Answers to the common questions that may arise, if you have any issues, please contact info@buildingblockstudio.com
The robot is programmed to undertake the mission, the team can touch and set the robot off in the base area of the mat (the white corners). Once the robot has been started it cannot be touched by the team unless a penalty or mission failure is incurred. The robot must be fully autonomous when in operation.
The registration fee is $150 per team. Training costs are $15 per hour per team (one computer and one robot are allocated). To be competitive we estimate that 10 sessions are needed, putting the minimum cost per team at around $300. This is a guide only.
The team with the most points at the conclusion of the competition in each division is the winning team.
Yes, unlike FIRST LEGO League, which has a project presentation and other educational aspects, the Serious Fun Robotics Competition does not have any other method of scoring points. This is designed to be flexible and fun while still improving teams robotic mission skills.
Yes, all parts must be offical LEGO products.
Yes, the open division only allows teams to use other programming tools such as MatLab, Simulink, Java etc. The only caveat is that the Building Block Studio EV3's firmware WILL NOT be changed. They can be booted from a team provided SD Card. All code must allow the robot to function un-aided by humans.
A robot run is where the robot leaves the base area and undertakes a mission, then returns to the base.
Teams must plan, code and build missions. Teams won't be prompted or coached into undertaking missions. If teams book a training session and become distracted, it is not the responsiblity of Building Block Studio to bring them back on task.
Most missions don't have a specific order, however a few missions allow you to collect pieces that are used in other missions. Building Block Studio will record the number of artefacts that your team collects and will make them avaliable for the connected mission.
No, the robots used in this competition cannot be changed, however teams are free to make attachments that connect to the robot, these attachments must be removed at the end of the session, ready for use by another team.
If your team is ready to have a mission (or multiple missions) judged, the team must first make a time booking with Building Block Studio, these will be allocated as 15 minute intervals. Your team must be ready during this time.
Teams must nominate the mission they are about to undertake to the judge. The judge will video record the mission and allocate the points into the offical register.
Multiple missions can be judged within the 15 minute judging window.
The judging window is priced at $5 per 15 minutes
Yes you can change team members throughout the competition, however if you change division because of the age constraint, your points will be returned to zero and you will be able to be judged for all missions again.
Yes you can be in more than one team, perhaps a father/son - mother/daughter team and a school friend team.
The team is eligible for maximum points on the first mission attempt. The second attempt of the mission is scored at half points. No scoring options are provided after the two attempts.
You can write code at home and bring your own robot, however please don't bring your own LEGO or attachments into the studio, this is to avoid it mixing with our LEGO parts.
Yes you can bring your own designed LEGO EV3 robot, please let Building Block Staff know as you enter so we can be made aware of this.
We have made the missions to be similar to FIRST LEGO League where if a detail isn't called out it doesn't matter. However Building Block Studio reserve the right to prevent anyone from cheating, so if you find a loophole, please let us know so that we can provide guidance on it.
The leaderboard will be updated at least once per week.