Field and Robot Damage Update

This blog is the final blog on the task forces we created over the off-season. Over the past few seasons, teams and participants have seen an increase in robot and field damage. We have been evaluating ways to reduce damage to ensure that participants are safe during match play, robots are able to participate throughout the season with a reasonable amount of maintenance, field elements are robust enough to hold up through the full competition season, and that matches remain fun and exciting to watch.

This is a complex problem with many variables including increasing advances in robot technology, a rise in popularity of swerve drive, and other game factors that have incentivized fast speed and acceleration. This summer, we looked at different ways to reduce field and robot damage during match play in three specific areas: increasing field element robustness, reducing robot speed and energy, and evaluating the effectiveness of bumpers. We also recognize the impact that the game design itself plays and have factored that into the game design process for future years.

Increasing Field Robustness

For some background, field components travel from event to event throughout the competition season and need to be robust enough for the season while also able to be disassembled and transported from event to event. FIRST^® staff looked at both evergreen structures on the field that are consistent from year to year, as well as taking lessons learned into designs for game specific elements on the field for 2025 and beyond. The game specific elements will be shown at Kickoff but include increased plastic thickness on areas where robots interact.

For evergreen elements, there are two types of field perimeters that are used at events – Bri-Weld and AndyMark. The FIRST designed Bri-Weld welded perimeter is used at most regional events, the FIRST Championship, and at some district events. The AndyMark field perimeter is used at some district events and some international regional events. FIRST stores and maintains the perimeters and evergreen elements for most regional events and the FIRST Championship while local program delivery partners (PDPs) store and maintain these components within their own districts and some international events. Additions to the welded perimeter for this season include:

• Increased bracing on perimeter pieces behind the driver station
• Replacement of all hook and loop on field elements stored at FIRST

One specific issue seen is falling operator consoles when robots hit the driver stations during match play. There will continue to be a 2 in. strip of the “loop side” of hook and loop tape on the driver station shelf for teams to secure their operator consoles to during the match. Additionally, at some events, there were reports of the driver station shelf becoming dislodged and falling. To address this, an additional brace has been added to the shelf of the welded perimeter.

This brace includes a 1 in. x 2 in. x 1/8 in. thick clip that sits on the front edge driver station shelf on the welded perimeters. Teams should keep this change in mind when constructing their operator consoles to ensure they fit on the shelf and still engage with the hook and loop tape.

For 2025, the same carpet will be used from 2024. This has seen an increase in damage as robots continue to choose swerve drives and high grip wheel solutions. Gaffers tape is typically used to repair damage and holes in the carpet so teams should expect wear as the event progresses. We continue to evaluate the future of carpet used at events, with the goal to find a robust commercially available product that can also be purchased by teams.

Reducing Robot Speed and Energy

In this area, we received community survey feedback and evaluated input from a 2023 task force that included FIRST staff and community members. Overall, there were many suggestions from the community on ways to reduce robot speed, acceleration, and overall energy. In this area, we were looking for solutions that would have a measured impact on reduction on robot speed and energy with minimal frustrations for volunteers, teams, and robot part vendors.

Last season, the task force implemented a drive train 4-motor limit. For 2025, there are no planned additional restrictions on robot speed, power, or current. Many areas were evaluated, but we didn’t feel that any recommended change would have a positive impact that would outweigh the potential negative impact to teams, vendors, and volunteers. In addition to the changes to the field (above) and bumpers (below) we believe specific aspects of the 2025 game are likely to help mitigate these concerns for this season. Additional changes may be made for 2026 and future seasons as we evaluate these concerns through 2025.

Bumpers

A task force composed of FIRST staff and community members was created to discuss and evaluate bumpers. Goals of the group were to:

• improve options for teams to make robust bumpers,
• make bumpers easier for teams to build, and
• make bumpers easier for inspectors to inspect.

Overall, with recommendations from the task force the following changes will be made for 2025:

• Allow other materials for backer and padding
• Increase allowance for dimensions that frequently cause inspection issues
• Adjust corner and padding requirements to ensure corners are protected and there is an increased bumper to bumper interaction area.

An overview of specific changes can be found in the Bumper Changes Overview. The 2025 FIRST^® Robotics Competition game manual will have the complete final ruleset.

Finally, we want to give a huge thank you to the Bumper Task Force group, who were mostly volunteers.