Columbots ASEE Competition 2017

Team:

Members

Competition Rules

*These rules are subject to change and should be used as a reference only. For the most recent official rules refer to the website.

Objective

To design and build an autonomous robot that can transport one blue barrel from Spain to each of 6 islands visited by Christopher Columbus and return one red barrel from each island to Spain. The robots will have a maximum time of 90 seconds in each of their four allotted trials. The robot must begin within an 8” X 12” X 10” high size limit but may expand to any size during a trial. An Exhibit Session will precede the robot trials.

Rules

1. It is the responsibility of the team to inspect the condition of the track before starting their robot to be certain that everything is in order. Once a team presses or pulls the start mechanism, the run counts as an official trial and may not be done over.

2. The order of testing will be determined by random draw.

3. While the preceding team is on the track for a trial, the on-deck team must have their robot on the on-deck table ready to run immediately after the previous team completes their trial. Each team will have one minute to begin a trial after being called.

4. All teams will be called for a trial in a current round before any teams begin the next round of testing.

5. Robot sizes will be tested with the measuring box prior to each team’s first run and in subsequent runs if requested by the judges. The robot should contain the 6 blue dowels during this test. Team members will be responsible for placing the measuring box over their robots. If a robot fails to meet the size constraint the judges will assess a penalty proportional to the severity of the violation.

6. Each team should provide their own set of 6 blue dowels for the competition. The judges may inspect the dowels and may choose to replace the dowels if they do not meet specifications or if the dowels appear to have been modified in any way.

7. The 6 red dowels and the 4 gray dowels will be provided by the competition officials and will be placed on the track in the positions indicated in Figures 1-2. Each team should inspect the placement of the dowels to be sure that they are satisfied with their position before each trial.

8. The robot may start anywhere on the track as long as part of the robot is touching the 2” x 2” x 16” border for Spain or one of the 2” x 2” x 4” borders for Spain.

9. The robot may extend beyond the perimeter of the track during the trial as long as the robot is fully supported by the plywood track surface or the perimeter boards.

10. The time for a trial will begin when the judge gives the team the command to start. Once this start command is given, a team may only activate a single switch or mechanism to start the robot. Once the robot begins to move in any way, team members may not touch the robot or communicate with it with any remote control device.

11. If a robot fails to move once the judge’s start command is given, the team members may work on their robot to get it moving but the time will continue to run from the time when the start command was given. If the robot has not moved within 90 seconds of the start command, a score of zero will be assigned for that trial.

12. A trial will end when any of the following actions occur:

    1. The robot becomes disabled or shows no evidence of being able to continue.
    2. The robot deposits one blue dowel on each of the 6 islands, collects the 6 red dowels from the islands, and deposits the 6 red dowels in Spain. A blue dowel is considered to be properly deposited on an island if it is touching the plywood within the borders of the island. A red dowel is considered to be properly deposited in Spain if it is touching the plywood within the borders of Spain or if a red dowel is supported by another red dowel which is touching the plywood within the borders of Spain.
    3. 90 seconds elapses from the start command.

13. Only the dowels may be deposited in each island or in Spain. No other materials may be deposited.

14. Teams may make changes or repairs to their robots between trials but they must be ready within one minute of being called to the track.

Teams may not make practice runs during the Exhibit Session or after the start of the Robot Time Trials.

Robot Specifications

Allowable Energy Sources:

Any energy source is allowed as long as it is completely contained within the robot and does not create or emit any gaseous, liquid, or solid emissions. Energy sources must not present any safety hazards to participants or spectators.

Prohibition Against Flying Robots:

Since the competition is held in a crowded Exhibition Hall with hundreds of spectators, flying robots (such as quad copters) are prohibited.

Maximum Robot Size:

The robot (including the 6 blue dowels) must fit inside a box with vertical sides having inside dimensions of 8.0” X 12.0” and have a maximum height of 10.0”. The robot may expand to any size after the start of a trial. The robot cannot contain more than 6 blue dowels.

Components, Fabrication, and Cost:

Team members using materials which are commonly available to the general public must perform all fabrication. Use of commercially available vehicles, robots, or entire kits such as RC cars, Legos, K-nex, Fischer-Technics, Parallax or erector sets may not be used. The use of Lego Mindstorm microcontroller bricks are prohibited. Individual components from these cars, robots, or kits (except the Mindstorm Brick) may be integrated into a team’s robot as long as the majority of the robot’s components are not from the same car, robot, or kit source. The cost of purchasing all components must not exceed $400.

Robot Time Trial Scoring

Robots will earn points by depositing one blue dowel in each island and by collecting red dowels from the islands and delivering the red dowels to Spain. In particular:

1. Points earned for delivering blue dowels: 5 Points will be awarded each time a blue dowel is deposited in an island for a maximum of 5 points per island. If two or more blue dowels are deposited in a single island, only 5 points is earned for the island. A blue dowel is considered to be properly deposited on an island if it is touching the plywood within the borders of the island. A maximum of 30 points can be earned for delivering blue dowels to the islands.

2. Points earned for collecting and delivering red dowels: 5 Points will be awarded for each red dowel that was collected from an island and is deposited in Spain. A red dowel is considered to be properly deposited in Spain if it is touching the plywood within the borders of Spain or if a dowel is supported by another red dowel which is touching the plywood with the borders of Spain. A maximum of 30 points can be earned for collecting red dowels from the islands and delivering them to Spain.

3. Points deducted for moving gray rocks: 5 Points will be deducted if a gray rock on the course is moved by the robot. A gray rock is considered to be moved if it is no longer centered within the circle drawn on the track used to located the rock. A maximum of 20 points can be deducted for moving the gray rocks on the track.

4. Bonus points: Time Bonus for Perfect Run = (90 – Time in seconds to complete the perfect run)