| River-Crossing Robots -- The Contest |
From "Robot Rivals"
episode DROB-107 |
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Once time runs out, each team must stop work on their robot. Each team can then inspect the work of the opposing team. Next, the robot showdown begins. The teams assemble at the robotic playing field.
The Rules:
- Robots will start from a starting line at one end of the competition area.
- Each robot must move to, and cross, the water-filled gap that separates the two sides of the competition area.
- Robots must remain self-contained in order to win. Each must retain all of the parts and apparatus that it uses, and carry all parts to the finish line.
- The team that reaches the finish line first wins the contest and moves on to the next round of the tournament.
- Kentucky receives a 5-second head-start in the timed competition since they used a total of 13 salvaged items from the household item, while Harvard used 11.
The Contest:
- Both teams and their robots line up at the starting point (figure A).
- Kentucky takes advantage of their head-start advantage to move out in front in the approach to the gap (figure B).
- As soon as the 5-second interval is up, Harvard's robot moves quickly toward the gap. Moving a little too fast, the robot extends over the gap prematurely, and partially over the side edge (figure C).
- Meanwhile, Kentucky is able to guide their robot carefully to the edge of the gap and begin lowering the drawbridge mechanism (figure D).
- Harvard continues to have steering and control problems and is unable to recover once the robot gets hung on the edge of the gap (figure E).
- As Harvard struggles to regain control, the Kentucky robot is able to successfully cross the drawbridge extension (figure F) and proceed to the finish line. The entire competition lasted only a few seconds.
In the post-game follow-up, the Harvard team expressed satisfaction with their basic design, and particularly the extending mechanisms. They attribute the bulk of their difficulty in the final competition to lack of practice using the remote-control mobility of the robot. The Kentucky team designed a robot well-engineered robot that used a simple approach and operated according to the original plans.
Kentucky now progresses in the tournament, and will next face the team from Southern Utah University which previously defeated Louisiana Tech in the robotic stair-climbing competition.
RESOURCES :
Robot Builder's Bonanza
Model: 0071362967
Author: Gordon McComb
Build Your Own Robot!
Model: 1568811020
Author: Karl Lunt
Robots, Androids and Animatrons : 12 Incredible Projects You Can Build
Model: 0070328048
Author: John Iovine
Personal Robotics : Real Robots to Construct, Program, and Explore the World
Model: 156881089X
Author: Richard Raucci
Mobile Robots : Inspiration to Implementation
Model: 1568810970
Author: Joseph L. Jones, et al
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