Game Elements
Student Teams To participate in Mechanalia, students form teams whose individual members occupy the following positions: 1. Rover Driver: This team player drives the electric rover throughout the arena. 2. Arm operator: This team member sits in the passenger seat of the rover and operates the robotic arm through a series of hydraulic valves mounted in the rover. 3. Base Station Gunner: This player occupies the elevated platform on the Base Station where the tennis ball cannon is found. 4. Logistics Captain: This individual or team of individuals occupies the Base Station and directs activities here.
Robotic Arm Gripper Kit This kit is a collection of mechanical components from which teams design and create their robotic gripper. Each team receives an identical kit that contains various components that can be fashioned into a gripper as well as raw materials from which students can fabricate unique parts with tools they provide. Once completed, the gripper is attached to a provided robotic arm. The kit contains enough parts to allow students to experiment with their gripper design or to create multiple grippers.
Build, Test and Learn Time After receiving their gripper kits, teams have 4 to 6 weeks to create their grippers. During this time, team members meet after school and on weekends to put their grippers together and tweak them until they are happy with their performance. Teams test their designs on a piece of equipment called a R.A.M., or Robotic Arm Module which is located at their school to provide easy access. The R.A.M. contains a hydraulic pump, fittings, control levers and a robotic arm to which the gripper is attached. Team members can operate the arm exactly the same way they will when it is attached to the Robotic Rover. The R.A.M. arm and controls are identical to those of the Rover to provide teams with a familiarity of the setup on the Rover.
After School Classes During the Build, Test and Learn Time, students can take a series of after school classes in which they learn about robotic arms, basic engineering and physics principles, communication techniques and basic game strategy. These classes will meet at least once a week for at least 2 hours after school, at the school team members attend. In these classes, students can get hands on experience designing and testing their robotic arms, grippers, driving the rovers, shooting the tennis ball cannons and developing their strategy. Each class series lasts 6 weeks, culminating in a tournament event.
Periodic Events Approximately every 4 to 6 weeks, Newton's Attic will hold a competition where teams assemble and compete in a huge arena. Here, dozens of students will gather for a 1 to 2 day competition in which they compete against other teams from local schools and organizations. Teams compete three at a time in the arena in qualifying rounds. During these elimination rounds, teams work to score points to qualify for the final round in which they compete to capture the cash prize in the vault. In the event that no one opens the vault in the final round, the cash prize is kept by Newton's Attic and added to the cash prize for the next event. This process continues and the prize will grow from event to event until a team manages to open the vault.
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Base Station Inside the arena are three Base Stations: 'Laser' (red), 'Sapphire' (blue) and 'SunBurst' (yellow). The Base Station, a room like bunker serves as the base of operations from which teams operate. This is the starting place for each game, and the location where team members reside while not in the rover. The team's tennis ball cannon is located on the elevated platform, and various tools and other resources are located in the pit area. This is the place where teams strategize, observe the game, make repairs and modifications to their arms or grippers during the competitive rounds and trade rover crew positions.
Robotic Rover The Robotic Rovers are heavily shielded, electric cars to which teams attach their robotic arms. The passenger compartment contains the controls that are used to manipulate the arm. The rovers are driven throughout the arena and are used to collect the various objects that are brought back to the Scoring Benches in front of the base stations. On top of each rover is a target that when hit, shuts down the vehicle for 15 seconds. During this time, the rover cannot be driven, but the arm continues to function. After the 15 seconds has expired, the vehicle can be driven normally, and the target is now disabled for 30 seconds. That is, the target can be hit for up to 30 seconds after reactivation, but the rover will not shut down. After this 30 second period, the rover will shut down when the target is hit. This 'escape window' prevents a rover from being repeatedly disabled without any chance of escape.
Artifacts These are the objects teams try to collect with their rover and robotic arms. There are four Artifacts: A steel ring, a plastic cube, a dumbbell and a tennis ball. A team's gripper must be able to grasp all four of these objects, or the team must be able to modify their gripper during play to accommodate each object.
Scoring Bench The Scoring Bench is the place where the artifacts are placed during both the qualifying rounds and the money round. Each team's Scoring Bench is located in front of its Base Station, and it contains brackets into which the Artifacts are placed by the robotic arm. Each Scoring Bench also houses a key that opens the Vault, but the key remains locked in the Scoring Bench until all the Artifacts are in place.
Key At the center of each Scoring Bench is a cylindrical key that is locked in position. The key can only be unlocked by placing all the artifacts on the Scoring Bench. Once the key is unlocked, it is removed with the robotic arm and taken to the Vault where it is inserted into the keyhole.
The Vault The Vault is the focal point of the final round. Locked on top of the Vault is the White Triangle, the receptacle that holds the cash prize. By inserting its key into the key hole, a team unlocks the White Triangle and claims the prize. The moment a key is inserted into the keyhole, the game is over.
Challenge Stations Some of the Artifacts are locked inside mechanical devices, called Challenge Stations, spread throughout the arena. These Challenge Stations are found inside shielded areas within the arena, and the rover crew exits the rover to approach them. Here, the crew must figure out how to unlock the Challenge Stations in order to acquire the captive Artifacts. Unlocking the devices requires critical thought and application of basic physic and engineering principles. |
