Basic Table Top Spring 2008

Basic Table Top
Contest Rules

Audience: Apprentice Level

Overview

The goal of this contest is to build a robot that is capable of autonomously navigating to different zones that exist on a course.

Course Construction

The playing field is composed of 12, 12" X 12" black vinyl floor tiles as described in the general line following guidelines.  These tiles are placed in two adjacent rows of six tiles each on top of a standard library / banquet table and held in place with black vinyl tape on the seams where needed. 

3/4” White vinyl tape (described in the line following general guidelines) will be placed along the perimeter of the tiles and across the end tiles to delineate Zones A and B.

There are 3 styles of tiles used to form all Tap Top courses as shown below.  Note that the tile colors are inverted, that is that lines are shown as black on white for clarity in this document.  The actual course uses white lines on black tiles as described previously.

·        Blank tile

·        Corner tiles

·        Edge tiles

An example Basic Table Top course is shown below in Figure 1.

Figure 1 -- Basic Down-and-Back Course

Note that there are no side or end barriers, other than the white electrical tape. In case a robot makes a break for freedom off an edge of the table, other contestants will be on hand to 'talk' your robot to safety (and perhaps catch it, if need be).

Robot Construction

Each robotic entry into the Basic Table Top contest must be autonomous and follow the general robot guidelines.  The only exception to this is that the robot must be able to fit entirely into a zone (specified by an 11.25" X 22.5" rectangle -- see example course Figure 1.

Contest Procedure

The Basic Table Top Contest requires a robot to begin entirely within Zone A (refer to Figure 1).  It may be started by any method (see below for remote start). 

The robot shall then traverse the length of the course and reach Zone B.  A zone is considered "reached" when all parts of the robot have been within the zone.  There is no penalty for overshooting an end tape or any intermediate tape, providing that the robot can complete its run without human intervention.

Once the robot has reached Zone B, it must return to Zone A.  After it has reached Zone A and has come to a full stop anywhere on the table, the robot's time for completing the course will be recorded.  Extra points will be awarded base on how “centered” the robot is within the zone.  See the Scoring section for details.

"Passing through a zone" fulfills the requirement of "reaching the zone".

As illustrated in Figure 1, all zones are bounded by the inside edges of the tapes.  Imagine that each inside edge is the bottom of a vertical plane.  To qualify as being completely inside of a zone, your robot must not be in a position where it could touch any of the four imaginary vertical planes that define the zone.

Each robot shall be given three attempts at completing the course.  An attempt is complete when either:

1.      The robot successfully finishes the course within 60 seconds.

2.      The robot fails to finish the course in the allotted time.

3.      The robot does not move for 15 consecutive seconds.

4.      The builder agrees with the Judge that the robot will be unable to finish.

5.      Human intervention is required to either catch a falling robot going off course, or to 'fix' a stuck robot.  Note, this does not include catching the robot if it overshoots the final entry into Zone A.

In the event of conditions 2), 3), 4), or 5) above, the builder may elect to temporarily withdraw from the contest for up to 10 minutes to repair or reprogram the errant robot without loss of any remaining run(s).  This may occur only once during a given contest.

Scoring

In addition to the total time for a single run, Bonus Navigation points (Zone A Bonus) will be awarded based upon the precision with which the robot is centered between the 22.5"-long lines after reaching Zone A the final time after completely stopping.

Figure 2: Measuring of Navigation Difference

The Judge will measure the shortest distances from two opposite points on the perimeter of your robot to the nearest edge of the closest 22.5"-long white tape.  Bonus points are based upon the difference (called "D") between the two measurements, as shown in Figure 2 above.  As the precision of centering improves (D decreases), the Navigational Bonus awarded increases up to a maximum of 20 points.

Table 1 -- Navigation Bonus Points

NOTES –

·        D = the difference between measurements from the robot’s perimeter to inner edge of the white tape.

·        There will be no rounding of numbers, the points all fall in ranges.  For example, using a difference of 3/8^th inch (0.3750) gives 20 points, while a difference of anything over 3/8^th inch (even 0.3751 inches) gives 19 points.  Please note that the measuring device used will be delineated down to 1/16^th or 1/32^nd of an inch and “eyeballed” by the judge.

·        Any loops of wire or other material projecting beyond the main body of the robot are considered to be an integral part of the robot, and hence part of its perimeter.  Measurements will be made to these projections, and should they happen to overhang a tape, the robot will not qualify for extra points that might otherwise have been awarded.  For example, if a bundle of wires hangs out past the robot’s frame, that bundle of wires is part of the perimeter of the robot.

The robots run one at a time, and each robot will be given three tries at completing the challenge.  Only the best score from all of your runs will be considered for placement in the competition.  Each robot will be awarded a score based upon the criteria given in Table 2 below:  Extra points are available for remote starting and for entertainment value.

Table 2 -- Basic Table Top Score Determination

The entertainment value is an objective 10 points awarded if the robot somehow signals that it has completed the course, for example, playing a song, waving a flag or just flashing a light.