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| Objective | To
develop algorithms and programs to have a pre-built Lego Mindstorms robot navigation
through a maze by touch.
| | Purpose | To
encourage and demonstrate creativity, algorithmic thinking, simple programming,
and teamwork. | | Participants | Teams
of up to six | | Materials |
Supplied by the Judges
A Lego Mindstorms
kit provided to the participants. This will consist of a robot pre-built for the
designated task and an infrared tower used to beam programs to the robot.
- A CD containing the Robotics Invention System software used to write programs
for the robots. This will be provided to the participants as well.
- A
computer used to program the robot. This will need to be a PC running Microsoft
Windows, with USB support to connect to the infrared tower.
Lumber,
bricks, and other materials to construct the simple maze. The maze will be built
on site when the participants arrive for the competition. The maze should not
be permanently fixed
together as is its layout may need to change for each
round of competition. Judges will also require a stop-watch and a measuring tape
for judging purposes. Supplied by the Teams
Nothing |
| Rules | Each
team will be given three attempts to program their robot to navigate through the
maze from start to finish within a certain time limit. The time limit will be
set depending on the size of the maze. Between each attempt, the participants
are allowed to fine tune the programming of the robot.
Between attempts to
navigate the maze, the judges on hand have the option to either reconfigure the
maze, or reverse the direction of traversal in the maze to really test the navigation
abilities of the robots. If the maze is reconfigured, it will be done in such
a way that the distance from start to finish is always the same. |
| Judging |
Judging is based on distance travelled through the maze from start to finish and/or
the time taken to complete the maze. The main score for a team is based on the
total distance travelled by their robot for all three attempts through the maze.
The largest total distance wins. In the case of a tie, the total time taken to
reach that distance is compared, with the less time taken earning the win.
| Source Notes | Mike
Katchabaw, Department of Computer Science, The University of Western Ontario Main
Lego Mindstorms Web Site: http://mindstorms.lego.com/
More
details on system requirements can be found at:
http://mindstorms.lego.com/eng/products/ris/risdetails.asp
These
and other similar events have been successfully held by the Outreach committee
of the Department of Computer Science.. They can accommodate a wide range of age
groups and experience among participants. Typically, a brief tutorial is required
before each event to teach participants about the basics of programming the Lego
robots. The programming environment is graphical, and much like building Lego
in itself, where programs are built by connecting together blocks that carry out
different actions. The tutorial usually takes between 10-15 minutes of time. |
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