Robo Shuttle Race

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Robo Shuttle Race teaches line counting. A necessary skill for programming autonomous robots.

Mission Objective

Build an autonomous robot that will travel to a specific number of squares and return home.

Race Rules

• The robot must pass an inspection before the race starts to ensure no construction rules have been violated. The robot team will have a chance to make modifications before the race starts.
  
• When commanded, the robot driver will press the green “run” button and the clock will start.
  
• The robot must visit a specific number of squares along the trail.
  
• When the robot reaches a specific square, it must turn around and return home.
  
• Upon reaching the home position, the robot must come to a complete stop and the motors must be turned off.
  
• Each robot’s run is timed from the time the run button is hit to the time it returns to the home position and comes to a complete stop.

Robot Construction

• The robot must be less than 11 inches long including any extensions.
  
• The robot must be less than 10 inches wide.
  
• The robot must use pieces from a standard Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System 1.5.
  
• The robot must be programmed using RCX code programming.
  
• Once started, the robot must be completely autonomous.

Violations

Major Infractions

When a major infraction occurs, the robot must be restarted from the beginning of the track without stopping the clock.

• Once the robot is moving, there can be no human intervention until the robot completes the task.
  
• Losing pieces while the robot is running the race.
  
• If an error occurs and it appears the robot will not finish the race.

Minor infractions

Failing to come to a complete stop when returning home or failing to visit the necessary kingdoms incurs a 10 second penalty added to your time.

Determining the winner

The racer with the shortest time, after violations, is declared the winner.

In case of a tie, the tied contestants are allowed a run-off. The racer with the shortest run-off time is declared the winner regardless of their initial time.

Playfield

Materials

• The playfield is composed of 4 or 5 Lego Mindstorms 1.5 test pads.

Construction

• Layout the test pads in a line as shown.

Hint

Experiment with your counter settings. The light sensor may pass over the dark line while the robot is turning around.

Copyright (c) 2000, 2001 Chung and Engalan. Used by permission.