[Yaaarc] The Ann Arbor Hands On Museum can host our Sumobot contest

[Paul Haas]

The Ann Arbor Hands On Museum can host our Sumobot contest.  We are
tentatively scheduled for Sunday August 19th, but that date could be
changed.

The Museum employee has to check with her boss to make sure all the
details are ok.  So things might change. As of now, admission would be
free to contestants only. The audience will have to pay the usual
museum entrance price.

Use of the space is not entirely free. It doesn't cost money, but we
will have to staff an information table to explain the rules, how to
join, how the robots work, how to build your own robot, etc...  In
other words, they're forcing us to recruit.

On 6/6/07, Erik Kauppi <ekauppi at corsa-inst.com> wrote:
> Sounds good to me!
> Will the contest be at Corsa or elsewhere?  Either is OK with me, altho we
> might need some help getting the place cleaned up beforehand.
>
> -------------------------------------
>
> At 12:58 PM 6/6/07, Paul Haas wrote:
> >Some members of the now moribund Ann Arbor Lego Robotics club want to
> >have a contest.  I've got a couple 4 foot diameter sumo rings.  So we
> >don't need to do much prepwork for the contest other than get our
> >robots ready.  Reusing an existing contest means that we have a ready
> >supply of contestents.
> >
> >We can use their rules with only a few changes.
> >1. The requirements for Lego only applies to the Lego only class.
> >There is no RIS only class, they would compete with the other Lego
> >only class.
> >2. Bout start positions were revised such that the higher ranked
> >robot is placed anywhere in one half of the ring, then the lower
> >ranked robot is placed anywhere in the other half.
> >3. The module stuff was just confusing, and can be ignored.
> >
> >The important rules are: The robot most fit in a square twelve inches
> >on a side at the start of the contest.  It must weigh less than 2
> >pounds.  Other rules are at
> >http://24tooth.com/SumobotRules.html
> >
> >I'm thinking of holding the final competition on a Saturday or Sunday
> >afternoon in August.  At meetings we can have practice sessions, and
> >work on tuning and refining the robots.
> >
> >The sumo ring is a disk 4 feet in diameter.  The top surface is about
> >4 inches above the floor.  There is a 2 inch wide white stripe around
> >the outside of the circle.  The interior of the circle is black.
> >Robots can tell when they are at the edge of the circle with a light
> >sensor pointed down, or with a mechanical feeler.
> >
> >SInce the rings are 4 inches off of the floor, it is obvious when a
> >robot is out of the arena, because it falls to the floor.  So most
> >judging decisions are relatively simple.  The only time it gets
> >awkward is when both robots fall out of the ring at almost the same
> >time.
> >
> >I'm thinking of prizes 3 prizes for two categories.  Maximum 1 prize
> >per person.  If 1 person wins more than one category, the next highest
> >scoring robot wins in that category.
> >
> >Highest scoring robot over all.
> >Highest scoring Lego only robot (that didn't win the first prize).
> >Highest scoring unlimited material robot (that didn't win the first prize.)
> >
> >We can also add other prizes like audience's choice, contestant's
> >choice, highest scoring robot from a builder under the age of 14,
> >etc...  Assuming we can get some donated prizes.
> >
> >Any objections?
> >--
> >Paul Haas

> ---- Erik Kauppi --
--
Paul Haas
paulh at hamjudo.com