GISU Tech

Competition Website:

www.gisutech.com

ROBOTICS

Engineering - Building your Robot

Lego NXT 2.0

(Check out the sample bots on the Lego Mindstorms CD/Software)

Compact Robot (Versatile Compact Robot - Quick and takes up little space)

http://drgraeme.net/DrGraeme-free-NXT-G-tutorials/Ch48/Ch48V1BCG/default.htm

Claw Striker (Strikes when faced with an obstacle)

http://www.nxtprograms.com/NXT2/claw_striker/index.html

Explorer Robot (good use of ultrasonic and touch sensor)

http://www.nxtprograms.com/NXT2/explorer/index.html

Lego EV3

Downloadable PDF building instructions for the EV3 

http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/downloads/software/ddsoftwaredownload/

Botball

iRobot Create based demo robot.

Trypobot

the XBCv3 starter kit example robot

Sir Pinchalot

Code - Programming your Robot

Lego NXT 2.0 - Mindstorm

Free Online NXT Programming Course

https://www.cs2n.org/activities/cs2n-learn/nxt-programming-for-fll-teams

Lego EV3 - Mindstorm

Introduction to EV3 Programming

http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/learn-to-program

Beyond Basics

https://sites.google.com/site/gask3t/lego-ev3/the-missing-commentaries/beyond-basics

Lego NXT 2.0 - RobotC

Lego EV3 - RobotC

Challenge Pack

https://www.cs2n.org/activities/robot-virtual-worlds/challenge-pack-for-lego-ev3

Botball - C

Lots of code help + examples

http://botballprogramming.org/site-maps/new-test-page/

Botball Community Forum

http://community.botball.org/forum/technical/programming

THE Challenges

1. Sumo Tournament

Robot SUMO wrestling Rules

The purpose: To push the other robot(s) out of the ring, while remaining in the ring yourself. 

The start of a bout: The robots will be placed inside the ring, facing away from each other. They must be controlled only by your computer program; you are not allowed to push them around by hand! 

Winning: Score three points for a win, and one for a loss; the winner is the robot with the most points after 2 bouts. If the robots are equal after two bouts, a third deciding bout is run. 

How can we quickly write a program that will allow our robot to push the other team’s robot out of the ring? – Have a think about it… 

The code above will help your robot turn around when it finds the dark edge of a SUMO ring that has a white centre. You can easily change the light sensor values to recognise a light edge if your wring has a black center.

Why not program the top line with a high speed dash – just to get a first SUMO bout going. We will think about other sneaky bout-winning options later. 

One person’s idea of a mini sumo robot is shown above – the idea is that the sloping front will lift the opposing robot’s wheels off the ground, and thus making it easier to push the opponent out of the rink. 

But this is not the only way to build a SUMO robot? – Your idea may be better 

Strategies to think...

What are the possibilities – are any of the following practical? 

Use an almost flat front sheet (to slide under an opponent’s wheels)? 

Use more than two powered wheels (to give your robot more “oomph”)? 

Use smaller or bigger wheels (which would be best?) 

Use tracks instead of wheels (would this help)? 

Use some sort of battering ram (a third motor to knock your opponent sideways)? 

Use a “random block” so that your robot does not turn the same amount each time it comes back from the edge of the rink (is this useful)? 

Use sonar (use the ultrasonic sensor to find your opponent so you can charge at it before it charges at you)? 

Can you think of other options in addition to the ones mentioned above? There are lots of things you can try – which one is best for your robot in practice? 

May the Best Robot Win!

Check out the following sites for help / tips

http://drgraeme.net/DrGraeme-free-NXT-G-tutorials/Ch46/SUMO-G/DrGraeme-SUMO-Help/SUMO-Help-DrGraemeDotNet.htm

http://drgraeme.net/drgraeme-free-nxt-g-tutorials/Ch46/SUMO-G/default.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZqHVvNTyZk&list=PLFd4sjeVCkV9hATGDPD6W_z7igg9fFCam&index=1

2. The Maze