Pathfinder
Content
PATHFINDER
RISC, IIT Bhubaneswar invites you to take part in PATHFINDER, the flagship robotics event at Wissenaire 2012. Inspired from the MATLAB® Vines Contest, PATHFINDER challenges you to build an intelligent path finding robot capable of finding and traversing an appropriate path in a maze according to the prescribed rules and constraints. Problem Statement Build an intelligent mobile robot which can find paths in a matrix maze and traverse them autonomously using guiding marker lines to achieve the maximum score possible in the shortest time. Arena Specifications The arena consists of a 400 cm X 400 cm square floor divided into 20 X 20 equal square grids. The grids would be alternatively colored red and white. The border lines would be 3cm thick and colored black. Vertical and Horizontal black marker lines (4cm thick) would pass through the center of each grid to guide the robot. Each Grid would be assigned an integer score value (may not be unique). Actual score values would be disclosed only at the start of the event. Fig 1.1 shows sample arena geometry and marker lines.
Fig 1.1
Fig 1.2 & 1.3 show two sample 20 X 20 matrices with assigned score values.
Fig 1.2
Fig 1.3
Competition Rules At the beginning of the competition, the bot will be placed in a start grid chosen by the participant from amongst the 400 grids on the arena. The bot can move in either of the four directions viz. north, south, east and west however it must move to a grid with a lower score value than the current grid. The bot can only traverse a grid once during a round. The bot will continue to move as long as valid moves are available. The round will end if the bot reaches a grid from where no other move is possible and the grid will be called a terminal grid. The total traverse score of the round will be equal to the sum of the scores of the grids traversed. The objective of the competition is to search for the optimum moves so as to maximize the total traverse score of the round and traverse the grids in minimum time. Each Team will take three rounds and the total traverse score will be the sum of total traverse scores for each round. Each team can choose the start grid for each of the three rounds so as to maximize their total traverse score. The team has to announce all the chosen start grids (3) before the start of the first round. The timeout period for each round is 5 minutes and the round will end even if the bot has not reached a terminal grid. The total traverse score will be for the grids traversed. Each team will be provided with the actual score values on the grids 10 minutes before the start of their first round. The score values will be available as an Excel File (.xls), Matlab file (.mat) and text file. The teams can choose to manually enter the score values for the 400 grids. The teams will be allotted a pre-processing time of 2 minutes which they might use to process the given score values and choose optimum start grids for the three rounds or for any other computation. The team will then declare its three start grids. The teams must not perform any processing involving the score values for the arena apart from the allotted pre-processing time before the round commences. This will be checked by the organizers and the team would be disqualified for violating the same. Once the bot is placed on the start point at the beginning of a round and started, it must traverse autonomously till it reaches the terminal grid after which it will be manually placed in the next start grid for the next round.
Judging Criteria The total score for a team will be a combination of the total traverse score and the runtime for each round. The bot should try to maximize its total traverse score and traverse grids as fast as possible to achieve a high total score. Total Score = Total Traverse Score + ((900-(T1+T2+T3))/N where, T1, T2, T3 is the runtime in seconds for the three rounds. N is the normalization factor which depends on the magnitude of the assigned score values to the grids in the matrix maze. The main component of the Total score would be the Total traverse score. At the end of the event, the team with the highest total score would be declared the winner. In case of a Tie, additional rounds would be conducted at the discretion of the organizers.
Mobile Robot Specifications The maximum allowable dimensions for the bot are 14 X 14 X 30 cm (Length X Breadth X Height). The bot must remain within this limit at all points of the competition. The bot is expected to traverse the grid by following the marker lines using line array sensors. The bot must use onboard power supply and the maximum potential difference between any two point must not exceed 24V. Processing may or may not be done onboard. In case of off board processing, the teams may use wireless or wired communication with the host computer. After the bot is placed in the start grid and started, the bot must run autonomously till the end of the round. The bot must signal on reaching a grid by blinking a clearly visible LED. The grid will be considered traversed only after the signal is seen. The bot must signal on reaching the terminal grid using a separate LED to end the round. The bot cannot be constructed using readymade Lego kits. Violating this clause will lead to the disqualification of the team. However teams can use off the shelf electronic components or boards and mechanical parts such as wheels, caster and chassis.
General Rules Each team can consist of a maximum of 5 participants. Participants from different institutions can form a team. Before the arena is unveiled the robots and laptops have to be handed over to the organizers. These shall be given back 10 minutes before the start of a team's first round to feed the score values for the arena, perform their pre-processing and start the run. Each team is entitled to a maximum of two restarts for their entire run (Three rounds) without any penalty in case of a technical glitch. The bot or its action must not damage the arena in any means and also making marks on the arena is strictly prohibited. This will lead to immediate disqualification. Organizers will not be responsible for minor scratches left by previous machines on the arena. Any team that is not ready at the allotted time will be disqualified. The bot would be checked for safety before the run and would be discarded if found unsafe for other participants or spectators. Organizer's decision shall be treated as final and binding on all participants in case of any disputes during the event. The organizers reserve the right to change any or all of the above rules as they deem fit. Change in rules, if any will be highlighted on the website.
For any queries please feel free to contact: Shikhar Shrestha Ph- 09040407394 [email protected] RISC (Robotics and Intelligent Systems club), IIT Bhubaneswar
Wish you all the best for PATHFINDER @Wissenaire 2012.
RISC, IIT Bhubaneswar invites you to take part in PATHFINDER, the flagship robotics event at Wissenaire 2012. Inspired from the MATLAB® Vines Contest, PATHFINDER challenges you to build an intelligent path finding robot capable of finding and traversing an appropriate path in a maze according to the prescribed rules and constraints. Problem Statement Build an intelligent mobile robot which can find paths in a matrix maze and traverse them autonomously using guiding marker lines to achieve the maximum score possible in the shortest time. Arena Specifications The arena consists of a 400 cm X 400 cm square floor divided into 20 X 20 equal square grids. The grids would be alternatively colored red and white. The border lines would be 3cm thick and colored black. Vertical and Horizontal black marker lines (4cm thick) would pass through the center of each grid to guide the robot. Each Grid would be assigned an integer score value (may not be unique). Actual score values would be disclosed only at the start of the event. Fig 1.1 shows sample arena geometry and marker lines.
Fig 1.1
Fig 1.2 & 1.3 show two sample 20 X 20 matrices with assigned score values.
Fig 1.2
Fig 1.3
Competition Rules At the beginning of the competition, the bot will be placed in a start grid chosen by the participant from amongst the 400 grids on the arena. The bot can move in either of the four directions viz. north, south, east and west however it must move to a grid with a lower score value than the current grid. The bot can only traverse a grid once during a round. The bot will continue to move as long as valid moves are available. The round will end if the bot reaches a grid from where no other move is possible and the grid will be called a terminal grid. The total traverse score of the round will be equal to the sum of the scores of the grids traversed. The objective of the competition is to search for the optimum moves so as to maximize the total traverse score of the round and traverse the grids in minimum time. Each Team will take three rounds and the total traverse score will be the sum of total traverse scores for each round. Each team can choose the start grid for each of the three rounds so as to maximize their total traverse score. The team has to announce all the chosen start grids (3) before the start of the first round. The timeout period for each round is 5 minutes and the round will end even if the bot has not reached a terminal grid. The total traverse score will be for the grids traversed. Each team will be provided with the actual score values on the grids 10 minutes before the start of their first round. The score values will be available as an Excel File (.xls), Matlab file (.mat) and text file. The teams can choose to manually enter the score values for the 400 grids. The teams will be allotted a pre-processing time of 2 minutes which they might use to process the given score values and choose optimum start grids for the three rounds or for any other computation. The team will then declare its three start grids. The teams must not perform any processing involving the score values for the arena apart from the allotted pre-processing time before the round commences. This will be checked by the organizers and the team would be disqualified for violating the same. Once the bot is placed on the start point at the beginning of a round and started, it must traverse autonomously till it reaches the terminal grid after which it will be manually placed in the next start grid for the next round.
Judging Criteria The total score for a team will be a combination of the total traverse score and the runtime for each round. The bot should try to maximize its total traverse score and traverse grids as fast as possible to achieve a high total score. Total Score = Total Traverse Score + ((900-(T1+T2+T3))/N where, T1, T2, T3 is the runtime in seconds for the three rounds. N is the normalization factor which depends on the magnitude of the assigned score values to the grids in the matrix maze. The main component of the Total score would be the Total traverse score. At the end of the event, the team with the highest total score would be declared the winner. In case of a Tie, additional rounds would be conducted at the discretion of the organizers.
Mobile Robot Specifications The maximum allowable dimensions for the bot are 14 X 14 X 30 cm (Length X Breadth X Height). The bot must remain within this limit at all points of the competition. The bot is expected to traverse the grid by following the marker lines using line array sensors. The bot must use onboard power supply and the maximum potential difference between any two point must not exceed 24V. Processing may or may not be done onboard. In case of off board processing, the teams may use wireless or wired communication with the host computer. After the bot is placed in the start grid and started, the bot must run autonomously till the end of the round. The bot must signal on reaching a grid by blinking a clearly visible LED. The grid will be considered traversed only after the signal is seen. The bot must signal on reaching the terminal grid using a separate LED to end the round. The bot cannot be constructed using readymade Lego kits. Violating this clause will lead to the disqualification of the team. However teams can use off the shelf electronic components or boards and mechanical parts such as wheels, caster and chassis.
General Rules Each team can consist of a maximum of 5 participants. Participants from different institutions can form a team. Before the arena is unveiled the robots and laptops have to be handed over to the organizers. These shall be given back 10 minutes before the start of a team's first round to feed the score values for the arena, perform their pre-processing and start the run. Each team is entitled to a maximum of two restarts for their entire run (Three rounds) without any penalty in case of a technical glitch. The bot or its action must not damage the arena in any means and also making marks on the arena is strictly prohibited. This will lead to immediate disqualification. Organizers will not be responsible for minor scratches left by previous machines on the arena. Any team that is not ready at the allotted time will be disqualified. The bot would be checked for safety before the run and would be discarded if found unsafe for other participants or spectators. Organizer's decision shall be treated as final and binding on all participants in case of any disputes during the event. The organizers reserve the right to change any or all of the above rules as they deem fit. Change in rules, if any will be highlighted on the website.
For any queries please feel free to contact: Shikhar Shrestha Ph- 09040407394 [email protected] RISC (Robotics and Intelligent Systems club), IIT Bhubaneswar
Wish you all the best for PATHFINDER @Wissenaire 2012.
