involved and ultimately partnered with AndyMark to deliver the 2026 Fuel as teams know it. FIRST has worked with AndyMark previously to distribute elements that had already been selected and sourced by FIRST. Together, we were able to design a custom element that fit the desired characteristics and were happy with the results. The scoring element design paired with the design of the Hub Counters were able to meet the in-match demands of processing fuel this season with only a handful of known issues over the course of the season (Our Milstein division champions really stretched the limits of the counters throughout their playoff run!). During the season, 6,942,414 Fuel were processed and counted in official matches.
Working together with AndyMark, we were able to complete a variety of tests and inspections to ensure a high-quality game piece was provided to teams that consistently met the characteristics required. The largest variances reported during the season were with spring rate. More research was done to test and assess variations throughout the season with these variations theorized to be due to humidity differences and compressibility changes over time. AndyMark created this whitepaper on the process that was implemented during manufacturing and throughout the season to ensure the success of the Fuel for REBUILT.
This process also allowed us to start the team pre-order process earlier than the previous year, which helps us ensure stock of the Scoring Elements during the season.
For the 2027 Season, we have again partnered with AndyMark to provide the Scoring Element and have already opened pre-orders. We continue to learn each season about ways to improve and implement changes to provide an excellent team experience. We can’t wait for teams to see the game at Kickoff!