5 ARENA

The

includes all elements of the game infrastructure that are required to play RAPID REACTSM: the , , and all equipment needed for and management.

The

is modular and assembled, used, disassembled, and shipped many times during the competition season. It will undergo wear and tear. The is designed to withstand rigorous play and frequent shipping. Every effort is made to ensure that are consistent from event to event. However, are assembled in different venues by different event staff and some small variations occur. For details regarding assembly tolerances, please refer to the 2022

Arena

Layout and Marking Diagram. Successful teams will design that are insensitive to these variations.

Illustrations included in this section are for a general visual understanding of the RAPID REACT

, and dimensions included in the manual are nominal. Please refer to the official drawings for exact dimensions, tolerances, and construction details. The official drawings, CAD models, and drawings for low-cost versions of important elements of the RAPID REACT are posted on the RAPID REACT - Season Materials web page on the FIRST website.

5.1

FIELD

Each

for RAPID REACT is a 27 ft. (~823 cm) by 54 ft. (~1646 cm) carpeted area bound by and including the inward- and upward-facing surfaces of the guardrails, inward-facing surfaces of the , and the front vertical faces of the .

The

is populated with the following elements:

• 1
  HUB
  (including 1
  UPPER HUB
  and 1
  LOWER HUB
  ),
• 2
  HANGARS
  (a red
  HANGAR
  and a blue
  HANGAR
  ),
• 2
  TERMINALS
  , and
• 14
  CARGO RINGS
  . The surface of the
  FIELD
  is low pile carpet, Shaw Floors, Philadelphia Commercial, Neyland II 20, “66561 Medallion” (please note that Neyland II carpet is not available for team purchase and the closest equivalent is Neyland III). The edge of the carpet is secured to the venue floor using 3M™ Premium Matte Cloth (Gaffers) Tape GT2 or comparable gaffers tape.

Guardrails form the long edges of the

. Guardrails are a 1 ft. 8 in. (~51 cm) tall system of transparent polycarbonate supported on the top and bottom by aluminum extrusion. There are 4 gates in the guardrail that allow access to the for placement and removal of . The gate passthrough, when open, is 3 ft. 2 in. (~97 cm) wide. Gates are closed and shielded during the .

There are 2 versions of guardrails and

used for competitions. 1 design is reflected in the 2022 Official FIRST

Field

Drawings & Models. The other is designed and sold by AndyMark. While the designs are slightly different, the critical dimensions, performance, and expected user experience between them are the same. Detailed drawings for the AndyMark design are posted on the AndyMark website. All illustrations in this manual show the traditional design.

A run of black HDPE cable protectors extends from the guardrail on the scoring table side of the

to the nearest of the , straddling the . A cable protector run is made up of multiple floor segments and an exit segment. The total length of the cable protector run is 10 ft. 10⅝ in. (~332 cm). The floor segments are ¾ in. (~2 cm) tall, 7 in. (~18 cm) wide, with ~45° lead in ramps on each leading edge. It is secured to the carpet using hook fastener which increases the height to approximately ⅞ in. (~2 cm). Exit segments are attached to the guardrail with hook fastener and are 7 in. (~18 cm) tall, 6⅛ in. (~15 cm) wide and 1¾ in. (~4 cm) deep.

5.2 Zones and Markings

zones and markings of consequence are described below. Unless otherwise specified, the tape used to mark lines and zones throughout the is 2-in. (~5 cm) 3M™ Premium Matte Cloth (Gaffers) Tape (GT2) or comparable gaffers tape.

• ALLIANCE AREA
  : a 30 ft. (~914 cm) wide by 8 ft. 10 in. (~269 cm) deep infinitely tall volume formed by, and including the
  ALLIANCE WALL
  , the edge of the carpet, and
  ALLIANCE
  colored tape. It includes neither the
  TERMINAL AREA
  nor the
  TERMINAL
  .
• CARGO LINE
  : a 3 ft. (~91 cm) black line that starts 1 ft. (~30 cm) from the intersection of the
  TERMINAL
  and the
  ALLIANCE WALL
  and runs parallel to and 1 ft. (~30 cm) from the
  ALLIANCE WALL
  .
• CARGO RING
  : 1 of 14 small rings used to keep the
  CARGO
  in place prior to the start of the
  MATCH
  . Rings are ⅛ in. (~3mm) thick, 1¾ in. (~4 cm) diameter O-rings (McMaster Item#: 9452K63). 12 rings are placed around the
  HUB
  , and 1 ring is in front of each
  TERMINAL
  . They are secured to
  FIELD
  carpet with red or blue tape to indicate the color
  CARGO
  to be placed on it.
• CENTER LINE
  : a white line that bisects the length of the
  FIELD
  at a ~66° angle to the guardrail
• HANGAR ZONE
  : a 9 ft. 8 in. (~295 cm) wide, 10 ft. 8¾ in. (327 cm) deep, and infinitely tall volume defined by the
  ALLIANCE WALL
  , guardrail, and
  ALLIANCE
  colored tape. The
  HANGAR ZONE
  includes the tape.

• SHADOW LINE
  : a black line that lies directly below the
  MID RUNG

• STARTING LINE
  : a white line spanning the width of the carpet and located 2 ft. 4 in. (~71 cm) from the back of the
  DRIVER STATION
  diamond plate panel to the near edge of the tape.
• TARMAC
  : 1 of 4 (2 per
  ALLIANCE
  ) 12 ft. 9 in. (~389 cm) wide by 7 ft. ¾ in. (~215 cm) deep infinitely tall volumes bounded by and including the
  ALLIANCE
  colored tape.

• TERMINAL AREA
  : 1 of 2 7 ft. 8½ in, (~235 cm) wide by 6 ft. 9 in. (~206 cm) deep and infinitely tall volumes bounded by and including purple tape.

• TERMINAL STARTING LINE
  : a white line spanning the width of the
  TERMINAL AREA
  and located 2 ft. (~61 cm) from the back of the
  TERMINAL AREA
  .

5.3

HUB

The

is centered on the and shared between . It consists of 2 funnel-shaped goals (an and a ), UPPER and , and 4 fenders. The is 8 ft. 11 in. (~272 cm) wide by 8 ft. 11 in. (~272 cm) deep by 8 ft. 8 in. (~264 cm) tall.

An agitator extends up the center of each

and rotates throughout the . The motors driving the agitator assemblies are supplied with (nominal) 12V each, and their direction may vary from to . Generally, the agitator causes a single dropped into the to reenter play in approximately 7 seconds and a dropped in the to reenter play in approximately 5 seconds.

An

is 1 of the 4 extensions on which leaves the , and a is one of the 4 tunnels from which leaves the .

4 legs, each centered under an

, support the . The maximum height defined in G106 is marked with black tape on each leg (i.e. the bottom edge of the tape is 4 ft. 4 in. (~132 cm) above carpet). A fender is located in between each of the .

5.3.1

UPPER HUB

and

LOWER HUB

The opening of the

is 3 ft. 5 in. (~104 cm) above carpet, and the opening of the is 8 ft. 8 in. (~264 cm) above the carpet. A web of #2 black plastic chain is hung 7½ in. (~19 cm) below the rim of the opening.

The

opening has a 4-ft. (~122-cm) diameter, and the opening has a 5-ft. ⅛ in. (~153 cm) diameter.

5.3.2 Fenders

Fenders are 3 ft. 10⅛ in. (~117 cm) wide by 1 ft. 10½ in. (~57 cm) tall, are positioned between each

, and are perpendicular to the carpet. Fenders extend past the footprint of the by 1 in. (~3 cm). The shortest horizontal distance between the outward face of a fender and the opening of the is 3⅞ in. (~10 cm). The shortest horizontal distance between the outward face of a fender and center of the is 2 ft. 9⅞ in. (~86 cm).

5.4

HANGARS

A

is located in front of each and 1. A assembly consists of truss structure, bases, 4 , mounting brackets, floor protection, and 2 . The maximum height limit described in G106 is marked on the center of each horizontal truss assembly in black tape (i.e. the bottom edge of the tape is 5 ft. 6 in. (~168 cm) above floor protection carpet).

5.4.1 Truss Structure

truss is 1 ft. x 1 ft. (~30 cm x ~30 cm) square truss. The truss structure is 9 ft. ¼ in. (~275 cm) wide, 10 ft. ¾ in. (~307 cm) deep, and 6 ft. 2 in. (~188 cm) tall when measured from the carpet. Each of the 4 legs is attached to a baseplate (baseplates are not part of the truss structure). Each baseplate extends 6 in. (~15 cm) out from each leg face and is ⅛ in. (~3 mm) thick.

5.4.2

Rungs

Each

has 4 highlighted in Figure 5‑16: LOW, MID, HIGH, and TRAVERSAL. are 1¼ in. Schedule 40 steel pipes, with a 1.66 in. (~4 cm) outer diameter, and are powder coated to reflect the color. are 7 ft. (~213 cm) wide and bound by the truss and brackets (note that pipe that overlaps the truss structure and brackets is not considered part of the ).

Figure 5‑17 illustrates spacing between

. The top of the is 4 ft. ¾ in. (~124 cm) above carpet. The top of the is 5 ft. ¼ in. (~153 cm) above floor protection carpet, and its center is 3 ft. 6 in. (~107 cm) from the center of the . The top of the is 6 ft. 3⅝ in. (~192 cm) above floor protection carpet, and the top of the is 7 ft. 7 in. (~231 cm) above floor protection carpet. MID, HIGH, and are spaced such that their centers are 2 ft. (~61 cm) apart. The horizontal distance between the center of the and the is 3 ft. 3 in. (~99 cm).

5.4.3 Floor Protection

A layer of ⅛ in. (~3 mm) thick hardboard is installed on top of the

carpet in the space bounded by the truss bases to protect venue flooring. The hardboard is covered with a layer of carpet and adds approximately ⅜ in. (~1 cm) of height to the area.

5.4.4

LAUNCH PADS

are mounted to the 2 truss legs closest to the such that they are flush to the top of the truss base. Each is a piece of ¼ in. (~6 mm) thick, 1 ft. 5¼ in. (~44 cm) tall, and 10 in. (~25 cm) wide HDPE of the corresponding color.

5.5

TERMINALS

One

is in each of the 2 corners opposite the . Each is shared between . A consists of 1 ramp, 1 , 1 , 1 , and other structure elements shown in Figure 5‑20. Each has 5 delivery openings through which may transfer to . The space between the and the retention chain can hold approximately 10 .

Each

is 4 ft. (~122 cm) deep, 8 ft. 1⅛ in. (~247 cm) wide (excluding the ends of the ramp) and is a maximum of 5 ft. 1¾ in. (~157 cm) tall.

A 2¾ in. (~7 cm) tall ramp leads to the 1 ft. 5¼ in. (~44 cm) wide, 1 ft. (~30 cm) tall openings.

The

is a plastic sheet with 1⅛ in. (~3 cm) tall aluminum angles spaced 6½ in. (~17 cm) from each other to form channels. The is angled such that the top of the plastic is 3 ft. 7 in. (~109 cm) above carpet on the side and 4 ft. 2 in. (~127 cm) on the side. The high edge of the is padded with black foam cushion.

The

has exterior HPDE and interior polycarbonate ramps which each run the width of the and meet at a height of 2¾ in. (~7 cm). The exterior ramp is 10 in. (~25 cm) deep. Once pushed through any opening, a rolls down the interior ramp into the .

A

is a virtual boundary which extends the width of the and is defined by the side edge of the and the purple tape which runs parallel to the interior ramp. It is 1 ft. (~30 cm) from the side of the .

The

is the framing formed by all structure above the , and it is used by to feed to the . The top of the is above and parallel to the . The creates a 9¾ in. tall opening (~25 cm) which is 4 ft. 2 in. (~127 cm) above the carpet.

5.6

ALLIANCE WALLS

An

consists of 3 and a .

5.6.1

DRIVER STATIONS

A

is 1 of 3 assigned positions in an from where a operates their . Each is made from a 3 ft. ¾ in. (~93 cm) tall diamond plate base topped with a 3 ft. 6 in. (~107 cm) tall transparent plastic sheet and a top rail. An aluminum shelf is attached to each to support an . The shelf is 5 ft. 9 in. (~175 cm) wide and 1 ft. ¼ in. (~31 cm) deep. There is a 4 ft. 6 in. (~137 cm) long by 2 in. (nominal) wide strip of hook-and-loop tape (“loop” side) along the center of the support shelf that may be used to secure the to the shelf.

Each

contains the following elements for :

• 1 Ethernet cable: attaches to the Ethernet port of the
  OPERATOR CONSOLE
  and provides connectivity to the
  Field
  Management System (
  FMS
  )
• 1 120VAC NEMA 5-15R power outlet (i.e. standard US outlet): located on each
  DRIVER STATION
  shelf and protected by its own 2-Amp circuit breaker. It can be used to power the
  OPERATOR CONSOLE
  .
  DRIVE TEAMS
  are responsible for monitoring their power consumption as a tripped breaker in the outlet does not constitute an
  ARENA FAULT
  . For some events in regions that don’t use NEMA 5-15 shaped outlets, event organizers may install appropriate plug adapters to be used throughout the event.
• 1 Emergency Stop (E-Stop) button: located on the left side of the
  DRIVER STATION
  shelf and is used to deactivate a
  ROBOT
  in an emergency
• 1 team sign: displays the team number and located at the top of each
  DRIVER STATION
• 1 team LED stack: indicates
  ALLIANCE
  color,
  ROBOT
  status, E-Stop status, and is centered at the top of each
  DRIVER STATION
  .

The stack includes 2 identical ALLIANCE-colored

status LEDs above a third amber E-stop LED. LED states are as follows:

• ROBOT
  status LEDs Solid: indicates that the
  ROBOT
  is connected and enabled. This only happens during a
  MATCH
  . Blinking: indicates that either the
  FMS
  is preset for the
  MATCH
  and the
  ROBOT
  is not connected yet, or it’s during a
  MATCH
  and the corresponding
  ROBOT
  is
  BYPASSED
  , has lost connectivity, or the E-stop was pressed. Off: indicates that the
  ROBOT
  is linked and
  DISABLED
  prior to the start of the
  MATCH
  . This light is also off, regardless of
  ROBOT
  connection status, after the
  MATCH
  has concluded. E-stop LED Solid: the
  ROBOT
  is
  DISABLED
  due to a press of the team E-stop button, the
  FIELD
  E-stop button, or by the scorekeeper via the
  FMS
  . Off: the
  ROBOT
  is not
  DISABLED
  by the
  FIELD
  .

• 1 string of LED nodes described in Section 5.6.1.1
  Driver Station
  LED Strings.

• 1 timer (in
  DRIVER STATION
  2 only): displays the official time remaining in the
  MATCH
  and
  TIMEOUTS
  . It is marked with white tape along the bottom edge.

• FMS
  hardware and wiring: mostly located below the
  DRIVER STATION
  2 shelf

5.6.1.1

DRIVER STATION

LED Strings

A string of LED nodes is mounted to the bottom of each

window frame. The string is used to communicate safety information, state, and progress.

If the light string is all green, the

is safe for humans.

During a

, nodes 1 through 4 and 15-17 are yellow if the is in (as shown in Figure 5‑26) and white if in (as shown in Figure 5‑27 and Figure 5‑28). Additionally, the center 10 nodes of each string, 5 through 14, indicate the ’S progress in the ’S color. The first scored causes node 5 to turn on. The second causes node 5 to dim. The third causes the node 6 to turn on; the fourth causes node 6 to dim, and so on (see Figure 5‑26, Figure 5‑27, and Figure 5‑28).

If an

achieves a (as described in Table 6‑1), node 14 turns on (see Figure 5‑27) indicating the lowered threshold to achieve the .

If the

is achieved, all 3 strings display an animated light sequence, blink twice, and then all nodes remain dim in the color for the remainder of the .

light strings remain active after ends for 5 seconds. The lights then pulse for an additional 5 seconds (to indicate that the time frame described in Section 6.4, item C is complete).

5.6.2

HANGAR WALLS

A

is a 2 ft. 9 ⅝ in. (~85 cm) wide by 6 ft. 5¾ in. (~197 cm) tall structure located between 1 and the guardrail. The aluminum frame is covered with clear polycarbonate on the side.

5.7

CARGO

RAPID REACT is played with oversized tennis balls called

, custom modified for FIRST by Flaghouse. is 9½ in. (~24 cm) in diameter, weighs 9½ oz. (~270 g), and has a fuzz surface. is inflated to 3½ psi. ±½ psi. (checked every morning and lunch break and as outliers are suspected using this gauge at official events). Typically, if a is dropped on carpet from a height of 3 ft., it bounces back to a height between 2 ft. 1 in. (~64 cm) and 2 ft. 6 in. (~76 cm) (as measured from the bottom of the ball). is available for purchase at AndyMark, part numbers am-4600_blue and am-4600_red. The oversized tennis balls used as are not manufactured with any tight tolerance. Wall thickness, surface pilling, and shedding may vary. An off-the-shelf ball may perform differently from the official .

5.8 Vision Targets

The

is marked with a single 360° vision target consisting of 5 in. (~13 cm) long strips of 2 in. (~5 cm) wide 3M 8830 Scotchlite™ Reflective Material. A sample of the material is included in each Rookie Kickoff Kit and FIRST Choice. The target is a 4 ft. 5⅜ in. (~136 cm) diameter ring of plastic with 16 strips adhered to it with 5½ in. (~14 cm) gaps between them. The ring is aligned such that 1 of the gaps is centered over each . The distance from carpet to the top of the target assembly is 8 ft. 8 in. (~264 cm); the distance from carpet to the bottom of the vision tape is 8 ft. 5⅝ in. (~258 cm).

5.9 The

FIELD

Management System

The

Management System () is the electronics core responsible for sensing and controlling the FIRST Robotics Competition . The encompasses all electronics, including computers, touchscreens, wireless access point, sensors, stack lights, E-Stops, etc.

When a

connects the Ethernet cable from their assigned to their , the Software on the computer will communicate with . Once connected, the open ports available are described in Table 9‑5.

Note that

code cannot be deployed while connected to the . Additional information about the may be found in the

FMS

Whitepaper.

The

alerts participants to milestones in the using audio cues detailed in Table 5‑1. Please note that audio cues are intended as a courtesy to participants and not intended as official markers. If there is a discrepancy between an audio cue and the timers, the timers are the authority.

Event	Timer Value	Audio Cue
MATCH start	0:15 (for AUTO )	“Cavalry Charge”
AUTO ends	0:00 (for AUTO )	“Buzzer”
TELEOP begins	2:15	“3 Bells”
HANGAR ZONE protection engaged	0:30	“Train Whistle”
MATCH end	0:00	“Buzzer”
MATCH stopped	n/a	“Foghorn”
TIMEOUT warning	1:00	“Trumpet Fanfare”
TIMEOUT end	0:00	“Buzzer”