Science Olympiad
Robot
Maze-Division B
The object of this event is to
design and build a robot capable of solving a predetermined maze without any
assistance or guidance by the contestants. Each team may enter only one robot
that must be built prior to the competition.
Up to two students
10 minutes per team
The object is
to construct an autonomous robot to solve a standard maze within the time
period. The robot's run may be started and stopped either manually or by some
sort of remote control. Any onboard method may be used to control the robot
during its run, however, no external power sources or controls are allowed.
Contestants may not touch the robot in any manner during its run, except to stop
it. All parts of the robot must be connected together and travel through the
maze as a unit. The mass of the robot as it travels through the maze, must be
less than 10 kilograms.
The maze, made from common 2x6 or
1x6 lumber, consists of a foyer and 9 rooms with interconnecting doorways,
arranged in a 3 x 3 matrix. All of the rooms are 1 meter square (inside
dimensions) with a 30 cm door in the center of each wall connecting to an
adjacent room. A 1x2 fastened across the top of the doors prevents the center
walls from moving. This makes the doorways 14 cm (approximately) high. The
outside walls, except for one, are continuous, with no openings. The center room
on one side of the maze has a 30 cm entrance with a foyer in the center of its
outside wall. A bright light, surrounded by a bumper to turn it off
(approximately 10 cm in diameter), is placed in the middle of the center room.
Event organizers may choose to allow more than none run. The number of runs
allowed (if more than one) and the exact dimensions of the maze, including wall
thickness, should be made available to all registered teams at least 30 days
prior to the competition.
All parts of
the robot must be inside the square defined by 4 corners of a room to have
entered that room. Except for the center room, the robot may not enter a room it
has previously entered until all the remaining outside rooms have been entered.
If it does, the run is over, timing is stopped, and points are awarded to that
point. The center room may be entered as often and as many times as desired.
Points will be awarded as follows:
2 points for the first time each room is entered
5 points for turning off the light
5 points for exiting the maze
10 points if all rooms are entered, the light turned off, and the maze is
exited.
The run will be times, starting when
any part of the robot enters the first room of the maze and ending when:
A contestant touches the robot
An outside room is re-entered before all other outside rooms are entered
The robot completely exits the maze
The 4 minute time limit is up.
Teams will be ranked first by number
of points received, and second by the time required for the run.
