Nature's Fury Challenge

Download the Challenge  and more information in the Topic Guide.

We have decided to focus on Wildfires since we have had to contend with Wilfires in our community.  We will also have a fire helicopter mechanic come and speak with both teams.  If you have contacts to anyone else who would be able to talk to us about wildfires please let me know.

We will start by focusing on these questions:
• How could this force of nature cause a natural disaster in your chosen community?
• What problems would it cause? Would it harm people, property, or both?
• Is the community always at risk? At risk only during certain times of the year? Is the risk predictable?
• How do people prepare?
• How are people warned?
• Who provides emergency food, water and shelter ? How?
• Who clears the debris and rebuilds? How long does it take?

Your challenge is to create an innovative solution — one that makes life better by improving something that already exists, using something that exists in a new way, or inventing something totally new. 

We will work on building the field this weekend.  Read the missions below and start thinking about how what missions you want to complete.  

MISSIONS

SUPPLY TRUCK
Condition visible at the end of the match:
— The supply truck is touching the mat in the yellow region.
(Note that the LT blue region is in the yellow region.)
Value: 20

EVACUATION SIGN
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— The sign is obviously up (it doesn’t need to be vertical), held in place only by the slider’s friction with the mat.
— No part of the sign model is being touched by the robot, or any strategic object.
Value: 30

CARGO PLANE
Condition visible at the end of the match:
— The plane is in the yellow region.
(Points are given for yellow and not LT blue, or for LT blue, but not both.)
Value: YELLOW AND NOT LT BLUE… 20 -OR- LT BLUE… 30

TREE BRANCH
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— The east tree branch is closer to the mat than the electric cables are.
— The tree and the electric cable models are upright, touching the mat.
Value: 30

TSUNAMI
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— All three waves are touching the mat.
Value: 20

AMBULANCE
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— The ambulance is in the yellow region.
— All the ambulance’s wheels are touching the mat.
Value: 25

RUNWAY
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— Nothing except wave water and/or the plane is touching the mat anywhere on the runway.
Value: 30

CONSTRUCTION RELOCATION
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— There are no gray building units anywhere in the LT green region.
Value: 20

BASE ISOLATION TEST
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— The west tan building is undamaged: Four segments, 90° to mat, and "perfect" alignment.
— The east tan building is obviously damaged.
— *Nothing is touching either building except the rolling frame.
— *Nothing ever touched either building except the rolling frame.
— The damage was caused purely by movement of the rolling frame.
(*Exception: Fallen segments from the east building may touch the mat and/or the west building by chance.)
Value: 30

CODE CONSTRUCTION
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— A multi-story building is in the pink region.
— The building is made of building segments only.
— The finished building does not rely on strategic objects or the robot in any way.
(Perfect nesting and alignment are not needed for this building.)
(If there are multiple buildings, only the highest score-worthy one scores.)
Value: 5 EACH SEGMENT OF HEIGHT


OBSTACLES
*Condition visible DURING the match:
— The robot has crossed completely over the west line of the noted region, from the west only.
(This mission involves exceptions to the Rules...)
(This mission may be repeated as desired, in hopes of improved results.)
(Points given are permanent unless a better result replaces them later in the same match.)
(Points are given only for the best result achieved.)
(The robot may be rescued from this mission as needed, successful or not, without penalty.)
(Points given are permanent even if the robot later leaves or is rescued from the region.)
Value: DK BLUE…10 -OR- DK GREEN…16 -OR- PURPLE…23 -OR- RED…31

HOUSE LIFT
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— The house is locked in its high position.
Value: 25

PROGRESS
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— The pointer has reached colors as a result of red lever motion only (moving left in the picture).
(Points for this mission are awarded to both teams, no matter who operates the model.)
(No points are awarded if this model has not been operated.)
Value: COLORS REACHED…2 EACH

FAMILY
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— At least two people are together in any colored region.
(Points are awarded for 2, or 3, but not both.)
Value: 2…33 -OR- 3…66

WATER
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— At least one person is together with (bottled) water in the same region.
Value: PEOPLE WITH AT LEAST 1 WATER…15 EACH

SAFETY
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— At least one person is in a region colored red or yellow.
(Points for people in red and people in yellow are combined.)
Value: PEOPLE IN YELLOW…12 EACH, PEOPLE IN RED…18 EACH

PETS
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— At least one pet is together with at least one person in any colored region.
Value: PETS WITH AT LEAST 1 PERSON…15 EACH

SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— At least one non-water item is in a region colored red or yellow.
(12 Possible: 2-way radio, battery, generator, 2 fuel, grain, bread, medicine, boom box, flashlight, dirt bike, helmet)
Value: ANY IN YELLOW…3 EACH, ANY IN RED…4 EACH

SAFE PLACE
Conditions visible at the end of the match:
— The robot is in the red region at the end of the match.

Value: 25