Infinite Recharge (stylized in all caps) is the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) game for the 2020 season. The season is in partnership with Lucasfilm as part of its Star Wars: Force for Change initiative.
The Infinite Recharge game involves two alliances of three teams each, with each team controlling a robot and performing specific tasks on a field to score points. The game centers around a futuristic city theme involving two alliances consisting of three teams each competing to perform various tasks, including shooting foam balls known as Power Cells into high and low goals to activate a Shield Generator, manipulating a Control Panel to activate this shield, and returning to the Shield Generator to park or climb at the end of the match. The objective is to energize and activate the shield before the match ends and asteroids strike FIRST City, a futuristic city modeled after Star Wars.
The 2020 season was the first season without an enforced six-week build period, with teams able to work on their robot at any time after kickoff. However, teams are in general not permitted to work on their robot outside of pit hours during an event the team in question is competing at.
The 2020 season was suspended on March 12, 2020, and all remaining events were cancelled on May 13, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the same day, it was announced that Infinite Recharge would also be played in 2021, with possible "changes" to be revealed at that season's kickoff.
Kickoff
The season's kickoff event took place on January 4, 2020, at 10:00 AM Eastern Time and was centered around an impending asteroid impact threatening the FIRST City. The event was broadcast from Manchester, New Hampshire over Twitch.
Field
Infinite Recharge is played on a 26 ft 11 1/4 in (~821 cm) by 52 ft 5 1/4 in(~1598 cm) field covered in grey low-pile carpet. The field is bounded by short transparent polycarbonate guardrails on the longer sides and the taller Alliance Station walls on the shorter side. The field features two sectors, with each containing one end for each alliance combined with the rendezvous point (center area). The sector contains robots at the start of each match, while drivers control their robots at the alliance station. The rendezvous point contains the Shield Generator and the Trenches.
Alliance Station
Each team has their own Alliance Station that is positioned at one of the ends of the field. The Alliance Station is where drivers control their robots, human players deliver game pieces to robots, and opposing alliance robots shoot game pieces. Alliance Stations contain three driver's stations, one for each participating team in the alliance. The center player station is flanked on one side by the loading bay, and on the other side by the opposing alliance's power port.
Loading Bay
Loading Bays are located in the alliance stations, with one per alliance. The Loading Bays are used by the human player to give game pieces to the robots on the field. There are five places that game pieces can be put into the Loading Bay, with two upper ports, and three ground ports.
Power Cell
Power Cells are the main game piece in Infinite Recharge. The Power Cell is a yellow, 7 in (~18 cm) diameter Medium Bounce Dino-Skin foam ball. The FIRST logo is printed in black ink on each Power Cell.
Shield Generator
The Shield Generator is a large box-shaped structure located in the center of the field. It contains both alliances Rendezvous Points, as well as the two Generator Switches.
Trench Run
The Trench Run is an approximately 4 ft by 18 ft rectangular area on each side of the field bounded by alliance-colored tape that contains the alliance's Control Panel. It is located in the middle of the field, directly adjacent to the Shield Generator.
Scoring Areas
Power Port
There are two Power Ports on the field, with one at each Alliance Station. An alliance's Power Port is located at the opposing alliance's Alliance Station, requiring robots that intake from the Loading Bays to drive across the field in order to score Power Cells. There are three levels of scoring on a Power Port. The rectangular Bottom Port is worth two points in autonomous, or one in the teleoperated (or teleop) period. The hexagonal Outer Port is located above the Bottom Port, and is worth four points during the autonomous period, and two points in teleop. The Inner Port is located inside of the Outer Port, and is a much smaller circular hole set in the back of the Outer Port. It is worth six points in autonomous, and three during teleop.