Minesweeper Robot Event Proposed Rules
(Subject to change until finalized )
( Craig Maynard and WCRS )
The "minesweeper" robot is a two-stage event intended for autonomous robots
at an intermediate to advanced level. The playing surfaces consist of
three 4x8 wooden arena's covered in surface material of increasingly complex
nature.
The goal of the robot is to...
- Traverse the arena from the launch area (a 30cm square) to the
opposite side destination (a 30cm square)
- Avoid setting off the mines.
- Locate and flag the mines.
- Collect the unexploded "cluster bombs" (UXB)
The Minefield playing surface.
The minefield playing surface shall consist of a 4'x8' sheet of unfinished
plywood with 2"x4" walls on the perimeter.
The first "City Stage" will have a plywood surface only with no
sand/gravel/dirt. The City will have some obstacles such as buildings,
stones, brick, and other objects found which may be found on the ground.
Buildings will be at least 30cm apart.
The second "Desert Minefield Stage" will have a
surface which begins as "grass" (a fine-nap carpet) and degenerates to a sandy surface
with small dunes.( details to be announced )
The robots will not be required to attempt all surfaces if they choose not
to.
Example Stages
(actual stage layout will not be announced until game day)
The Landmines...
The mines consist of 9V batteries with a 38.5KHz IR Transmitter . There will
be 8 mines in each field.
The frequency of the mines will be adjusted to match the response of the
popular IS1U60 IR receiver. The mines will also have a spring loaded trip
wire which will trigger when the mine is touched!
These mines may be placed loosely on the surface or buried just beneath the
surface with the transmitting LED exposed.
The Cluster Bombs...
The UXB's are sprinkled over the top of the surface and consist the magnetic
"flashing lights" found in many novelty stores. There will be 15
mines in each field.
Walker only class...
Should there be 5 or more non-wheeled vehicles or over in this
event ( aka walkers ) then there will be a separate class created, just for
walkers. Otherwise, the walkers will compete with the wheeled vehicles
with appropriate bonus points and/or time allowance added.
Scoring...
The following point system
is used to score the missions...
-
10 Points / Foot
Traverse from launch area to destination area (Max 70 points) See diagram
below.
-
25 Points
Each successful "flagging" of a mine.
-
10 Points Each
UXB removed from the minefield
Penalties
-
-25 Points
Each mine detonated
-
-25 Points
Each building knocked over
-
-25 Points Human Intervention. Robot may be lifted and rotated, but not moved from
it's current location.
-
-20 Points
For use of an unmodified
kit
Bonus points
-
25 points for completing
course without tripping any mines
-
1 point awarded for every
5 seconds the robot arrives at the destination before 2 minutes ( 120 seconds
) Up to 24 points.
-
50 points for completing
course without wheels! ( i.e. Walkers ) Not applicable in the
event this is a walker-only event.
The Rules...
Each robot must start from the designated departure area (
a 30cm x 30cm square ) and is given a maximum of three minutes (a suitable time
extension will be provided for non-wheeled robots) to navigate the
minefield and come to rest in the destination area ( a 30 cm x 30 cm square on
the opposite end of the field.
Once any part of the robot enters the destination area, the
Stage is
concluded and the score is calculated.
The robot must, fit entirely inside
the departure area at the start of the match, but may expand once the match begins.
Between stages the robot is give up to three minutes to change
program or configuration but may not add any new components to the robot.
The robot must operate entirely autonomously and without cue
from any operators, however the operator may place a stationary homing beacon
(bright light, IR, radio) on or behind the destination area. Once placed
the beacon may not be touched except once to switch it on at some time during
the match.
The robot must clearly flag the discovered mine in any
non-destructive and non-permanent way it chooses (e.g. flag, ball but no paint)
The marker may not be larger than 45mm in any dimension and at least part of the
marker must lie within an imaginary circle with a radius of 50mm drawn from the
centre of the mine" A judge may disqualify a marker if, in his opinion, it
was not placed deliberately.
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