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Originally created in Japan by Dr. Mato Hattori
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| New for 2003: The old size standard (5kg, 9" x 9" square) is obsolete. All standard-sized sumo competitions now conform to the Japanese standard of 20 x 20cm, 3kg. |
This contest pits your creation against another robot in a field of combat where brute strength and cat-like reflexes combine to create the ultimate battle! The challenge is to create a robot whose sole purpose is to push, throw, flip, drag, or otherwise move your opponent out of a five foot diameter circular ring within three minutes. This competition is the most popular of the events, both to watch and to participate in!
To encourage participants to enter in the autonomous events (sumo, extinguisher, and atomic hockey), the "big budget" prizes will be reserved for these events. (i.e. 3rd place autonomous sumo, will receive a more "valuable" prize than first place RC sumo).
Robot SUMO wrestling takes place in a level circular ring exactly 5 feet in diameter with a white 2 inch border along the rings periphery. The surface of the ring is black arborite and sits roughly two inches above ground level.
The robots are placed on the ring exactly 1 foot apart and equal distance from the center of the ring. The robots are set down parallel to each other and facing opposite directions so that autonomous robots must actively search for the opponent and not merely "steamroller" straight forward.
When both contestants are ready, the ring judge will signal the start of the three minute round at which time the robots may be activated (you may physically flick a switch on your robot). No movement must occur before the official start ( no posturing ).
The robots will proceed in combat until one unit is disabled or removed from the ring. If a bout is won before the 3 minute round is up, the clock will be stopped and the robots replaced in their starting position for a second bout. There may be up to three bouts in a three minute round, with the winner being the robot which wins the most bouts in the round (to a maximum of 2 wins i.e. best 2 out of three). Each contestant is guaranteed a minimum of three rounds, and is awarded points per round on the following basis.
The contestants who accumulate the most points will make it the finals where 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be decided by a round robin.
A robot is considered to be removed from the ring when any of its wheels or legs are over the edge and its center of mass begins to tip. A robot whose body hangs over the edge is not considered 'off' until it physically tips off the edge and touches outside the ring. Judgment of the ring officials is final.
Should one robot become disabled ( flipped on it's back or side, for instance ) and is unable to move, the ring officials will award that bout to the remaining robot and a new bout will begin if time permits.
If both robots are stuck in an entanglement or deadlock, then the clock will be stopped and the judges will ask the contestants if they want to restart the bout from the robots starting positions, Both players must agree to this, if not, the bout continues as normal.
At the end of each round, the contestants are responsible for making sure the ring is clean and ready for the next round to the satisfaction of the judges, or the contestant which produced the mess may be disqualified. This includes all debris, fluids, or marks remaining on the ring.
The robots must fit within a 9 inch by 9 inch square at the beginning of the round, but may expand to any size once the contest begins. The height of the robot is unlimited. The robots must weigh 11 pounds or less.
The entire robot must be capable of some form of movement across the ring surface... No cinder-blocks. The robot may not attach itself to anything outside of the ring (with the exception of the operator's control cable).
The robots must not contain any combustible, corrosive, or otherwise dangerous materials for safety reasons. No explosive compression or decompression, either internal or external is permitted. There is a risk of compressed containers rupturing and creating shrapnel. Any robot whose strategy or operation is considered too dangerous will be disqualified by the officials.
Intentional damage or interfering with the opponents operator is not allowed. Good will and friendship between competitors may evaporate if one opponent uses lightening bolts to destroy the electronics of a competitor.
If you have any questions concerning your robots eligibility, please feel free to call the contest organizers and they will be happy to inform you if the robot is legal or not!
Autonomous robots and remote control robots are subject to the same rules, with the following exceptions:
Autonomous robots must not receive any prompts or cues from the operator. All motivation and control must come from within the robot itself.
When placed in their starting position, autonomous robots will be placed
NOT FACING directly toward the competition. This will allow the robot to
demonstrate its searching algorithm (Robots which simply steamroller
straight forward will not necessarily contact the opponent!).
A 5-second start delay is expected to be operational on autonomous robots. When the operator removes all contact from the robot, the robot must stay stationary for a minimum of 5 seconds before moving. Flipping a power switch after a 5-second countdown is frowned upon, and may result in your robot being instantly disqualified.
These robots may be controlled from outside the ring by a single operator using radio control or tether control. ( Tether control robots are those wired to an external control box ). Tether controlled robots must not allow the control line to come in contact with the ring or competitor or be used to physically pull the controlled robot. Also, the main power supply for the robot must be in the robot body itself, not in the control unit. Any violation of this rule may cause the robot to be disqualified by the judges.
New Rule Modification since 2002:1) Due to past experiences witness with high-current causing "smoke-shows" in controllers, tethered robots can now only be connected to the controller by a single length of 8-conductor, CAT5 networking cable, minimum 240cm (~8 feet) long. No substitutes will be allowed. 2) Competitor complaints regarding tethered robots "being pulled back from the edge" have prompted us to add this rule: A 20cm loop must be rubber-banded into the cable by the judge, so any undue tension on the cable will cause the loop to visibly shrink. If any action on the behalf of the operator causes his own loop to pop the rubber band off, he will have forfeited that round of the match.
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Robot competitions such as the BEAM/WCRG Millennium Robot Games are appearing all across the world, each with its own set of unique contests, however SUMO robotic wrestling seems to be becoming a common standard as it is now adopted by the B.E.A.M. Olympics, Seattle Robotics Society, San Francisco Robotic games, International Robotic Games, and many others. After competing at this years contest, why not take your robot on a world tour??
The circuit shown below is a simple but effective controller for an autonomous SUMO wrestling robot as used by the mighty TOBOR and created by Joel Weder. This circuit employs a CMOS 4538 dual precision monostable multivibrator chip as the delay circuit and a TIL139 ( or OBP742 ) reflective sensor as a down-looking edge detector. The circuit shown is the controller for the left motor and is connected to the right edge detector. An identical circuit must be constructed to control the right motor through the left edge sensor. ( All pin numbers and items with square brackets [] refer to the components for the right side motor ).
Sample SUMO Circuit |
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In response to a query on the BEAM Mailing list, Craig Maynard of JCM Electronics designed these "Simple Sumo Circuit". It's a bit large, so click on the link for an easily-viewed schematic. This is what he has to say about these two circuits:
"Here's an obstacle ( or edge ) avoidance circuit I threw together which might avoid Zozzles feet... It's based on a single NAND or NOR gate ( I did one of each ), and mates nicely to a L293 or L298 motor controller.
They are also very functional control circuits for SUMO wrestling robots if the touch sensors are replaced with edge sensors.
I call them the ANDroid and ORbot circuits."
Rand Whillock of the Twin Cities Robotics Group compiled this handy page with some Robot Sumo Wrestling construction tips, with additional links!
Another link for Remote Control sumo motor control is here, as part of the OCAD Robot Sumo Rules Page. Check the mini-sumo rules for other circuit ideas!
