The STORM 2027 Game - Loose Cannons
The flood waters have risen, the pirates have arrived, and STORM 2027: Loose Cannons is officially open for registration. Version 1.0 of the competition rules is live, read the full rules PDF or look into the highlights below.
The Premise
A flash flood has swallowed the region and never receded. What was dry land is now open water - and it's full of pirates. Each team builds a teleoperated Robot armed with a cannon, taking aim at the enemy's rudder, hull, and masts. As the match clock runs down, both crews scramble to finish the job and climb aboard the enemy Ship before the currents sweep them away.
How It Works
Two Teams, one Field, four minutes. Robots start in their Staging Zones, fire Cannonballs across a 16' x 8' Field split by four physical Waves, and score by landing shots on the opposing Ship's three entry points:
| Entry Point | Points |
|---|---|
| Rudder | 2 |
| Hull | 4 |
| Masts | 5 |
Land 5 hits on the same entry point and it's Damaged, however, the Damaged status alone doesn't score points. That bonus only benefits you if your Robot is also hanging from the opposing Ship's Rope when the clock hits zero. Climb without damage and you still gain 12 points, damage without climbing earns you nothing extra.
Periscopes Only
As with every STORM event, the defining challenge isn't just the mechanism but also the inability to see the field. Operators sit in a separate room and drive entirely on whatever telemetry their Robot sends back over STORM's provided wireless network.
Full networking and Field Management System (FMS) protocol details, including source code, are published on GitHub.
Registration & Key Dates
- Registration is open now at storm.soonerrobotics.org
- Registration closes: February 28th, 2027, 11:59pm CST
- Design Reports due: two weeks before the competition date
- Competition: March or April 2027
Registration is free and open to anyone 18 or older.
What's Still Coming
This is a v1.0 release, and a couple of pieces are still being worked on:
- AprilTags - We can confirm now they'll be 36h11 family, 2"x2", with unique IDs per tag. A proper map will be released with v1.1.
- Additional field element specs (including finalized Wave details) are also targeted for v1.1, expected in September.
Have Questions?
Questions about the rules, the Field, or the network protocol? Join us on Discord or email us at [email protected]. We'll post here again as soon as v1.1 drops.
Fair winds, and good luck building your robots!