DROIDs, PING, PONG, PADDLEs, and NASA will fill St. John Arena at next week’s robot competition held by Ohio State College of Engineering.
First-year engineering students will enter robots they designed and built in a competition to simulate a space mission where robots work with humans to take care of tasks on an International Space Station.
From 4 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 24, the students will set their robots in motion around a specially-built, 12- by 12-foot course to simulate a space station with instructions to launch an information gathering probe into orbit, return a lost tool box to the storage platform, pick up and carry packages from a storage area and adjust a solar panel to the correct position using the robot’s light emission sensors. They must complete the tasks within two minutes — the chosen time limit.
The competition requires each of the 61 teams of four students to design, build and program an autonomous robot using creativity and engineering principles learned in the classroom. In addition, a significant portion of their assignment involves planning, managing and documenting their work on the project.
The robots, limited in size to 9 inches square, are constructed of materials that include sheet metal, PVC pipe and Erector sets. The students are all from the college’s Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors Program.
The robot competition highlights the college’s First-Year Engineering program, which combines lectures, projects and labs.
Along the way, the students learn team-building, project management and communication skills through oral presentations and research exercises; find out about all the college has to offer, such as participation in student-led projects like the Buckeye Bullet; and have interaction with senior faculty members and industry representatives. The program is part of a nationwide initiative funded by the National Science Foundation.
What: First-Year Engineering Honors Student Robot Competition
When: 4-5:30 p.m., Thursday, May 24, 2007
Where: St. John Arena, 410 Woody Hayes Drive, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Who: 61 teams of Ohio State First-Year Engineering Honors Students
Why: Student engineering teams will test robots in competition with other teams
Editors: Please see attached fact sheet for more details. Photographers and videographers are welcome to attend the event and take photos or video during the competition.
The Ohio State University College of Engineering Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors Robot Competition, May 24, 2007, St. John Arena
FACT SHEET
THE COMPETITION
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The main objective for each team is to build a self-controlled, self-contained and self-propelled robotic vehicle that will travel over a well-defined course. Along the way, each robot must start when the light in the floor of the start area turns on, navigate through the course and complete these tasks:
- Begin the task by responding to a “starting light &rdqou; in the floor of the starting area
- Launch a probe into correct orbit
- Return a tool box to its rightful owner
- Reposition a solar panel to the correct position for maximum effective absorption by sensing light emission
- Pick up a package from a storage area and carry it into the space station
- Return to its own starting area and signal it is finished
- Teams will be scored based on their design and how well the robot performs in both individual and head-to-head competition runs.
- Each team will have one minute to set up its robot before each run. Each run will last 2 minutes from the time that the start light/signal is activated. One minute will be allowed for removal of the robot and any disposable parts after run completion while the next run is being set up.
THE ROBOTS
- Size/Shape: Each robot, in its starting configuration, must be no larger than 9 inches by 9 inches and no taller than 12 inches.
- Parts: Robots are constructed of Erector Motion System 20, PVC pipe and adhesive, PVC sheet welded into structural shapes, or a combination of these. Other structural materials including wood and sheet metal also are possible. A sensor kit will be provided that included a CdS cell, an IR receiver, an optosensor and tow microswitches or touch sensors. The robots operate with motors and batteries.
- Budget: Each team has a discretionary budget of $160, as well as a loaned programmable controller board and a set of basic sensors. Purchases made by a team are automatically charged to that team. All project purchases are made through the Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors Program “Company Store. ” Bonus points will be granted for projects under budget; projects ending over budget will be penalized.
- Course Layout: The course is approximately square in shape with dimensions of about 12 feet by 12 feet. It is constructed primarily of wood, plywood with plastic sidewalls. It has relatively smooth horizontal surfaces (painted and/or sealed), while the ramp surfaces have a course texture (granite paint or diamond plate) to provide needed traction.
- Judges: The judges for the event will be representatives of the companies that have sponsored the competition through donations. Those companies include DaimlerChrysler, Honda, Lockheed Martin, National Instruments, Autodesk, Eaton, Microsoft, P&G, Raytheon, Shell and Lucent.
Professor John Demel, faculty coordinator, First-Year Engineering Program, (614) 292-2427 or demel.1@osu.edu.
For more information about the college’s First-Year Engineering Program, visit http://feh.osu.edu. May 16, 2007
