Calibration: 13th February | 13:00-18:00 Hrs | CLC Lecture Hall 109

Event: 14th February | 09:00-15:00 Hrs | CLC Lecture Hall 109

1. If you were in a maze and wanted to come out what would you do?

Got that? once you do, read point number two.

2. Do you have it in you to write a code which will solve any general maze?

If you do read on…

3. Are you committed enough to complete a bot which will use the algo you have made and race into a maze and come right back?

Then this IEEE problem is for you.

A Micromouse is an autonomous bot that should be able to traverse to the center of a given labyrinthic maze in the least possible time.

In this contest the contestant or team of contestants design and build small self- contained robots  to negotiate a maze in the shortest possible time.

Registrations open now.

• The maze is composed of multiples of an 18 cm x 18 cm unit square. The maze comprises 16 x 16 unit squares. The walls of the maze are 5 cm high and 1.2 cm thick (assume 10-12% tolerance for mazes). The outside wall encloses the entire maze.
• The sides of the maze walls are white, the tops of the walls are red, and the floor is black. The maze is made of wood, finished with non-gloss paint.
• WARNING: Do not assume the walls are consistently white, or that the tops of the walls are consistently red, or that the floor is consistently black. Fading may occur; parts from different mazes may be used. Do not assume the floor provides a given amount of friction. It is simply painted plywood and may be quite slick. The maze floor may be constructed using multiple sheets of plywood. Therefore there may be a seam between the two sheets on which any low-hanging parts of a mouse may snag.
• The start of the maze is located at one of the four corners. The start square is bounded on three sides by walls. The start line is located between the first and second squares. That is, as the mouse exits the corner square, the time starts. The destination goal is the four cells at the center of the maze. At the center of this zone is a post, 20 cm high and each side 2.5 cm. (This post may be removed if requested.) The destination square has only one entrance.
• Small square zones (posts), each 1.2 cm x 1.2 cm, at the four corners of each unit square are called lattice points. The maze is so constituted that there is at least one wall at each lattice point.
• Multiple paths to the destination square are allowed and are to be expected. The destination square will be positioned so that a wall-hugging mouse will NOT be able to find it.

Contest Eligibility:

• All students with a valid identity card of their respective educational institutes are eligible to participate.
• The MicroMouse entry may be the effort of an individual or a team.
• A team may consist of up to five people.

• A MicroMouse shall be self-contained (no remote controls). A MicroMouse shall not use an energy source employing a combustion process.
• A MicroMouse shall not leave any part of its body behind while negotiating the maze.
• A MicroMouse shall not jump over, fly over, climb, scratch, cut, burn, mark, damage,or destroy the walls of the maze.
• A MicroMouse shall not be larger either in length or in width, than 25 centimeters. The dimensions of a MicroMouse that changes its geometry during a run shall not be greater than 25 cm x 25 cm. There are no restrictions on the height of a MicroMouse.
• Any violation of these rules will constitute immediate disqualification from the contest and ineligibility for the associated prizes. 
• A micromouse shall not be made of any readymade chasis.

• Each Micro mouse is given 10 minutes to access the maze from the moment the contest administrator acknowledges the contestant(s) and grants access to the maze. Any time used to adjust a mouse between runs is included in the 10 minutes. Each run (from the start cell to the center zone) in which a mouse successfully reaches the destination square is given a run time. The minimum run time shall be the mouse’s official time. First prize goes to the mouse with the shortest official time. Second prize to the next shortest, and so on. Mice that do not enter the center square will be ranked by the maximum number of cells they visit during the ten minute access. All mice whom enter the center square within their 10 minute allotment are ranked higher than those who do not enter the center square. Calibration time of 5 minutes will be given for last minute adjustments prior to the 10 minutes arena time for every participant.
  NOTE: The organizers reserve the right to change any of these times on the day of the competition.
• A smaller sample maze of similar construction will be available to the participants on the previous day of the competition for calibration if needed.
• Each run shall be made from the starting square. The operator may abort a run at anytime. If an operator touches the MicroMouse during a run, it is deemed aborted, and the mouse must be removed from the maze. If a mouse has already crossed the finish line, it may be removed at any time without affecting the run time of that run. If a mouse is placed back in the maze for another run, a one-time penalty of 30 seconds will be added to the mouse’s subsequence run times (but not prior run times). The mouse may only be place back in the maze at the start square.
• The illumination, temperature, and humidity of the room shall be those of an ambient environment. (40 to 120 degrees F, 0% to 95% humidity, non-condensing). BEWARE: Do not make any assumptions about the amount of sunlight,incandescent light, or fluorescent light that may be present at the contest site.
• The run timer will start when front edge of the mouse crosses the start line and stops when the front edge of the mouse crosses the finish line. The start line is at the boundary between the starting unit square and the next unit square clockwise (i.e., the maze is constructed such that the mouse starts with an outside wall is on its left). The finish line is at the entrance to the destination square.
• Every time the mouse leaves the start square, a new run begins. If the mouse has not entered the destination square, the previous run is aborted. For example, if a mouse re- enters the start square (before entering the destination square) on a run, that run is aborted, and a new run will be deemed begun, with a new time that starts when the starting square is exited.
• The mouse may, after reaching the destination square, continue to navigate the maze,for as long as their total maze time allows.
• If a mouse continues to navigate the maze after reaching the destination square, the time taken will not count toward any run. Of course, the 10-minute timer continues to run. When the mouse next leaves the start square, a new run will start. Thus, a mouse may and should make several runs without being touched by the operator. It should make its own way back to the beginning to do so.
• The judges reserve the right to ask the operator for an explanation of the MicroMouse.The judges also reserve the right to stop a run, declare disqualification, or give instructions as appropriate (e.g., if the structure of the maze is jeopardized by continuing operation of the mouse).
• A contestant may not feed information on the maze to the MicroMouse. Therefore,changing ROMs or downloading programs is NOT allowed once the maze is revealed. However, contestants are allowed to: change switch settings (e.g. to select algorithms), replace batteries between runs, adjust sensors, change speed settings, make repairs.
• A contestant may not alter a mouse in a manner that alters its weight (e.g. removal of a bulky sensor array or switching to lighter batteries to get better speed after mapping the maze is not allowed). The judges shall arbitrate.
• If requested, a break will be provided for a mouse after any run if another mouse is waiting to compete. The 10-minute timer will stop. When the mouse is re-entered, the 10-minute timer will continue. The judges shall arbitrate on the granting of such breaks.

• Organisers will be not responsible for any minor damage done by the previous machines on the arena.
• Judges decision shall be treated as final and binding
• The organisers reserve the right to change any or all of the above rules as they consider necessary. The changes will be marked in red. Please check the website consistently for updates.

• What if my machine exceeds the dimensions specified?
Your machine must not exceed 250x250 (all are in mm).There is no restriction on height. You'll be disqualified from the competition if you don't adhere to given dimensions.
• Can I use a manually controlled machine for Micromouse?
Micromouse is strictly for autonomous machines and manually controlled machines are not allowed.
• If I use pcb's designed by us but printed and/or soldered from some professional firm, Then will it be considered readymade or not?
No. It will not be considered readymade if you have designed it by yourselves. You need to prove that, the board is designed by yourselves. We will be checking eagle files(or any other software file) for the same.
• Can the power supply be external?
No. Power supply and all other circuit and their components should be onboard.
• What material exactly will the arena be of? Will the paint be gloss finish or matte?
The arena will be made of wood painted with a non glossy non slippery matte finish paint.
• For how much time will I get to complete the maze?
You will get a maximum time of 10 minutes which includes all the run times(including all reruns) as well as the time taken by the participant to make minor changes in their machines in between the runs. Separate calibration time of 5 mins will be given for each team. NOTE: The organizers reserve the right to change any of these times on the day of the competition.
• I have some more queries that are not given in this list. What should I do?
You may contact any us via email or phone for any further doubts.

Resources

• http://www.societyofrobots.com/
• http://www.roboticsindia.com/
• http://www.nitt.edu/rmi/