Competition Main points

Aim of Event: Solving a Maze using Autonomous mobile robot at the minimal time.

No. of team members: 2 ~ 3

No. of Robots per Team: 1

Duration dedicated for each team: 10 Minutes

Robot’s Weight Range: Not specified

Robot’s Footprint Dimensions: up to 15 cm x 15 cm

Arena Specifications: 3 m x 3 m

Robot Control: Autonomous

Competition categories:

• Class A Levels 1 & 2 students
• Class B Levels 3, 4 & 5 students

Objective

In this competition the team of contestants design and build small robot to solve a maze in the shortest possible time autonomously without any intervention from anyone of the team members during the trials. Also, every team must present its robot idea through an official presentation to judges and other audiences.

The match will start when a robot is placed in the start point, and starts to move trying to discover maze and get the right path to the maze end (exit) automatically. The maze is randomly constructed. So, there will be a new path to discover at every new match. Every competition’s category has its own mission according to the following scheme:

• Class A mission is to arrive the end of the maze at the shortest time possible.
• Class B mission is to arrive the end of the maze and go back to the start point following the shortest discovered path.

Rules For The Robots

• A ROBOT shall be self-contained (no remote controls). A Robot shall not use an energy source employing a combustion process.
• A ROBOT shall not leave any part of its body behind while negotiating the maze.
• A ROBOT shall not jump over, fly over, climb, scratch, cut, burn, mark, damage, or destroy the walls of the maze.
• A ROBOT shall not be larger either in length or in width, than 15 cm. The dimensions of a ROBOT that changes its geometry during a run shall not be greater than 15 cm x 15 cm.
• Any violation of these rules will constitute immediate disqualification from the contest and ineligibility for the associated prizes.

Rules For The Maze

• The Arena consists of the arena ground and the maze walls. The arena ground is made of multi-colors Marble or tiles. The arena ground surface may have alignment tolerance 0.5 cm. The walls of the maze are 15 cm high (assume tolerance 5% for mazes). Thus, the internal navigable path width is 20 cm. Total maze size 2.5 m x 2.5 m.
• The start of the maze is located at random place. The destination goal is also located at random place at every match.
• Multiple paths to the destination goal are allowed and are to be expected.

• Contestants have 10 minutes total to complete as many runs as they wish. Any time used to adjust a robot between runs is included in the 10 minutes.
• First prize goes to the robot with the shortest official time. Second prize to the next shortest, and so on.
• Official time for class A is the shortest time the robot takes to go from the start point to the destination goal.
• Official time for class B is the shortest time the robot takes to go from the start point to the destination goal and go back to the start point through the shortest discovered path.
• If a robot is in mid-run when the ten minutes total time elapses, that attempt is finished and does not count.
• Two timers are used for each contestant. One for the ten-minute total time, and a separate timer for each run within the total time.
• The operator may abort a run at any time.
• If an operator touches the robot during a run, the run will be cancelled, and the robot must be moved from the maze to the start point. Also, a one-time penalty of 20 seconds will be added to the robot's best time.
• If a robot has already crossed the finish line, it may be removed at any time without affecting the run time of that run.
• In class A the run timer will start when front edge of the robot crosses the start point and stops when the front edge of the robot crosses the finish point.
• In class B The run timer will start when front edge of the robot crosses the start point and stops when the front edge of the robot crosses the start point again after reaching to the destination goal.
• The start point is a completely white square with dimensions 20 cm x 20 cm.
• The finish point is a completely black square with dimensions 20 cm x 20 cm.
• If a robot re-enters the start square (before entering the destination square) on a run, that run is aborted, and a new run will be deemed begun, with a new time that starts when the starting square is exited.
• A contestant must not feed information on the maze to the robot. Therefore, changing ROMs or downloading programs is NOT allowed.
• Replace batteries, Adjust sensors, Make repairs and Change speed between runs are allowed but any time consumed in this process is included in the 10 minutes.

Rules For The Presentation

• Every team will have up to max. 15 minutes presentation to show the idea.
• Every team will choose one of the members to show the presentation.
• List of components and prices must be included.
• Control scheme and programming block diagram must be included.
• Mechanical design sketches may be included.

Final Score Calculations:

At the end of each team’s trials, a score will be given to the team according to the following:

• A maximum of 40 points based on the robot minimal time,

(All other teams between the fastest and slowest times get points allocated on a linear scale)

• 10 points for the crossing of 1^st mark,
• 10 points for the crossing of 2^nd mark,
• 10 points for completing the maze.
• 30 points for the evaluation of the presentation and required materials.

Total Points: 100 Points