The idea for a BEST competition originated several years ago when two Texas Instruments engineers, Ted Mahler and Steve Marum, were serving as guides for Engineering Day at their company site in Sherman. Together with a group of high school students, they watched a video of freshmen building a robot in Woody Flowers' class at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The high school students were so interested that Ted and Steve said, "Why don't we do this?"

After correspondence with MIT, the idea was presented to TI management. With enthusiastic approval from Dwain Chaffin, then general purpose logic manager at Sherman, the North Texas BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology) was born. After learning that a San Antonio group had formed a similar program, the two sites decided to meet the next year for a state playoff. In 1995, Texas BEST became an annual event sponsored by Texas Instruments and Texas A&M University. In 2001, Accenture and Boeing joined the Texas BEST team as corporate sponsors.

In the BEST process, each team designs and builds a radio-controlled machine to accomplish a defined task. The teams start by gathering for game kickoff day at local hub sites (now organized as BEST Robotics Inc.) where the receive the following:

Time frame: The game is limited to a six-week period to simulate a product time-to-market constraint. In the real world, a late product doesn't sell. In the game world, a late product means the team doesn't compete.

 

Resources: Each team receives an identical box of odd parts, fasteners, materials, and a radio controller for motors. In the real world, a new product must be built within a budget. In the game world, the machine can be built only with kit parts.

 

Specifications: At kickoff, each team gets a detailed game task description. This description is a closely held secret, known only to a few BEST game designers. In the real world, a new product must meet customer requirements and specifications. In the game world, the machine must meet size and weight also complete the same game task.

Industry and academic coaches act as mentors for the students, encouraging and guiding them as they design and build their robots. In the BEST process, students remain the primary decision-makers and builders. Schools provide at least one teacher-coach, administration support, classroom and shop access after school hours, and transportation to the competition sites. Schools select their own teams.

Six weeks after kickoff, teams compete in local hub contests. The top finishers advance to the Texas BEST Championship a few weeks later in College Station.

In 1993, BEST began with one site, North Texas, and its 14 schools and 221 students. In 2002, BEST was organized at 19 sites (called hubs) in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, and involved more than 450 teams and thousands of students. The 60 top-placing teams from the hubs advanced to the Texas BEST Championship in November at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. For more information about the Texas A&M competition, go to Texas BEST.

In 2003, over 550 schools will be competing at 25 hub sites in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, Georgia, Indiana, Florida and Oklahoma. Top teams will advance to regional competitions at Texas A&M and a new playoff location - Auburn University in Alabama.

History of the BEST Games

he objective of the game is for teams to use their remote-controlled machines to collect blood cells (balloons) from various areas on the field and deposit the cells into the team’s scoring area in the cell saver. The blood cells are initially contained in three arteries (fan driven containers that churn the balloons) and four capillaries (smaller, static balloon containers). The capillaries each contain four blue blood cells. The arteries each contain five red blood cells, and three white blood cells. In addition, the outer two arteries each contain a single green diseased blood cell.  The normal blood cells are scored in the cell saver as detailed in the following table:  Blood Cell Type  Lower Area Point Value  Upper Area  Point Value  Blue (1 point) 1 2 Red (2 points) 2 4 White (3 points) 3 6 The position of the center of the cell at the end of the match determines the point value for the cell and for which team the cell scores.

There are two ways of using the green diseased blood cells: the cell scores when it is removed from the sterile field (i.e., deposited outside of the playing field), or the cell nullifies the score in the specific zone of the cell saver where it is located. Each diseased blood cell removed from the field scores 8 points for all teams participating in the match. To nullify a zone of the cell saver (e.g., the upper scoring area of the yellow team), the diseased blood cell must be located within that zone. The diseased blood cell does not affect the blood cells contained in any of the other zones of the cell saver. Activating the decontamination switch (a paddle with a light on top) scores 3 points for the team assigned to the switch; however, the switch only scores points the first time it is activated. The order in which the decontamination switches are activated is used to resolve ties. The decontamination switch must be used by any teams involved in damaging a disease cell, and by a team that touches outside the sterile field.

Teams will be disqualified for intentionally damaging cells; accidental damage to cells will result in a 4-point or 10-point penalty, depending on if the cell is in a non-scoring, or scoring position, respectively, at the time that it is damaged. Stealing cells from another team is legal; however, cells that are in a scoring position when they are damaged will still be scored if they are damaged by another team.

There will be three phases to the contest: a partial round robin preliminary competition, a six game round robin semi-final between the top eight teams, and a three game round robin final between the top four teams. During the preliminary competition, each team will play eight games against randomly selected opponents. The team’s average score over the preliminary competition will be used to rank the team and to determine which eight teams advance to the semi-final round robin playoff. When computing a team’s average score for the preliminary competition, the team’s low score will be dropped.

For the semi-final round robin playoff, the top eight teams will each play three matches. The teams’ total scores for these three matches will determine which four teams advance to the finals. The top four teams will play three additional matches to determine the final ranking order. Ties will be resolved in the same manner as for the seeding competition.

2002 Warp X

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to build a robot that will traverse the rotating black hole and rescue the game pieces from all of the previous BEST games. You have only six weeks to design, build and test your robot before sending it back in time to rescue the BEST game pieces.

Through our connections, we have discovered a secret underground group based in Nevada called SDA, (Society for Displaced Aliens) who has agreed to help us. Rumor has it that this group was started by a few aliens that fled their planet before it blew up, but we have been unable to confirm these outrageous claims.

Intelligence reports from this group have disclosed a secret communications network on which we believe we can piggyback a carrier wave to send signals to a robot at any point in space-time. We should be able to link to this network within five weeks. You will be able to use this network to control your robot at any point in space-time.

We have received additional SDA intelligence describing the retro BEST game pieces. It seems that most of the game pieces are still in the 3' by 16' by 1' containment vessel storage bins used in one of the past BEST games. The bins are holding aliens and sticks of dynamite. The rings. Are suspended in the black hole. However, sending the Bumble Balls back in time recharged their batteries and they are now bouncing around randomly through space-time.

SDA reports that micro worm holes have formed at the openings of each of the front two rows of tubes of the MTCVs left over from another BEST game. These wormholes can be used to transport the smaller game pieces back to the present. The larger game pieces must be brought back through the black hole by a robot. The back rows of the MTCVs are full of noodles used in yet another BEST game. These noodles must be removed from the MTCVs. Once removed, they should find their own way back to the present time.

This year's game is one of strategy, speed and agility. It is an aweSUM total of 10 years of BEST! Games are played with four teams per round. Scoring can be high if you can figure out how to achieve all of the objectives.

The Playing Field

The outside boundary of the field is defined by two 12' by 24' sections with a 2-foot neutral zone spanned by the black hole. (This makes the actual surface coverage 26'.) See Figure 1. The field surface is covered with carpet. Driver locations (2' by 2' driver's boxes) are shown in Figure 1 on page 3. Spotter locations are on the spotter side of the floor diagonal to the driver's boxes.

A circular black hole (platform is 16.75" high disk, 6' in diameter and rotates clockwise at approximately 5 rpm) separates the two sides of the field. Two ramps provide access to the black hole on the driver side of the field and a ramp 5' wide provides access to the spotter side of the field. The platforms may or may not be painted. This will vary by hub. If painted, flat latex paint will be used.

The two sides of the field are separated by PVC pipe. Drivers cannot drive or reach over the divider. To reach game pieces on the spotter side of the field the robot must go up the ramp, across the black hole and down the opposite ramp.

Fog, which can obscure the spotters from the drivers, will appear occasionally between the two sides of the field. Fog may or may not be used at the hub level, but it will be used at Texas BEST.

The candles and bumble-ball grid are on the starting-side of the field.

Game pieces on the spotter side of the field, include dynamite sticks, aliens, rings, paddle switches and bumble balls.

Scoring

The table below shows the scoring opportunities per team:

 

Scoring Opportunity	Points
Flipping Paddle	10 pts
Noodle Extraction	10 pts
Dynamite/Alien Insertion	10 pts
Rings 1st Level (bottom)	20 pts
Rings 2nd Level (middle)	30 pts
Rings 3rd Level (top)	40 pts
Bumble Ball	50 pts

 

 

The designers of this year's game decided to produce a game from a slightly different point of view. The objective is to design and build a remotely controlled machine that runs on an overhead track. The machine must remove fuel rods from nuclear reactors and place them into a Multi-Tube Containment Vessel (MTCV).

The Playing Field

The playing field is rectangular, 12 feet wide and 48 feet long. Each half of the field has two parallel tracks, for a total of four tracks. Four teams play at a time with each machine suspended from one of the inverted “T” tracks. Between the two tracks on each half of the field are two nuclear reactors. Each reactor has 6 color-coded fuel positions, 3 for each team on that side of the field. At the start of the game each reactor fuel position will contain a fuel rod. The fuel rod will be placed such that a hinged radiation shield passes through the fuel rod handle. Four Multi-Tube Containment Vessels, color-coded to match each team, are located in center of the field. Each MTCV consists of twelve tubes into which a fuel rod can be placed. The MTCV is initially empty. Machines must remain on their track, although parts may be detached and placed on the reactors, MTCVs, or carpet. However, machines may not drive on the carpet.

Scoring

At some point during the match, each team must trip their Emergency Cooling Switch in order to score any points during a match. Each track has a switch located near the center of the field. Machines are not allowed to interfere with other machines’ tripping of the switch.

During each 3-minute match, teams score points by removing the fuel rods from their portion of the reactors and by placing the fuel rods into their MTCV. One point is scored for removing a fuel rod from a reactor. The team owning the reactor fuel position from which the rod was removed scores the point (independent of which machine removed the rod). Two points are scored for each MTCV tube containing a fuel rod at the end of the match. The team that “owns” the MTCV scores the points. Multiple fuel rods in the same tube score only two points and rods must touch the bottom of the MTCV to score. Ownership of a reactor position or MTCV is color-keyed to the color of the drivers box.

If all six fuel rods are removed from a reactor, the MTCV score of each team playing on that side of the field will be doubled. If both reactors are cleared, the MTCV scores will be doubled again. Note that the doubling does not affect the points scored for removing a fuel rod from the reactor.

 

Courtesy of SA BEST

The 2000 BEST game is unique in that the drivers must rely heavily on the spotters since the driver's view of the robot is severely limited by the wall in the center of the playing field. The remote-controlled machine must navigate to a variety of scoring areas to score points for the team and/or remove the scores of the opposition. Four teams compete at a time for the 3-minute long matches, and the team with the most points wins.

The Playing Field

The field (shown at the right) is divided in half by the wall in the center. Two archways allow the machines to move between the two halves of the field. The rocket sits on a platform that is rotated to a random position prior to the start of each match. The platform is also free to rotate during the match. The ramps in the corners have locks so that after a machine has driven across the ramp, tipping it from the position shown, the ramp locks in place making it difficult for other machines to enter the area.

Scoring

Teams have four different ways to score points: There are six sets of giant paddle switches that, when flipped, score between 1 and 3 points for the team that matches the switch color.

1. The switches closest to where the machines start score 1 point each.
2. The switches in the corners near the spotters score 2 points each.
3. The switches along the middle wall score 3 points each.

There are three historical artifacts (shaped like paint rollers) that are worth 1 or 2 points. The two that start above the arches are worth 2 points each, and the one that starts in one of the cans is worth 1 point. To score points for an artifact, the team must have sole possession of the object at the end of the match.

The Halon canister scores 4 points if, at the end of the match, it is in the appropriate quadrant of the rocket platform. The canister must either be touching the color matching the canister or attached to the rocket above the matching color, but not in contact with the machine.

Teams may also score points based on the position of their machine at the end of the match. The position of the machine is determined by the position of the base of the pole of the colored flag attached to the machine. In front of each set of switches is a 24 x 24 inch position scoring area.

1. Two position points are scored for machines in the switch areas nearest the spotters.
2. One position point is earned for the other switch areas.
3. Four position points are scored for teams that finish with the machine in the color-matched quadrant of the rocket platform.
4.  

Courtesy of SA BEST

The 1999 BEST game is one of strategy, speed, and agility. The objective is to design and build a remotely controlled robot to move game pieces to one of four scoring areas. The game pieces represent the escape pods of alien beings that must be attached to a rocket that is nearing blast-off. Four teams will compete at a time, and the team with the most points wins.

The Playing Field

The area nearest the rocket is a blast zone that will contain the heat and debris generated at launch. Each team has a safe zone, away from the rocket blast, that houses a life-support area, power grid, and pod rack. Machines can drive anywhere on the field, including other teams' safe zones.

Scoring

Of the four scoring zones, two are inside the teams' safe zone and two are on the rocket in the blast zone. Pods attached to the life-support receptacles on the ramp inside the safe area score a single point per receptacle. The other scoring option is in the two recharge areas (the small squares) contained in the power grid. Teams score one point for each recharge area containing one or more pods. Scoring within the safe zone can be accomplished using any color pods, with the points going to the team that started in that zone.

Pods placed on the rocket in the blast zone count two points for the lower region (below the band) and three points for the upper region (above the band). The pods on the rocket will be scored for the team of the corresponding color; red pods go to the red team, regardless of which team placed them on the rocket. In any of the scoring areas, pods must not be in contact with the machine to be counted at the end of a match.

The BEST pods (the cylindrical shaped ones) can be scored in any of the four scoring locations just like the regular pods. In addition, the two BEST pods give a team two chances to multiply the points scored in their life-support area. The multiplier is equal to the highest score of the two BEST pods (only one multiplier will be used). The spotter can handle and score the BEST pods, but only after they are delivered to the starting area.

The Rules

At the start of each match, the machines will be released to score game pieces. Matches will be three minutes long. The machines can remove any pods from the rocket or any other scoring area, and teams can defend their pods from opponents. Pods are out of play if they contact the floor outside the field.

 

Courtesy of SA BEST

The objective of this year's challenge, Toxic Troubles, is to design and build a remotely controlled robot that gathers spilled "toxic waste" and places it into a containment vessel. A CD containing valuable information about other hazardous waste locations should also be retrieved.

There are 13 different (obscure) game pieces and a CD for each team. The game pieces include a large air filter, an 2-liter soda bottle containing a small amount of a "toxic substance", a hat, a 3.2 oz 2-cycle oil container. As you can tell, the game pieces vary greatly in size and weight.

The Playing Field

The game is played in a 24-foot, octagonal-shaped field. In the center of the field, a six-foot wide octagonal-shaped platform holds the game pieces. The platform is roughly six-inches high. Four ramps are arranged as spokes from the center octagon. These ramps connect each team's scoring area with the center octagon. Naturally, the ramps do not provide easy access to either the center octagon or the scoring vessel.

Scoring

There are two containment areas, an elevated area worth three points for each deposited item, and a secondary area (under the vessel) worth one point for each item. Teams can score five points if they can retrieve their CD, have their spotter hold the jewel case, and have the CD on the machine at the end of the match.

The Rules

Teams can move or pick up any of the game pieces (including their opponents CD), they can block other machines or defend their scoring areas, or do anything else that doesn't disrupt play or damage another machine.

 

The objective of this year's challenge, Dynamite Duel, is to design and build a remotely controlled robot that picks up sticks of "dynamite" from a "mine," then drives up a ramp to drop the dynamite into a scaled bucket. This game varies from previous matches in that only two teams will compete at a time.

There are 53 dynamite sticks, each 12 inches long. Forty are lightweight, and 13 contain an additional 6 ounces of lead pellets. The sticks appear identical and can be picked up by either team. A bundle of three heavy sticks is located inside the mine entrance while the 10 remaining heavy sticks and all 40 light sticks are located inside a "TNT" box near the center of the field.

The Playing Field

The game is played in a 24-foot, square field. Two drivers' platforms sit at one end, and two ramps at the other end lead up to the buckets and weighing mechanism. The ramps are 4 feet wide and 8 feet long, rising 3 feet to a platform.

Scoring

The team with the heaviest bucket at the end of the two minute round wins. If the scales balance, the team with the fewest sticks in their bucket wins. If the number of sticks in each bucket is the same, the team with the most sticks on their half of the platform wins. If the winner is still undetermined, we'll call it a draw.

The Rules

Teams can move or pick up their opponents sticks, block other machines or defend their bucket, or do anything else that doesn't disrupt play or damage another machine.

 

Courtesy of SA BEST

The objective of this year's challenge, Block n' Load, was to capture territory on the playing field and defend it from opponents. Sections of the playing field were considered "captured" by the team with the most colored blocks in that area. Each team started with 12 blocks of either red, blue, green, or yellow.

The teams' blocks were lined along the edge of a starting box opposite a gate. One member of each team, the loader, stood behind the blocks, facing his or her gate.

When the match started, the loader loaded blocks onto the machine, after which the machine could drive onto the field through the starting gate to deploy the blocks. Once any part of the machine or any blocks entered the playing field, the loader had to stop loading blocks onto the machine.

At the end of each match, the team with the most blocks touching the carpet in a given section "captured" that section. Blocks stacked on top of other blocks or inside a machine didn't count. If two teams were tied for the highest number of blocks in a section, neither team captured the section -- neither did a third team if it also has blocks in that section.

The Playing Field

The game was played in a 24-foot, diamond-shaped arena.

Scoring

Four teams competed in each round. Game points were awarded based on which sections each team has captured, with some sections worth more points than others. Sections outside the blue "square" were worth 1 point, sections inside the blue "square" were worth 2 points, and the red sections counted 4 points outside the blue area and 8 points inside the blue area. Scores were given based on the total points of all the sections captured.

The goal of the game was to capture territory, and the number of blocks in each section didn't change the number of points scored for capturing that section. Blocks determined which team captured the section, and the sections captured determined the score. Match points were awarded based on the placement of teams in the match: 9 points for first, 6 points for second, 3 points for third, and 1 point for fourth. Matches were two minutes long, including the time it took the loader to load blocks onto the machine.

The Rules

Teams could move or pick up their opponents blocks, they could block other machines or defend captured territory, and they could defend sections they had claimed from opponents.

 

The 1995 engineering task involved designing a machine to pick up Styrofoam "noodles" and put them into a positive or negative scoring area before the buzzer sounded. This year's game, more than last year's, required teams to think in terms of strategy, as well as mechanics. One giant goose egg in the middle of the playing field could be moved into a positive scoring area to make noodles count negative or into a negative scoring area to make noodles count positive. Because each team had a positive and negative scoring area, defense was just as important as offense. The team with the most points at the end of each two-minute round won, until knocked out of the double-elimination tournament.

The Playing Field

The game was played in a 24-foot, octagon-shaped arena. Each team had a 24-by-72-inch positive scoring area opposite a negative scoring area.

Scoring

Four teams competed in each round, with each team assigned a home base. At the end of each round, the position of the noodles (positive and negative) determined the total points. But watch out for the giant goose egg, which made positive noodles negative and negative noodles positive!

The Rules

Machines could pick up, push, and steal noodles or the goose egg from other teams, block opponents from scoring, and do anything else that didn't damage the playing field or another machine.

 

The 1994 engineering task involved designing a machine to catch Bumble Balls, those jiggly, cute, and annoying little things that kids just can't seem to get enough of. Once caught, the balls had to be deposited at the team's home base before the buzzer sounded to score. Teams could also plot to keep their opponents from scoring. The team with the most points at the end of each two-minute round won, until knocked out of the double-elimination tournament.

The Playing Field

The game was played in a 12-by-24-foot arena. Two humps at each end of the field kept the Bumble Balls in the center, and two raised platforms lined the center of each side wall.

Scoring

Four teams competed in each round, with each team assigned a home base and platform identified by a color. At the end of each round, the number of Bumble Balls in the colored scoring areas were counted and the points were totaled. Teams earned one point per ball by dropping them off at home base or three points per ball by placing them on the platform before the buzzer sounded. Each round used 24 Bumble Balls, including one tie-breaking "Bumble Buddy" that counted double. Bumbles that quit moving, "Humble Bumbles," or Bumbles that left the carpeted playing area, "Bumble Fumbles," didn't count.

The Rules

Machines could push, capture, and steal balls from other machines or scoring areas, block opponents from scoring, upset other machines, or do anything else that didn't damage the playing field or another machine.

 

The first BEST contest was held in Sherman, Texas in the fall of 1993 using the name North Texas (NT) BEST. Contest participants included one team from each of 14 local schools as well as a team sponsored by a group of volunteers from San Antonio, Texas. The object of this competition was to take short pieces of PVC from the edges of the playing field and place them on a goal in the center of the field and to defend them against opponents.

The Playing Field

The playing field was a dodecagon (a 12 sided figure) 15 feet in diameter. The outside wall was 12 inches high and the surface of the playing field was carpeted. The scoring area was in the center of the dodecagon.

At the beginning of each match the rings were suspended from pegs on the outside wall of the playing field. The pegs were 3 inches long, 1 inch in diameter, and the center of each peg was 6 inches above the carpet. There were 3 rings hung on each of the 12 wall sections, 1 ring of each color. The order of the colors were red, green, yellow, green, yellow, red, yellow, red, and green in a clockwise direction when viewed from above. This cycle of colors was repeated 4 times around the wall.

In each match, two or three teams competed to get their color rings into the scoring area. The scoring area consisted of a raised platform, 2 inches above the carpet and 2 feet, 10.5 inches in diameter, having 7 posts. One post could hold four rings and was at the center of the scoring area. The other six posts could hold two rings and were positioned at the outside edge of the scoring area, spaced 60 degrees apart. These six posts were color coded at the top, (the color code corresponds to the team's starting and ring color) two posts each of the three ring colors. The posts were 5.00 inches in diameter at their base. The center post was 17.25 inches tall and the outer posts were 10.75 inches tall above the raised platform.

Scoring

Game points were awarded based on the position of the rings at the end of each match. Rings still on their starting pegs, touching the carpet, or out of the field scored no game points. Rings on or over the raised platform but not in a machine or detached container scored 1 game point. Rings on the six outer posts scored additional game points if the color of the ring matched the color on the top of the post; only 1 game point was scored if the color of the ring did not match the color on the top of the post. The center post scored even more game points and as open to all teams.

Each post had scoring zones marked on it. The short posts had two zones, the one on the bottom being worth 4 game points and the upper one worth 2 game points. The tall post had 4 zones, worth 8-, 6-, 4-, and 2- game points from bottom to top. Rings on a post would score the game points of the highest zone which they touch. Thus, the first ring on a post would score the most game points. If two teams had the same number of game points, the team scoring with the fewest rings would win the match.

Game points would be awarded based on the position of the rings at the start of the buzzer signaling the end of the match. Movement of the rings after the buzzer would not alter the score.

The Rules

Each team was assigned a color for each match and began the match with their machine inside that color starting area. Teams scored game points by moving rings of their color into the scoring area. A team could attempt to prevent other teams from scoring by blocking an opponent's machine, blocking an opponent's post, or moving other teams' rings. Rings that left the playing field were out of play for the duration of the match.

Thanks to San Antonio BEST (SA BEST) for providing game descriptions and pictures.

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