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Robot Contests in the age of COVID
Robot contests can be great ways to learn practical lessons in the spirit of competition… but what do they look like now that COVID is here?
(more…)Tag: contest
News
Micromouse contest update 2
Monday again and I’ve got hot fresh tasty news about the micromouse contest.
Last week I posted about making the floor of the micromouse maze. Since then we had some exciting moments figuring out how to make the walls and pegs.
Luke designed a jig that sits on the sled for the table saw and makes it easy to get the exact groove cut needed for the pegs. We tried to make the pegs from 1/2″ birch ply but the material was too brittle and chipped to shreds. In the video above you can see we’ve switched to MDF.
To keep manufacturing simple we used the exact same groove on the wall pieces. The gap between each peg and wall is 3mm thick, 5cm tall, and 6mm wide. As it turns out, a laser cut piece of acrylic is a perfect fit. The acrylic comes with a protective layer on both sides. The layer adds just enough material to make the fit snug so we won’t need any glue. Excellent!
How many micromouse maze pegs?
Having a system to make walls and pegs is great. How many do we actually need to make? The rules say there are 16×16 rooms with a wall around the outside edge. That means there are 17 * 17 = 289 pegs. What about walls?
Absolute maximum
Well, there are 16 wall segments to go across and 16+1 rows of walls, so that’s 16×17 for just the horizontal walls. times that by two to get the maximum number of walls, that’s 16x17x2 = 544.
Realistic maximum
In reality there won’t need to be so many walls. Every room has to be reachable from at least one other room. The easiest way to draw this would be a snaking S shape.
Now it’s easy to count them out. There are 16×4 wall pieces around the outside, and 15×15 pieces inside the maze. That’s 289 wall segments. Funny coincidence: that’s the same number of pegs!
Final thoughts
Next step is to paint everything regulation colors and get a timing system to record each race.
A big hello to everyone from Makerfair joining us for the first time. Hello!
Follow me on instagram if you want a to see the acylic pieces as they’re being made.
In the News
Micromouse contest update 1
An update on the 2016 micromouse contest coming to Vancouver Mini Maker Faire June 11-12. The contest poster, tips, and details on the maze.
First, the poster. Please share with everybody!
Second, here’s a great way to get around the 2s penalty for touching the robot when it’s in the maze.
Third, the maze itself is coming together. We’re having great fun building a maze that’s interchangeable and portable. This contest has been run in various places around the world for 30 years and yet no one’s published a satisfying tutorial how to build the track.
Special thanks to MicrmouseUSA.com for the photo of their robot.
News
Win $100,000 for your school or university … with a Makelangelo?
http://robotart.org/ is a contest to give away $100,000 to the student team that makes art with a robot.
It’s crazy easy to make some quick cash. Andrew Conru says “The first five US-based teams that upload 6 unique artwork will receive a $2,500 donation to their school!”
The only other way to pull 2.5 gees that fast is in a jet, so unless your robot is a skywriting quadcopter (hmmm…), get our your robot and get in on this yesterday. If only you had a Makelangelo right now!
Registration must be by April 1st, 2016, so hurry!
Thanks to our facebook friends for the hot tip.
News
Vancouver Mini Maker Fair 2016 Robot Contest
Marginally Clever Robots is hosting a robot contest at the Vancouver Mini Maker Fair. Solve the maze and maybe win a prize! Read on for more details.
The Fair
The Maker fair this year is June 11-12, 2016. It’s a great weekend of robots, fire, lights, crafting, and much, much more. Marginally Clever Robots will have a booth and a maze (described below).
The Contest
The contest based on the the APEC micromouse contest and follows all the APEC micromouse contest rules. We have modified the maze dimensions. We’ve also and added prizes, eligibility requirements, and other fine print.
The Maze
The maze is a grid of 16×16 rooms. Each room is 15x15cm, not including the walls. The floor of the maze is made of pegboard. The 1/4″ OD peg holes are 2.5cm from center to center. That means in any given room there are 4×4 holes in the floor. Walls are made of 1/8″ laser cut wood pieces standing in the holes. All walls are either north/south or east/west (no diagonals). The “halls” of the maze will all be 6 pegs wide (~15cm), forming an 8×8 grid. The end of the maze is a square two times the width of the halls. There may be small gaps between wall sections and at corners. There may be open 1/4″ peg holes in the floor beneath the robot. The walls are 5cm tall. To keep wall segments from moving there may be connectors on the top of the wall segments. The starting position of the maze is in one corner of the maze, with the outside-most walls being on the south and west of the starting position.
The Robots
Your robot cannot alter the maze, leave the maze, climb above of the maze, study the maze ahead of time, endanger others, or leave things behind (eg breadcrumbs, parts). Your robot cannot fly. Your robot can look at, touch, or sense the maze in some other way (DIY LIDAR is very OK). Your robot can move through the maze by any system of locomotion you like except flight. Your robot cannot use combustion as a power source.
Each robot will be run one at a time. A camera and a clock will be used to record each robot’s time in the maze. Scores will be tallied. Robots are allowed to try as often as time permits and provided everyone gets a try. At the judge’s discretion an attempt may be stopped – for example, if the robot has stopped working, or is deemed to be unable to finish the maze in a reasonable time. Contestants are welcome to modify their robot on-site and try again. Only your best score will be considered for the final judgement.
Prizes
There will be one $100 prize for the robot that solves the maze fastest, a $50 prize for the second fastest, and a $25 for third fastest. Everyone who brings a entry will get a coupon to http://marginallyclever.com and stickers. Winners will be announced at close of VMMF 2016 (17:45 June 12 2016)
You
There is no entry fee for the contest, but you will have to gain access to the Maker Fair. You must register your name, email, and phone number with Marginally Clever no later than June 7th, 2016. All entrants agree to recordings of their robots and selves for media purposes and to ensure fairness of scoring. All entrants must be (a) legal age or (b) have a parent or guardian sign for them. Your personal contact info will not be shared without your permission.
These Rules
Marginally Clever Robots reserve the right to amend the rules. This is to protect the fairness of the contest, add clarity, and protect the safety of the everyone involved. This post will be updated to include the amendments.
Also
I am committing to keeping the Vancouver Hack Space open every Tuesday from 13:00-18:00 from now until the fair.
Come on down to work on your robot, rent a locker to store your machine, meet like minded people to form a team, and stay for the evening’s open house.
