The 2010 Robotics Competition will take place on Thursday April 8th, 2010 at 1.00 pm. Competition will be held in cafeteria.
All the materials that you need will be provided by the school.
The HSANW Engineering Robotics Competition is targeted towards students in the Middle school grades and aims to promote engineering among youth. Each team in the competition has 7 week to build a robot using a Lego Mindstorms kit to overcome a challenge game. School teams do not require a robot kit to compete. Besides the exciting challenge the competition also judges the quality of the student to engineering principles. There is no limit to the size of the teams but a maximum of 3-4 students appears to be3 the norm.
For inquiries about the competition contact:
Mr.Besli
Dean of Students
Tel: 281-444 1555 Ext: 125
Fax: 281-444 1015
Email: gbesli@harmonytx.org
Robot Kits
The robot kit used for competition is the exciting ne LEGO Mindstorms NXT. Kits are purchased from Lego and are therefore designed with teachers in mind. The kit comes with the Robolab software, guides, and activity packs. For the competition the robots have to be programmed using Robolab.
Competition Rules
The referee’s word is final.
Robots are to act by itself, i.e., no human
control or interference during a game.
At the start of a game, each Robot must fit into
a square 22 cm x 22 cm, with no height limitation. Robots will be measured
before the tournament to ensure they comply with this rule. Parts of the Robots
may extend outside this area after a match has started.
Matches start on the command of the referee.
Each Robot must have a 5 second delay after the operator pushes start before
their Robots starts to move. The Robots will start in opposite corners of the
competition area. The Robots will be placed facing towards the centre of the
table.
Matches will last a maximum of 3 minutes.
A Robots is eliminated:
If it goes over the white outer boundary marker.
If it falls into the pit.
If it immobilized, e.g., flipped over or flipped on to its side.
Robots may not spray any material on the ring or
on their opponents, or in any way deform the Sumo table, Robots are not allowed
to use any flying components or projectiles. Overt attempts to damage the
opponent’s Robots, over and above the expected ramming, pushing, and flipping
are not allowed. No rotating blades.
Robots may use various forms of detection to
locate the opponent’s Robots. They may also incorporate stealth technology to
avoid detention by the opponent’s Robots. Signals may be used to try to confuse
the opponent’s Robots’ detectors.
The Tournament will be conducted in a
round-robin format. Each team will play every other team once. The top four
teams from the round-robin portion of the tournament will advance to the
semi-finals. The semi-finals, third-fourth place match, and first second place match
will be best of three contests.
No additional parts other than those in the Lego
Mindstorms NXT kits are allowed.
Prizes:
Prizes will be awarded for the top three finishers. In addition there will be an award for the best engineered robot. Judgment for the best engineered robot will be based on the robot design/performance in addition to the technical report.
Technical Resources
Great on-line
tutorial on Programming the NXT
Spectrum Education
Web Site
Tufts center for
Engineering Educational Outlook
Goal:
Each team will design autonomous Robots that will eliminate the opposition in head-to-head competition. In addition, each team is required to submit a technical report documenting their design.
Figure 1 shows the Sumo table. The Sumo table is 4’x4’ and the competition area is 3’ x 3’. The table is painted black with a 1’ white stripe denoting the boundary of the competition area. In the middle of the competition area is a pit that is approximately 10’ square. The edge of the pit is marked by a 1’ white stripe. The pit is lined with a net to catch Robots that fall into it.
Figure 1: The Sumo table
GOOD LUCK!!!