2003: Robotic Rat Maze

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Robotic Rat Maze! Saturday March 15th 2003 - Contest Rules

As a part of our College Royal Open House the University of Guelph is hosting our second annual Lego Mindstorms robotic competition. Our goal is to run a fun contest where the local high schools can show off their Lego expertise to the general public. Overview:

The robots will attempt to navigate a line maze. Follow a line maze to the 'exit', which will be a 30cm by 30cm solid black square. The maze will be made out of 2.5 cm (1 inch) wide black tape on a white surface. All angles will be 90 degrees, and the lines will be at least six inches apart. You will be given one chance to learn the maze first (5-10 minutes), and when you reach the exit or the time runs out, you will immediately be placed back at the start to run through the maze a second time, giving you an opportunity to demonstrate you've learned the maze by following the shortest path to the exit the second time around. There will be progress points along the maze path.

The playing field will be square, 5m wide and 5m long, and constructed out of a white tarp outlined by black tape. Outlined by black tape at one end of the field will be the team's home square that is 30cm wide by 30cm long. Robots will start the trial from within the home square

Once in the maze the robots are required to navigate the maze by following along the black tapelines. A dead end in the maze will be marked by a break in the black tapelines. There may be more then one correct way to navigate the maze. It is up to the individual teams to determine what route will be the quickest.

With the exception of the home square, the maze boundary and the maze lines, the entire field and perimeter wall will be a white tarpaulin. Efforts will be made to ensure the lighting is consistent over the play area.

The robot has exited a maze when they enter a 30cm by 30cm black square at the other end of the maze. General Maze Rules:

   * Each team will be given a chance to first learn the maze this should take a maximum of 5-10 minutes. The teams will then be given two attempts to navigate the maze and the team with the fastest time or who makes it closest to the end of the maze will win.
   * The robots must run autonomously for the entire trial. In the starting position (in the 'home square'), the robot may be faced any way the team chooses.
   * Turned off, the robot must be no more than 50cm wide, tall, or long. You may, though, build extensions onto your robot (such as a grabbing arm) that grow once the robot is in motion.
   * Teams are allowed to repair their robots during a trial, but will incur a one-minute time penalty to do so. Robots would be then restarted on the team's home square.
   * All the components for the robot must come from a single standard Robotics Invention System 2.0 kit. Older kits are acceptable, but no additional parts are allowed.
   * Should a robot leave the play field, the team will suffer a one-minute penalty, and the robot will restart on the home square.
   * A robot has finished the maze when they reach the 30 cm by 30 cm square of black tape on the other side of the maze.