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updated November 11, 2009
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Students Showcase Competitive Spirit & Strategy in Fall Robotics Soccer
Shoot-Out
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Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology electrical and computer engineering
students proved that failure can eventually lead to success during an
educational robotics challenge that culminated a fall engineering practice
course.
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Matching Wits: Robots designed and programmed by the Ignum Labor (left) and
N1H1 teams battle for position to score goals in the championship round of
the fall Soccer Shoot-Out Tournament. |
Eighteen student teams programmed Lego-based robots to compete against each
other in a Soccer Shoot-Out Tournament that showcased the principles of
project design, teamwork and competitive spirit.
Two robots dueled on a soccer playing field (table top) at the same time:
One robot tried to score goals (ping pong balls) past the opposing defensive
robot in a two-minute competition period. After a one-minute halftime, the
robots switched roles for another two-minute period. The robot scoring the
most goals over the course of the two periods, without penalties, was
declared the winner and advanced in the double-elimination tournament.
One important contest rule was that a robot had to remain in constant motion
and could not remain more than 15 seconds in a defensive position directly
in front of the goal.
Those momentary gaps in a team’s defense opened the way for the team of Matt
Hein, Elizabeth Hines, Brittany Lake and Donald Stopka to win the tournament
with a 7-1 record.
“Strategy was a key element in our success,” stated Hein, who controlled the
robot for the winning Ignum Labor team. “Really, we waited the other teams
out, patiently waiting for those precious seconds when the other team’s goal
was unguarded.”
The Ignum Labor team’s strategy was to match the five seconds that its robot
was in front of its goal, putting in prime shooting position, with those
five seconds that the opposing team’s goal was wide open.
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Hail To The Victors: Referee/Course Instructor David Voltmer congratulates
Matt Hein, Brittany Lake, Elizabeth Hines, Donald Stopka and Brittany Lake
of the Ignum Labor team for winning the Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering's fall robotics challenge. |
The N1H1 team of Michael Crane, Jonathan Nibert and Richard Stover was the
dominant team early in the competition, outscoring its first four opponents
by a commanding 24-4 margin –- including a 5-0 third round victory over
Ignum Labor. However, the team used two miniature flashlights to trigger
light sensors to move the robot around the playing field. The loss of
battery power in one flashlight meant that the remaining flashlight had to
be passed between team members. This caused momentary lapses in the robot’s
motion. Lapses that went more than five seconds caused the team to be
assessed a penalty by the judges.
That weakness is all that the Ignum Labor team needed to win, on a penalty
shot after a 5-5 tie, in a rematch with the N1H1 team in the championship
round. That necessitated a winner-take-all final match, which Ignum Labor
won decisively after N1H1’s robot suffered a mechanical breakdown. The Ignum
Labor team earned the competition’s Ruler of the Pitch Award for its
efforts.
“I think we can go on to graduation right now,” declared Hines, a freshman
electrical engineering major. “We got stronger as the competition continued
and withstood every challenge.”
Hein added: “This project wasn’t something that you could wait until the
last weekend to begin designing and assembling your robot. This project was
my fall break (Oct. 15-16). Then, we had nearly three weeks to foolproof the
system. That planning really paid off at the end.”
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Strong Effort: Placing second in the tournament was the N1H1 team of Michael
Crane, Richard Stover and Jonathan Nibert. |
Placing third was the Lego The Ball team of Peter Lundgren, Andrew McCurry,
Jacob Schmidt and Yaoning Wu. The team’s robot had a unique claw feature to
pick up extra balls so it could score when playing on the defensive side of
the playing field.
Awards were also represented to the robot having the most creative/elegant
successful solution to the task, most theatrical solution, highest total
tournament score in all rounds and best defensive team. The awards had no
bearing on the students’ course grade.
The engineering practice course strives to give students a basic
understanding of teamwork, programming, communication skills, report writing
and aspects of electrical and computer engineering principles. It’s a
multi-disciplinary experience with electrical engineering majors working
alongside computer engineering students. The course was taught this fall by
Daniel Moore, associate dean of faculty and professor of electrical and
computer engineering, and David Voltmer, faculty emeritus of electrical and
computer engineering.
Information about Rose-Hulman’s robotics certificate program can be found at
www.rose-hulman.edu/class/csse/robotics.
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