Hardware Rules

From IEEE SoutheastCon 2009

SoutheastCon 2009 Hardware Competition:
The Recycling Robot

Preliminary Rule Set

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Objective 3 Playing Field 4 Robot 5 Rules of Play 6 Competition Format 7 Scoring 8 Footnotes

Introduction

Athletic stadiums and college campuses are plagued by the issue of trash after tailgating parties. This is both unsightly and time consuming to clean up, and represents a potentially significant source of untapped recyclable materials. By developing an autonomous robot that can locate, sort, and separately store the different containers, the manpower needed for cleaning can be reduced. After most tailgating events, there is often an assortment of glass, plastic, and aluminum beverage containers, all of which can be easily recycled.

Objective

Robots must locate, obtain, sort, and store used beverage products. All sorting and storage is to be done on the robot. Points are awarded for the collected objects at the end of the round. Some points will be awarded for unsorted items; however, more points will be awarded for correctly sorted items. The winners will be judged on points with run time being the tiebreaker.

Playing Field

1. The playing field shall consist of a 10 foot x 10 foot square green Astroturf base with an invisible dog fence perimeter that acts as the boundary. The invisible dog fence kit will be provided upon registration.
2. A 1-foot grid of small spray-painted dots will indicate potential locations for beverage products. The integrity or visibility of the dots will not be guaranteed for use other than container placement.
3. There will be a hard boundary at the extremities of the course to prevent interaction with other robots on adjacent fields. The height and exact location of the boundary will not be specified and is not intended as a navigational aid.
4. The objects in play consist of standard liquid containers: 12 ounce aluminum cans, 0.5 liter plastic bottles with the tops still on ^[1], and glass 11.5 ounce bottles. None of the containers will contain liquid, but they may feature minor deformations caused by previous usage.
5. The containers will be placed horizontally, and may be arranged in any orientation on the playing field.

Robot

1. The robot must have a single button labeled START.
2. The robot must be able to fit in a 12x12x18 inch box at the start of each match.
3. There is no weight or material restriction; however, the robot must be powered by non-dangerous means (no combustible liquids or gasses). Compressed gas canisters with a maximum working pressure of 100 PSI will be allowed. We kindly request that all canisters be easy to inspect, and that the participants allow extra inspection for safety purposes. This may include external checks, or other acts of verification. It is advisable to keep any high-pressure system in an enclosed compartment.
4. Any robot deemed dangerous by competition officials will be subject to disqualification. This includes any robots using admissible levels of compressed air implemented in a dangerous way.
5. Between one (1) and three (3) storage containers may be placed on the robot. Each container must be removable and replaceable. Each container must consist of a separate plastic trash bag.
6. Prior to the beginning of each round, each container must be labeled as to which object type will be stored inside. The team will gain the extra points for correctly sorted objects only if they are in the appropriately labeled container.
7. The bags may not drag on the playing surface
8. See #Scoring for additional information on scoring and point distribution

Rules of Play

1. On cue from an official, a team member must press the start button on their robot. The robot must operate autonomously thereafter with no interaction from people or electronic sources.
2. A team may not take any action that purposely interferes with the course of play or causes damage to the playing field or to any competing robot. The penalty for destructive interference is disqualification for that match.
3. Each team is responsible for placing their own robot. The robot may be placed in any orientation at the discretion of the team, provided that some part of the robot is within six inches of the interior side of the dog fence. No team member shall step onto the field while placing their robot.
4. The robot must traverse the play field and gather cans and bottles. Points will be awarded if all objects are successfully collected, with additional points awarded for correct sorting. This is detailed under #Scoring.
5. The playing time will be 5 minutes.
6. The robot is not required to return to any specific zone by the end of the time period.
7. At the end of the time period the robot may stop autonomously or a team member may stop the robot. However, regardless of when the robot is actually deactivated, no additional points may be accumulated. Any objects obtained after the time limit will not be scored.
8. In addition to the time constraint, a team member may call time at any point. This will be recorded as the runtime for that round.
9. The robot does not have to return to its original size at the end of the round (but must do so before the next round).
10. Some damage to the aluminum and plastic containers is permitted. Damage of the glass bottles, however, is not allowed for safety reasons.

Competition Format

1. Qualified teams will be divided evenly into two groups and will alternate competing in heats.
2. There will be two heats per group (robots will run at least twice).
3. The container placement will not vary for all rounds of a heat.
4. The robots in the group currently competing will be maintained in a staging area and unavailable to the teams for modification until after the heat.
5. Robots in the group not currently competing will have full access to their robots.
6. Further details concerning the format will be released at a later date.

Scoring

1. Each can or plastic bottle correctly sorted is worth 15 points.
2. Each glass bottle correctly sorted is worth 30 points.
3. Each object incorrectly sorted is worth 5 points.
4. At the end of the round, the judges will award points by assessing the number of sorted and unsorted objects.
5. A team is welcome to observe the point calculation and propose an objection, but only before the score is officially recorded. It is the team’s responsibility to be present at the calculation. Calculation will occur immediately after each round, and will be done off-to-the-side. No team may request a delay in the score calculation.

Footnotes

1. ↑ Although it is generally required that bottle caps be removed before recycling, this step is assumed to be unnecessary for the purposes of this competition.