Event Format

Have you ever felt like God? Its time to give life to nuts and bolts, chips and IC’s and wheels and wires.

Build a semi autonomous image processing robot that can play snakes and ladders game.

The bot should move dice number (the number of circles on given dice image) of white squares starting from the start point (START) and once the destination is reached it should give an indication that it has reached the particular number of squares in the image. The bot should climb up the ladder if its destination square is the bottom of a ladder. Likewise if the bot’s destination is a snake’s head, it has to come down to its tail along the snake. The bot will also have to indicate if it reaches the final destination point (HOME). Extra points for retracing the path back to START Sounds spicy isn’t it?

Arena Specification

• The arena is of non-reflective soft material on a wooden base.
• Size of the arena is 240 cms X 180 cms. Each square which denotes the path, snake and ladder will be of side 10 cms. The START and HOME are denoted by circles of diameter 20 cms. The distance between the centers of adjacent squares along the normal path is 30 cms and along the ladder or snake is 20 cms. The distance between the center of a circle and the center of immediate square in the path is 35 cms. (Please note that all the dimensions are subject to a small tolerance value).
• The robot path has turns of 90° only (refer to sample image).
• The background color of the arena is black . The normal path to be traversed is denoted by successive white squares of the specified dimensions. The START point is denoted by a circle yellow in colour. The HOME point is a circle magenta in colour.
• The snake path is denoted by successive squares red in colour and the ladder by successive green squares.
• Only start and end point of a snake or a ladder will lie on the normal path and they will not intersect the normal path at any other point.
• The organizers will be providing an overhead camera along with the drivers. A computer with MATLAB installed will also be provided. More information on the camera, computer and the softwares to be provided will be updated soon. Participants can clarify the same with the organizers.
• Participants are not allowed to use their own overhead camera. However they can use their computers.

Note: In any situation the organizers cannot be held responsible for any misinterpretation of the RGB values. Organizers will provide the best RGB efficiency possible by suitably adjusting the camera settings and lighting conditions of the venue.

Sample Dice Images

The sample dice images can be downloaded here.

Event Format

The competition will be held in two days.

First day:       Calibration.
Second day: Main run.

Day 1:

During the 1st day a sample arena will be shown to all the participants who are present on Day 1. Participants will be given time slots on the day. It is advised that the participants make use of the calibration time provided the first day.

Day 2:

During 2nd day the arena for the finals will be revealed (just before the start of the event). Any team trying to feed data of any kind about the arena will lead to the disqualification of the team.
 

• A team is given 10 minutes of setup time immediately after which a run time of 5 minutes starts.
  NOTE: The 5 min main run clock will not be stopped at any cost (not even during timeouts and penalties)
• Timeouts: Teams can call out for a timeout during the main run if the bot stays in the same position for more than 10 secs. In this case the bot will be placed in HOME position and the code will be restarted.
• Before the start of the main run time a folder containing the dice images will be provided.
• The robot will be placed on the start circle (yellow in colour) facing the direction of the main track. The computer should process the first die image and the robot should move accordingly. After reaching the destination it should signal its arrival and then proceed to the next destination. If the robot fails to signal its arrival it leads to type I violation.
• If the destination, as per the die happens to be the foot of a ladder, the robot is expected to climb up (follow the green squares) the ladder, reach the ladders top square and then signal its arrival. If the robot fails to follow the ladder and signals at the ladder’s foot, it is considered as type II violation. If the robot fails to follow the ladder and does not signal at its foot either, it is considered a violation of type I and II. If the robot starts to climb up the ladder and then loses its way in the middle, it is considered as type IV violation. If the robot reaches the top of the ladder and then fails to signal, it is considered type I violation.
• If the destination, as per the die is the head of a snake, the robot is to fall down along (follow the red squares) the snake, reach the snakes foot and then signals its arrival. If the robot fails to follow the snake instead signals at the snakes head, it is considered as type II violation. If the robot fails to follow the snake and does not signal at its head either, it is considered a violation of type I and II. If the robot starts to fall down the snake and then loses its way in the middle, it is considered as type IV violation. If the robot reaches the tail of the snake and then fails to signal, it is considered type I violation.
• If the robot intersects a normal path or starts to climb up a snake or fall down a ladder or starts to follow a ladder or a snake otherwise not in its destination is called type III violation.

Bot Specifications

• The size specification of the robot is as follows:
  Maximum length:   25 cms
  Maximum breadth: 25 cms
  Maximum height:    25 cms
• The robot should be self-contained, i.e., it should have an onboard power supply exception being parallel port and USB interface.
• The potential difference between any two points in the robot should not be greater than 12V. However a tolerance of 2V is allowed in the case of over-charged batteries.
• The robot is allowed to communicate with a computer outside the arena either through wired or wireless means. In case of wired communication, the wire should remain slack throughout the run.
• Working of the bot should strictly follow the principles of image processing. The robot should not have any on-bot-sensors or control-switches. However a robot should have an LED or buzzer.
• Each time the bot reaches the destination as per the die image provided, it should signal the same through an LED or buzzer or by any means which should be informed beforehand to the organizers.
• Use of readymade kits or LEGO-KITS is strictly prohibited, exception being gear mechanisms and geared motors of simple toys and commercial wireless modules available in markets.

NOTE: Any violation or ambiguity of the above rules shall lead to direct disqualification. It is advised that the participants clear all their doubts regarding these rules with the organizers well before the event.

General Rules

• The dimensions of the robot should not exceed the given maxima at any point of time.
  The robot is not allowed to disintegrate or run as entities once the run time starts.
• The mechanical and PCB design of the robot should be original. However PCB manufacturing can be outsourced. The outsourcing work done should be clearly described to the organizers during the time of registration and a copy of the PCB layout should be brought ready for the organizers reference.
• All the robots should be ready on the specified time for the run.
• If a robot dismantles in the arena or found damaging the arena, it will be disqualified.
• Any team member pulling the robot during the course of its run will lead to lead to a forced time-out.
• A team shall consist of four members either from the same college or from different colleges. They need not be from the same branch of study. The participants should bring the ID card issued by their college along with them.

Violations and Penalties:

• Type 1 violation: A type I violation occurs when the bot doesn’t signal at all.
  Penalty: The current traversal of the bot will not be considered for points calculation. Points will be counted from the next time it signals properly. The current run’s points will not be included.
   
• Type 2 violation: A type II violation occurs when the bot doesn’t signal at proper position.
  Penalty: A penalty of 5 points will be awarded every time this violation is encountered.
   
• Type 3 violation: A type III violation occurs when the bot doesn’t move along the main path instead it tries to reach the destination point directly by skipping end turns or so.
  Penalty: The bot will be reset to the home position and the code will be restarted.
   
• Type 4 violation: A type IV violation occurs when the bot doesn’t follow the path i.e. it goes off the tracks and moves in the black background only.
  Penalty: The bot will be reset to the home position and the code will be restarted. An extra 5 penalty points will be awarded during the next run.

Time-Out:

A participant can call for a time-out if the robot does not move properly or satisfactorily. In this case, the bot will be reset to the home position and the code will be restarted and an extra 5 penalty points will be awarded during the next run. A team can call for a maximum of 5 time-out’s. Please note that penalties for type III and type IV violations are considered forced time-out’s and shall be counted as a time-out.
If a robot completes a trial successfully by reaching HOME. It can restart for the next trial.
This is not considered a time out and the best final points of all the runs is taken into account as the final score.

Judging Criteria

• All teams reaching HOME will be ranked higher than those which do not reach the home. Teams navigating through the maximum number of  white squares along the normal path are ranked higher in the table.

• Extra points for the bots retracing the path from HOME to START

• Calculation of points is as follows:
  K = number of moves made correctly according to the die.
  T = total run time of the robot.
  F = 1 if robot reches the HOME
         0 if robot doesn’t reaches the HOME.
  E = if the bot retraces the path back to start
  
  Points = K*10 + [600/T]*100*F + E
  
  TOTAL POINTS = POINTS – (SUM OF PENALTY SCORES AWARDED)
   
• Total score (given by the best of all total points) is considered for ranking the robots.

Justin 

+91 90424 48520

M.P.Bharat

 +91 97898 12233