Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #02718
To: Chiu-Yuan Fang chiumanfu@home.com
From: Steven Bolt sbolt@xs4all.nl
Date: Wed, 28 Apr 1999 10:08:52 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: [alt-beam] Re: Contest!!!!
On Tue, 27 Apr 1999, Chiu-Yuan Fang wrote:
> Trust me! I tried. I couldn't think of a contest with your
> criteria and still make it accessable to newbies and vets alike.
> If you can come up with a good one (that can be honestly
> conducted on-line), I'm all ears.
Last time I checked, there were 344 subscribers on this list - not
significantly more or less than a year ago. The topics of
discussion seem also pretty much the same. One could even argue
that they have become less ambitious.
Obviously, there ought to be a contest for those who have just
discovered this hobby. But I think that a next, task-oriented level
would make BEAM more attractive for all, not just for those who'd
actually participate in that second contest.
It should happen in an `arena', designed to restrict the size of the
`bots and provide them with an environment where cheap and simple
sensors are sufficient. The arena should not be too large - let's say
100x50cm - and easy to put together. For a first `second level'
contest, a flat, bordered surface with simple obstacles might do fine.
And the task? For instance this:
Five Alu foil balls with a diameter between 1 and 1.5cm would be
positioned at random. Within a certain time a robot would have
to find all these `Easter Eggs', and gather them within a 20x20cm
area. This `nest' might be marked with an omnidirectional IR beacon
and a black floor, the arena being white. Everything exept the
balls would be in a matt finish, making remote sensing of the
reflective (and conductive) balls at least possible. The organizers
would design and build a `bot which demonstrates that the task is
doable, and publish the details. The aim of the contest is to not
only do it, but do it faster. Points would also be earned by
performing the task with a simpler `bot.
This particular task might stimulate developments useful for all
sorts of practical applications. The `bots need to rapidly explore
the whole arena, and have to make clever use of the single IR
beacon. They also must be energy-efficient to have sufficient speed
and stamina.
Participants would test their robots in their own arena's. The
contest itself would use the `proxy' method, tried, tested and
still popular in indoor aeromodelling. You build your robot, write
up a short manual and mail everything to the organizers. A
competent proxy unpacks your robot, notifies you of arrival in good
condition, does minor assembly if necessary, perhaps charges its
batteries and finally puts it in the standard arena, but with
obstacles and balls in different, randomly chosen positions.
Afterwards the robots are mailed back together with any prizes won
and perhaps a video of the event. The results would of course be
published on the Web.
There are many questions left to answer, like whether participants
would be obliged to publish their designs or not, whether a group
of robots might be allowed, and so on. I hope it's worth a little
more thought.
Best,
Steve
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# sbolt@xs4all.nl # Steven Bolt # popular science monthly KIJK #
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