2009 RULES AND REGULATIONS
II
Trinity College Fire-Fighting Home Robot Contest
Chapter 1 Fire Fighting Contest Structure
Chapter 2 Scoring and Awards
Chapter 3 Specifications
Chapter 4 Scoring
The Trinity College Fire-Fighting Home Robot
Contest (TCFFHRC) advances robot technology and knowledge by using
robotics as an educational tool. A winning robot must respond to a fire
alarm, discover the blaze, and extinguish it in the shortest possible
time.
To accomplish that overall task, the robot must
start on a signal, explore a typical family home (the arena), locate a fire (a
burning candle), extinguish it, and optionally return to its starting point.
Additional contests held during the TCFFHRC weekend
provide different challenges, as described in these rules.
Direct questions and comments about the contest to
the Contest Director: Dave Ahlgren david.ahlgren@trincoll.edu.
Chapter 1 Fire Fighting Contest Structure
1.1 Divisions
1.1.1 Division Criteria
1.1 Divisions
In order to make the contest accessible to persons
of all ages and skill levels the TCFFHRC offers prizes in several divisions:
The Connecticut Council on Developmental Abilities
sponsors an Assistive Robotics contest with distinct objectives, rules, and
awards.
Teams or individuals may also demonstrate their
robotics knowledge by taking the Robot Olympiad exam (Part V below) and/or by
entering the Poster Contest (Part VI below).
1.1.1 Division Criteria
Participants who meet the criteria for a particular
Division may, at their option, decide to enter their robot in a higher
Division, however, they may not enter in a lower Division.
When registering for the contest, each team must
specify the robot’s Division. If that division is full, the robot will be placed
on a waiting list.
In order to change Divisions, the team must
re-register the robot and pay the appropriate registration fee.
Division entry fees will not be refunded after
registration.
No single robot may be entered in two Divisions. If
a team wants to enter two different robots in two divisions, each robot must be
registered in the appropriate Division.
Chapter 2 Scoring and Awards
Each division will
offer prizes in both kit and unique robot categories. The scoring system
emphasizes reliability by grouping robots according to the number of successful
runs.
Within each
reliability group robots are ranked according to score. To earn a cash award a
robot must complete at least two successful runs. Within any contest division
only one prize will be given to any winning robot. However, a robot may win a
prize in a contest division and win one or more special prizes (Cost Effective,
etc.). The exception is the Spirit of the Inventor award, which is granted to an
inventive, unique robot that does not win any divisional cash prize.
The TCFFHRC awards
cash prizes provided by our contest sponsors and non-cash prizes provided by
contest supporters. All prizes are described on the contest website.
Each team
participating in the contest will receive a Certificate of Achievement and one
official contest T-shirt.
2.1 World Champion Prize for Best Unified Robot Performance
2.1.1 BURP Weighting
2.1.2 BURP Scoring Example
2.1.3 Special Awards
2.1.3.1 Spirit of an Inventor
2.1.3.2 Cost-Effective Robot
2.1 World Champion Prize for Best Unified Robot
Performance
The World Champion
BURP Prize recognizes the best overall performance by an individual or team in
the Junior, High School, Senior, or Walking Divisions. We will compute each
team’s or individual’s BURP score by weighing
-
Its relative standing in its Division.
-
Its ranking on the Olympiad exam.
-
The relative quality of the individual’s or team’s poster.
A team or
individual must participate in all three events to be eligible for the BURP
award.
2.1.1 BURP Weighting
The ranking of the
robots and teams within their respective Divisions determines their total BURP
score. The actual contest scores are not used, only the rankings within the
respective Divisions.
This weighting
applies to the rankings:
-
Performance = 50%
-
Olympiad = 25%
-
Poster = 25%
2.1.2 BURP Scoring Example
Junior
Division team
15 robots compete in the Junior Division. This robot wins 4th place. Score is
(4/15) * 0.50 = 0.133
8 teams present posters; this team wins 2nd place. Score is (2/8) * 0.25 =
0.0625
4 teams take part in Olympiad; this team wins 1st place. Score is (1/4) * 0.25 =
0.0625
Total BURP score = 0.133 + 0.0625 + 0.0625 = 0.258.
High
School Division team
45 robots compete in the High School Division. This robot wins 8th place. Score
is (8/45) * 0.50 = 0.889
22 teams present posters; this team wins 6th place. Score is (6/22) * 0.25 =
0.068
12 teams take part in Olympiad; this team wins 7th place. Score is (7/12) * 0.25
= 0.146
Total BURP score = 0.889 + 0.068 + 0.146 = 0.303.
BURP
Ranking
Team 1 has a lower score than Team 2, so its BURP ranking is better.
2.1.3 Special Awards
2.1.3.1 Spirit of an Inventor
An incredible and
unique two-legged walking robot, once entered in the contest, found and
extinguished the candle. The inventor entered this robot even though it was not
the fastest and had no chance to win first prize. The inventor entered it anyway
because it was such a good idea. We were so impressed by this attitude that we
established special prize for the most unique robot that does not win the
contest, but shows the greatest creativity, ingenuity and a true "Spirit of an
Inventor." A robot does not have to conform to all the rules in order to be
eligible for this prize. To be eligible for the "Spirit of an Inventor" award,
the robot does not need be mechanically unique, but the programming, for
example, can be unique as well. It is recommended that the inventive
features of the robot are displayed through a poster and entered into the poster
session.
2.1.3.2 Cost-Effective Robot
Robotics does not
have to be expensive: spending more money does not guarantee success. In fact,
some of the very best robots have been some of the least expensive. To award
financial efficiency there will be a special prize for the best performing robot
built with the lowest amount of money in material cost.
If you put in
$50,000 in labor and destroyed $5,000 in parts finally getting it to work, but
your final robot has less than $200 in actual parts in it, then it is a good
contender for this prize.
It does not matter
what you paid for the parts, but only what they are worth. A motor that
originally cost $50, but is now for sale in a surplus catalog for $5 is now a $5
motor. However, if you got a $50 motor for free from a friend, then it’s still a
$50 motor even though you got it for free. On the other hand, if you destroyed
three $50 motors in building the robot, you only have to account for the one
motor that is actually on the robot.
Evaluation Method:
-
As part of the on-line registration process teams will indicate in a check
box on the registration form whether they wish to be considered for the
Cost-Effective Prize (CEP).
-
Participating teams will prepare an inventory for their robot that lists all
parts and their prices. You must submit an itemized record of your receipts and
copies of the receipts to the Judges. If you do not have that material your
robot is not eligible for the cost effective prize.
-
Two Judges will inspect the robot and verify the inventory.
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Each robot will be put into a cost category (CC)
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CC1: under $100 U.S.
-
CC2: $100-$150 U.S
5. Robots will be ranked as follows:
-
Compute Total Final Score (TFS) for only the two best runs using the scoring
method described below.
-
If any robots in CC1 were successful, the winner will be the robot with the
best TOS.
-
If no CC1 robots had successful trials, the winner will be the robot in CC2
with the best TFS.
Chapter 3 Specifications
The arena
dimensions and specifications listed below are not exactly what will be
encountered at the contest: they are provided as general aids.
The size limits on
robots are, however, absolute and will be enforced by the Judges.
3.1 Arenas
3.1.1 Basic Arena – Junior & Walking Divisions
3.1.2 Standard Arena – High School & Senior Divisions
3.2 Robot
3.2.1 Operation
3.2.2 Dimensions
3.2.3 Sensors
3.2.4 Ambient Lighting
3.2.5 Power
3.3 Fires
3.3.1 Extinguishing the Candle
3.1 Arenas
3.1.1 Basic Arena – Junior & Walking Divisions
The Basic Arena
presents a simplified model of a typical house, with high-contrast walls and
floors. Click here to see a
Basic Arena.
Specifications
-
The walls of the arena are between 27 and 34 cm in height.
-
The walls are made of wood and will be painted or decorated with finishes
found in a typical home. Such finishes include wallpaper in various patterns
and painted surfaces. Painted surfaces may be any color including black and
white.
-
The floor of the arena will be painted black, but some robots may use foam,
powder or other substances to attack the candle flame. Our best efforts will
be made to clean up after each robot, but there is no guarantee that the
floor will stay uniformly black throughout the entire contest. The floor may
also have small (3 mm diameter) red or blue dots on it to indicate the
potential locations of candles and furniture.
-
All hallways and doorways will be about 46 cm wide. Doorways do not have a
door, just a 46 cm opening marked with white 2.5 cm wide tape to indicate
the room entrance.
-
The robot will start at the Home Circle location marked by the H in a circle
on the arena floor plan: a 30 cm diameter solid white circle (without the H)
centered in the hallway.
-
Robots may also use any placement fixtures to initially align the robot in
the Home Circle. The robot must start within the Home Circle, but once
started, it can go in any direction desired.
3.1.2 Standard Arena - High School & Senior Divisions
The Standard Arena
Layout represents a decorated home, a more realistic fire-fighting environment. Click here to see standard arena.
The Standard Arena
has the same dimensions as the Basic arena. The differences between the Basic
Arena and the Standard Arena are listed below.
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Rugs will be placed in some or all of the rooms and hallways. There will be
no shag rugs.
-
Wall hangings, including pictures, tapestries, and/or mirrors, will be hung
from the walls of rooms and hallways. These will not protrude more than 1 cm
from the wall.
-
One or more mirrors may be placed at any place in the arena except in the
room where the candle is located.
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Any carpeting will not cover up the white tape, but may be light in color.
-
The arena will be altered when robots run in the optional Uneven Floor
(Section 4.5.1) and Variable Door Location (4.5.1) modes.
-
Unless the robot operates in the Uneven Floor mode, the floor will be level.
3.2
Robot
3.2.1 Operation
Once turned on, the
robot must be autonomous–self-controlled without any human intervention.
Fire-fighting robots are to be computer controlled and not manually controlled
devices.
A robot may bump
into or touch the walls of the arena as it travels, but it cannot mark, dislodge
or damage the walls in doing so. The robot cannot leave anything behind as it
travels through the arena. It cannot make any marks on the floor of the arena
that aid in navigation as it travels. Any robot that deliberately, in the
Judges’ opinion, damages the contest arena (including the walls) will be
disqualified. This does not include any accidental marks or scratches made in
moving around.
3.2.2 Dimensions
The robot must fit
in a box with a base 31 x 31 cm square and 27 cm high. If the robot has feelers
to sense an object or wall, the feelers will be counted as part of the robot’s
total dimensions.
Robots in the
Walking Division may be up to 46 cm long.
The robot cannot
separate into multiple parts and must not extend itself beyond the specified
base area.
Contestants may add
a flag, hat or other purely decorative, non-functional item/s to the robot as
long as the item has absolutely no effect on the operation of the robot.
Unlike the arena
specifications, the robot size limits are not approximate: robots must
not exceed the given dimensions.
There are no
restrictions on robot weight or materials.
3.2.3 Sensors
There is no
restriction on the type of sensors that may be used as long as they do not
violate any of the other rules or regulations.
Robots that use
laser-based devices must take measures to prevent eye damage to team members and
to observers. If, in the opinion of the qualification Judges, effective safety
measures have not been taken, the robot will be disqualified from competing. The
Judges may require the team to remove the laser device from the robot.
Contestants are not
allowed to place any markers, beacons or reflectors on the walls or floors,
whether inside or outside of the arena, to aid in the robot’s navigation.
3.2.4 Ambient Lighting
Ambient lighting in
the contest room may be a source of IR, visible and UV light. During the course
of the contest, sunlight may come into the contest room through open outside
doors. The sunlight will not shine directly on the arenas, but may be detectable
by very sensitive sensors.
During the course
of the contest, Judges at other arenas may be lighting candles or lighters.
These incidental flames will be above the arena and further away than the
candle, but still may be detectable by an undiscriminating sensor. In setting up
the arena, contest officials may put their arms into the arena and some very
sensitive sensors may mistake that IR emission as the flame.
Many video and
still cameras transmit infrared light as part of their automatic focusing
systems. Flash units produce bursts of UV that may trigger the popular Hamamatsu
UVTron flame sensor. The gymnasium will have many, many cameras at all times:
verify that your robot will operate correctly when it’s being photographed.
If a robot uses
light sensors to find the candle or detect walls or furniture, it is the robot
builder’s responsibility to design their robot to prevent these and other
unintended UV, visible and IR sources from interfering with its operation. Part
of the challenge of this contest is to design a robot that can find the flame
and ignore everything else.
3.2.5 Power
The maximum
electrical requirements for any system needing electricity at the arena will be
10 amps at 120 VAC, 60 Hz from a single US-standard outlet.
3.3
Fires
For obvious reasons
of safety and economy, fires will be simulated by small flames: candles for the
indoor arenas.
The candle flame
will be from 15 cm to 20 cm above the nominal floor level. The candle thickness
normally will be between 2 cm and 3 cm. The exact height and size of the flame
will change throughout the contest depending upon the condition of candle and
its surroundings. The robot is required to find the candle no matter what the
size of the flame is at that particular moment.
The candle will be
placed at random in one of the rooms in the arena. The candle has an equal
chance of being in any of the 4 rooms in each of the robot’s 3 trials. It is
possible for the candle to be in the same room on two of the robot’s three runs.
If it happens that the candle is placed in the same room for both the 1st and
2nd trials, then the contest officials will make sure that it is a different
room for the third and last trial. Thus every robot will have the candle in at
least 2 rooms and possibly 3, during its 3 trials.
The candle will not
be placed in a hallway, but it might be placed just inside a doorway of a room.
The candle circle will not touch the doorway line and this means that the front
of the robot will be able to move at least 33 cm into the room before it
encounters the candle.
The contestants
cannot measure or touch the candle before it is used. Violation will result in
immediate disqualification from the competition of the team and the robot.
The candle will be
mounted on a small wooden base painted semi-gloss yellow. This base is used to
help keep the candle from tipping over easily, but it will be possible to knock
the candle over by bumping into it. Judges will give penalty points in such
instances (see Section 4.5.4.)
3.3.1 Extinguishing the Candle
The robot must, in
the opinion of the Judges, have found the candle before it attempts to put it
out. For example, the robot cannot just flood the arena with CO2 thereby putting
the flame out by accident.
The robot must not
use any destructive or dangerous methods to put out the candle. It may use such
substances as water, air, CO2, etc., but any method or material that is
dangerous or will damage the arena is prohibited. Halon is not allowed because
it is harmful to the environment.
The robot may
extinguish the candle by blowing air or other oxygen-bearing gas. However, this
is not a practical method of extinguishing a fire in the real world, so robots
that do not use air streams to blow out the candle will receive a 15% time
reduction.
The robot must come
within 30 cm of the candle before it attempts to extinguish the flame. There
will be a white 30 cm radius solid circle (or circle segment, if the candle is
near a wall) on the floor around the candle and the robot must have some part of
its body over the circle before it puts out the candle. The candle will be
placed in the center of the circle.
A penalty is given
to robots that touch a lit candle with either the robot chassis or a sensor.
Chapter 4 Scoring
Although the
scoring system appears complex, it measures differing robot capabilities in
different divisions. The overall scoring flow follows this pattern, with some
variations in each Division:
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The team tells the Judge what optional tasks the robot will attempt;
this determines the Operating Mode factors in effect for that trial.
-
The Judge measures the Actual Time required for the robot to complete its
trial.
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The Judge records any penalties.
-
The Judge computes the Operating Score for the trial.
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The Judge computes the Final Score from the Operating Score and the robot’s
division.
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After all three runs, the Judge computes the Total Final Score from the
Final Scores of all three trials.
4.1 Operating Score (OS) Computation
4.2 Final Score (FS) Computation
4.2.1 Junior Division
4.2.1.1 Candle Positioning
4.2.2 High School
4.2.3 Senior
4.2.4 Walking
4.3 Total Final Score (TFS) Computation
4.4 Ranking Within Divisions
4.5 Score Components
4.5.1 Operating Modes (OM)
4.5.2 Actual Time (AT)
4.5.2.1 Time Limits
4.5.2.2 Loops and Stalls
4.5.2.3 Functionality
4.5.3 Room Factor (RF)
4.5.4 Penalty Points (PP)
4.6 Examples
4.6.1 Junior Division
4.6.2 High-School Division
4.6.3 Senior Division
4.6.3.1 Example 1
4.6.3.2 Example 2
4.6.4 Walking Division
4.1
Operating Score (OS) Computation
During the trial,
the Judges record the robot’s Operating Modes (OM.x) options (Section 4.5.1),
measure the Actual Time (AT) for the trial, determine the Room Factor (RF), and
record any Penalty Points (PP) incurred.
After the trial has
completed, the Judges calculate the Operating Score (OS) from those values using
this procedure:
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Multiply all of the active Operating Mode values together to find the Mode
Factor. If no OM.x factors apply, then MF = 1.0.
-
Add all of the Penalty Point (PP) values to the Actual Time (AT) to
determine the Time Score: TS = AT + PP.
-
Compute the Operating Score: OS = TS x RF x MF.
Although the
“units” of the Operating Score appear to be seconds, they bear little relation
to actual wall-clock time.
4.2
Final Score (FS) Computation
Scoring rules
convert the Operatng Score into the Final Score for each trial. The High School
and Senior Divisions share one set of scoring rules,; Junior and Walking share
the second set of scoring rules. The Final Score becomes a component of the
Total Final Score (TFS) used to rank the robots for prizes and awards.
4.2.1 Junior Division
If the robot
extinguished the candle, then the Final Score for that trial equals the
Operating Score. If it did not extinguish the candle, then the robot receives
credit for tasks completed during the unsuccessful trial by deducting points as
described below.
Although a robot
with only two successful trials can therefore have a lower Total Final Score
than a robot with three successful trials, the ranking described in the next
section will award higher prizes to the latter.
Sound
Activation
TASK.sound = -30
The robot must start properly with sound activation.
Room
Searching
TASK.search = -30 x room count
Deduct 30 points for each room searched before finding the candle. The maximum
reduction is 120 points because the candle must be in the fourth room.
Candle
Detection
TASK.detect = -30
The robot must correctly signal that it detected the candle by lighting an LED
or making an obvious motion.
4.2.1.1 Candle Positioning
TASK.position = -30
The robot must stop
within 30 cm of the candle without touching it.
4.2.2 High School
The Final Score is
equal to the Operating Score: FS = OS.
4.2.3 Senior
The Final Score is
equal to the Operating Score: FS = OS.
4.2.4 Walking
This division uses
the same scoring rules as the Junior Division.
4.3
Total Final Score (TFS) Computation
After all robots
within a Division have completed their trials, the Judges compute the Total
Final Score (TFS) for each robot by adding all three of its Operating Scores
together.
4.4
Ranking Within Divisions
The robots in each
Division will be divided into four groups based on the number of successful
runs: 3, 2, 1, or 0. Within each group the robots will be ranked on the basis of
their Total Final Scores. The First, Second, and Third prizes in each Division
will be awarded to the three robots with the smallest TFS in the first group. If
the first group has fewer than three robots, then the prizes for that Division
will extend to the robots with the smallest TFS in the second group, and
similarly to the third group.
In all cases, a
robot must extinguish the candle in at least two trials to be eligible for a
cash award.
4.5
Score Components
These sections
explain how the Judges assign values that determine the Operating Score.
4.5.1 Operating Modes (OM)
A robot’s overall
performance depends on its ability to handle real-world situations. The Basic
contest arena includes a level floor, high-contrast walls, and no obstructions,
but additional operating modes allow you to improve your robot’s score by
completing more difficult tasks.
Operating modes act
as multipliers to the Actual Time required for the robot to find and extinguish
the candle. If no Operating Modes are in effect for a trial, the Actual Time is
multiplied by the Standard Mode, which is exactly 1.0.
The team can select
different Operating Modes for each of the three trials. Note that the candle and
any furniture will be placed in different locations for each trial.
The modes do not
apply to an unsuccessful trial. The score for an unsuccessful trial is 600,
regardless of any operating modes applied to that trial.
Standard
OM.standard = 1.0
The team must inform the Judge of any operating modes for the current trial
before the trial begins. In the absence of that notification, the robot
will run in Standard mode and the Actual Time will be multiplied by 1.0.
Tethered
Robots tethered by wires to computers, power supplies, or other devices are not
allowed in the 2009 TCFFHRC, so there is no Tethered mode.
Robots may communicate through a wireless link, but must operate autonomously.
Remote control by a human operator is not permitted!
Sound
Activated
OM.sound = 0.95
The robot begins operation when it detects a sound signal between 3.0 kHz and
4.0 kHz. The sound replaces the normal start button.
The Judges will begin timing the trial when the sound signal begins, not when
the robot actually starts to move.
The robot must not start until the Judge activates the sound signal. If the
robot mistakenly detects ambient room noise (even an activation sound from a
different arena) and begins to move, then the trial will have begun, but the
robot will not be in Sound Activated Mode.
If the robot does not start in response to the sound signal it will not be given
a second chance (i.e. another press of the sound button) to run in the sound
mode for that trial. The Judge will attempt to activate the robot by pressing
its Start switch, but the delay will be included in the robot’s Actual Time for
the trial.
The sound signal device can be held at any distance from the robot that the
contestants want and may continue for up to 5 seconds.
There will be an official sound signal device at the contest, but contestants
can bring their own sound devices. The devices must operate within the proper
frequency range.
Arbitrary Start
OM.start = 0.80
The Judge will place the robot in an arbitrary location and orientation within
any room that does not have the candle, as determined by the toss of a die.
The robot may be facing a wall or pointed into a corner, but will not be trapped
by furniture.
Return
Trip
OM.return = 0.80
The robot must return to its starting location after extinguishing the flame.
In Standard mode, the robot must return to the Home Circle. It must stop with
any part of its chassis within the 30 cm white Home Circle, but need not be in
the same position or orientation as when it started the trial.
In Arbitrary Start mode, the robot must return to the room it started from. It
must stop with all parts of its chassis within the starting room, but need not
be in the same position or orientation as when it started the trial.
The robot’s Actual Time (AT) recorded for the trial will include only the time
required to find and extinguish the candle, not the time for the return trip.
The robot must return its starting location within 2 minutes; if not, then the
Return Mode factor is not in effect.
The robot need not retrace its path in returning to the starting location or
take the most efficient route, but it must not enter any other rooms along the
way.
Extinguisher
OM.extinguisher = 0.85
The robot must extinguish the candle using inert gas, water, or powder.
Robots that use an air stream of any kind do not operate in Extinguisher mode.
Furniture
OM.furniture = 0.75
Each room will have one or more pieces of furniture.
Furniture consists of semi-gloss yellow cylinders 11 cm in diameter, 30 cm high,
and weighing more than 1 kg.
Furniture will always be placed to allow at least one path to the candle that is
at least 31 cm wide. The furniture will not block the doorway and a
robot will be able to come into a room at least halfway before it encounters
furniture. Furniture may block the robot’s view of the candle, so it must move
to different locations to see the candle and plan a path to reach it.
The robot may have to go around the furniture to get to the candle. It may touch
the furniture, but it cannot push it out of the way. Robots that push the
furniture away lose the Furniture Mode deduction for that trial.
Uneven
Floor
OM.floor = 0.80
The robot must operate in an arena with ramps placed in hallways to defeat
dead-reckoning navigation.
The ramps have a 15 degree maximum slope and a 5 cm maximum height. The ramps
are tapered with discontinuities less than 5 mm. The ramps have the same
flat-black paint as the floor.
More than one ramp may be present on any trial and the exact placement of ramps
will be unknown to the robot before the start of any trial. The ramps will not
be placed in the hallway directly outside of a doorway, although one could be
placed next to a doorway. The number and location of the ramps will be changed
from trial to trial. The ramps will remain in place during the return trip
portion of the trial.
Variable
Door Locations
OM.variabledoor = 0.75
This option presents uncertainty about the
locations of the Room 1 and Room 4 doors. There will be four different
combinations of door locations; Click on the following links to view these combinations.
Door Location 1,
Door Location 2,
Door Location 3,
Door Location 4. At the start of a trial the arena Judge
will determine the door locations by tossing a die.
4.5.2 Actual Time (AT)
If the robot
extinguishes the flame, the Actual Time is the number of seconds elapsed from
robot activation to flame disappearance. The maximum Actual Time for such a
successful trial is AT = 300.
If the robot does
not extinguish the flame within the limits set below, the Judge will terminate
the unsuccessful trial and assign AT = 600.
4.5.2.1 Time Limits
The maximum time
allowed for a robot to find the candle is 5 minutes, after which the Judge will
stop the trial and assign AT = 600.
A robot operating
in Return Trip mode must return to the Home Circle within 2 minutes after
extinguishing the candle, after which the Judge will stop the trial. The AT
equals the time required to extinguish the candle.
4.5.2.2 Loops and Stalls
If a robot gets
stuck in a loop and performs the same movement 5 times in a row, the Judge will
stop the trial and assign AT = 600.
Any time the robot
does not move at all for 30 seconds, the Judge will stop the trial and assign AT
= 600.
4.5.2.3 Functionality
If a robot fails to
complete its first two trials, it will not be eligible for a third trial.
4.5.3 Room Factor (RF)
The Room Factor (RF)
compensates for the random candle location. The more rooms a robot searches
before it finds the candle, the lower the Room Factor for that trial.
When the candle is
in:
-
First room searched, RF = 1.0
-
Second room searched, RF = 0.85
-
Third room searched, RF = 0.50
-
Fourth room searched, RF = 0.35
It does not matter
in which order the robot searches the rooms. The only thing that matters is how
many rooms the robot has searched before it finds the candle.
When the robot
searches the room with the candle, whether or not the robot extinguishes it, the
Judge records the Room Factor for that trial. The room factor will not change
regardless of how many more rooms the robot searches.
Because some robots
can detect the candle by looking in the doorway, without entering the room to
search it, when the robot passes a doorway for the first time the Judge will
count that room as searched. If the robot has already searched a room and then
goes past the doorway again on its way to a different room, that room will not
be counted twice.
4.5.4 Penalty Points (PP)
Penalty Points (PP)
will be added to the Actual Time (AT) of any robot that exhibits the behaviors
described in this section. Don’t let these penalties scare you too much. These
penalties are generally a small price to pay for a robot that manages to
accomplish the task.
Touching
the candle
PP.candle = 50
Any robot that touches the candle or its base, either deliberately or
accidentally, while the candle is lit will have 50 penalty points added to its
Actual Time score each time the candle is hit.
There is no penalty for a touch that occurs as part of the actual extinguishing
process, i.e., smothering the flame with a wet sponge, or after the candle is
extinguished.
Touching refers only to any part of the robot’s body, including feelers or
probes, and does not include the water, air or other material that the robot
might use to extinguish the candle.
Continuous Wall Contact
PP.slide = (contact cm) / 2
Any robot that slides along a wall will have 1 point added to its Actual Time
score for each 2 cm of wall it touches.
A robot may still touch a wall to orient itself, as long as the contact is not
sliding.
There is no penalty for touching or sliding along the wall on the return trip to
the Home Circle.
4.6
Examples
These examples
illustrate how to calculate the Total Final Score under specific conditions for
each division.
Any disagreement
between these examples and the rules given above will be decided by reference to
the rules!
4.6.1 Junior Division
Trial 1
The robot runs its
first trial in the Sound and Return modes, takes 1 minute and 23 seconds to
extinguish the candle in the 2nd room and slides along the wall a total of 42
cm. The robot puts out the flame with a fan.
-
MF = OM.sound x OM.return = 0.95 x 0.80 = 0.76
-
TS = AT + PP.slide = 83 + (42 / 2) = 104
-
OS = TS x RF x MF = 104 x 0.85 x 0.76 = 67.184
-
FS = OS = 67.184
Trial 2
The robot runs its
second trial in Sound and Return modes, but fails to return to the home
position; OM.return is not in effect. The robot takes 1 minute and 41 seconds to
blow out the candle in the fourth room searched. It accidentally bumped the
candle one time.
-
MF = OM.sound = 0.95
-
TS = AT + PP.candle= 101 + 50 = 151
-
OS = TS x RF x MF = 151 x 0.35 x 0.95 = 50.208
-
FS = OS = 50.208
Trial 3
The robot navigates
to two rooms, indicates that it sees the candle, but does not extinguish the
candle or come within 30 cm of the candle. The robot starts with an audio
signal. There are no penalties.
-
MF = OM.sound = 0.95
-
TS = AT = 600
-
OS = TS = 480
-
FS = OS + TASK.detect + TASK.search = 600 - 30 - (2 x 30) =
510
Final Results
Total Final Score:
TFS = 67.184 + 50.208 + 510 = 627.392
Ranking: two
successful trials = second group.
4.6.2 High-School Division
Trial 1
Same as Junior
Division example.
Trial 2
Same as Junior
Division example.
Trial 3
The team announced
Sound and Return modes. The audio start circuitry failed to operate and the
Judge pushed the robot’s manual Start button. The robot found the candle in the
first room and extinguished it in 1 minute and 10 seconds, but it did not make
it back to the Home Circle.
-
MF = OM.standard = 1.00
-
TS = AT = 70
-
OS = TS x RF x MF = 70 x 1.0 x 1.00
-
FS = OS = 70
Final Results
Total Final Score:
TFS = 67.184 + 50.208 + 70.0 = 187.392
Ranking: three
successful trials = first group.
4.6.3 Senior Division
4.6.3.1 Example 1
Trial 1
The robot runs in
Sound, and Return modes. It extinguishes the candle in 2 minutes and 17 seconds
in the second room visited, using a Carbon Dioxide device. It incurs no
penalties.
-
MF = OM.sound x OM.return = 0.95 x 0.80 = 0.76
-
TS = AT = 137
-
OS = TS x RF x MF = 137 x 0.85 x 0.76 =
88.502
-
FS = OS = 88.502
Trial 2
The robot runs in
Sound, Return, and Uneven Floor modes. It extinguishes the candle in 1 minute
and 41 seconds in the fourth room using a CO2 system, but bumps into the candle.
It does not return to the start.
-
MF = OM.sound x OM.return x OM.floor x OM.extinguisher = 0.95 x 0.80 x 0.80
x 0.85 = 0.517
-
TS = AT + PP.candle = 101 + 50 = 151
-
OS = TS x RF x MF = 151 x 0.35 x 0.517 = 27.324
-
FS = OS = 27.324
Trial 3
The robot runs in
Sound, Return, Variable Door Location, and Furniture modes. It extinguished the
candle in 1 minute and 10 seconds in the first room with CO2. It did not return
to the start.
-
MF = OM.sound x OM.furniture x OM.vdl x OM.extinguisher = 0.95 x 0.75 x 0.7
x 0.85 = 0.454
-
TS = AT = 70
-
OS = TS x RF x MF = 70 x 1.0 x 0.424 =
31.78
-
FS = OS = 29.676
Final Results
Total Final Score:
TFS = 88.502 + 27.324 + 31.78 = 147.61
Ranking: three
successful trials = first group.
4.6.3.2 Example 2
Trial 1
Same as above.
Trial 2
Same as above.
Trial 3
Same as above, but
robot fails to extinguish the candle.
-
MF = OM.standard (did not extinguish candle)
-
TS = AT = 600
-
OS = 600
-
FS = OS = 600
Final Results
Total Final Score:
TFS = 147.61 + 27.324 + 600 = 713.815
Ranking: two
successful trials = second group.
4.6.4 Walking Division
The Walking
Division scoring will be the same as the Junior Division (Section
4.2.1)
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