Regional
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The problem statements are designed to comply with the requisites of industrial world and would thoroughly test one's knowledge of the field. The problem statements have been made in assistance with industrial leaders in robotics and embedded systems technology.
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Regional Round
1. Objective
2. Pre-Elimination Round
3. Maze Specifications
4. Robot Specifications
5. Contest procedure
6. Scoring
7. Winning
8. Sample Arena
9. Query
Objective:
The goal of the line maze is for a robot to traverse from the start point to the end circle in the shortest amount of time. Each robot will be given 10 minutes in which they can start the attempt maximum 3 times and the best time of a single run is used to determine the results. Robots that can learn the maze on one run, and use that information to create an optimized path for additional runs, will achieve better times rather than robots running random searches each run.
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Pre-Elimination Round: The pre-elimination round consists of a sample maze where the reliability of the robot will be tested. To clear the pre-elimination round the robot will have to successfully complete 4 consecutive turns on any part of the maze. The robot may encounter a tee junction or + junction or simple left/right turns.
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Maze Specifications: The maze will consist of black lines on a white background. The black line width will be 0.75”. The contrast between the line and the background will be such that the line will be easily discernible by people under the lighting conditions of the contest. All lines will be straight, and all lines will be parallel or perpendicular to each other. No line will be closer than 6” to any other (parallel) line and there will be always a minimum of 6” between two intersections. Lines can end abruptly or branch into two or three lines (T and + intersections), except for the line ending in the finish circle. All intersections will be at right angles. The maze will be no larger than 7 feet by 7 feet. No line will be within 6” of the edge of the maze. The maze will not have loops. The beginning of the maze is not specially marked, but all contestants will begin on the same spot on the maze. The end of the maze will be marked by a black circle 5” in diameter.
Note: The line width will be between 0.5” and 1.0”. All dimensions called 6” will be between 5” and 7”. The finish circle will be between 4” and 6” in diameter.
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Robot Specifications:The robot can be no larger than 6" in any dimension (i.e. it must fit inside a 6" square box). There is no weight restriction. The robot cannot expand beyond these dimensions at any time during the event.
A robot may not alter its physical dimensions during a run, unless such alteration does not affect it eligibility for this contest. For example, a robot may not expand beyond the maximum allowed dimensions during a run. It may not split into multiple robots during a run or leave behind markers of any kind. Robots may not leave any trail, markings, or damage the maze surface in any way.
The robot is permitted to sense lines other than the one it is traveling on as long as those sensors do not extend beyond the allowed dimensions. In other words, a camera arrangement can be used (and it may telescope vertically) to glean information about the maze, as long as the camera is mounted wholly on the robot itself and within the 6" cube.
The robot must be completely autonomous and self contained; external computers are not allowed. Robots may not leave any trail or markings. They also may not split into separate robots. The robot may not leave the maze at anytime. If it does, the attempt will be terminated and the robot will receive no score for that attempt.
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Contest procedure: The maze layout will not be known until after all robots have been registered and presented to the course official. However, a small sample maze will be available before the contest for calibration and testing. The test maze will be made of the same materials as the full-size maze and will be placed in similar lighting conditions. Prior to the maze being unveiled, all competing robots must be placed in a designated location in the competition area. After the maze is revealed, no modifications of any type may be made to the robots, including changes in software or strategy (this includes changing settings via switches). When it is his or her turn, a contestant may perform a quick calibration (e.g. metering black and white) before starting the run. The time allotted for the calibration is 1 minute. Each robot will be allowed three attempts to solve the maze, the shortest time being used for final scoring. During any single attempt the robot will have a maximum time of 4 minutes to reach the finish circle of the maze. Timing starts when the robot begins moving and ends when any part of the robot touches the finish circle. If the robot does not reach the finish circle within 4 minutes, that attempt will be aborted and no time given. No modifications of any type may be made to the robot between attempts. The robot will remain under the supervision of the course official between attempts and the course official will be the one who controls the robot during each attempt. The robot may not leave the maze at anytime. The robot is considered to have left the maze if some part of the body is not directly above the line it was traveling along. If a course official deems the robot to have left the maze, the course official may levy a 10 second penalty and permit the robot to be restarted at the point the robot left the maze. In such an event the course official will instruct the contestant to gather their robot and prepare to continue. After 10 seconds has elapsed the course official will indicate to the contestant that it is OK for the robot to resume the contest. The robot is not allowed to "jump" from following one path to another; if it does it will be considered to have left the maze (see above). It is permissible for the robot to be deactivated and reactivated when indicated by the course official or the robot may be picked up and held until the course official indicates that it may resume. The robot does not have to travel via the shortest or most efficient path and it may back-track over paths as needed. A robot is allowed to continue after it reaches the finish; it just will not receive the bonus, its score will be based on the time the robot first reached the finish circle.
The robot is allowed to memorize the maze during any run and use this information in a later run to improve it's time.
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Scoring: A 10 second penalty is accessed (i.e. added to the total time) if a robot leaves the line (i.e. no part of its body is over the line).A 10 second bonus is awarded (i.e. subtracted from the total time) if the robot stops for at least 10 seconds over the finish circle and in some way indicates its completion of the maze. The indication could be a sound, flashing lights, talking or "dancing", as long as it is clear to the judges that the robot knows it has found the finish. The fastest time of the three runs will be recorded as the final score for the robot, plus any penalties and minus any bonus.
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Winning: The robot with the lowest score is the winner. Robots that have completed the maze are ranked from lowest score to highest. Should a tie occur, then the least number of penalties shall be used. Should a tie still exist, then the second fastest time will be used.
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