FAQ

FAQ

1. When will registration open?

   -We’re working on it.
   EDIT:  We worked on it.  It's open!
   
   

2. What is the name of the manufacture and model number of the invisible dog fence that will be used

   -The transmitter will be custom designed and sent out as a kit to all registered teams.  The receiver is your responsibility to make.
   EDIT: See the Transmitter Datasheet
   

    

3. What is the maximum number of items that will be placed on the playing field for the robots to retrieve?

   -10 Total; 5 Cans, 3 Plastic, 2 Glass

    

4. Will the dimensions for each type of beverage container be specified for the competition?  ex. max radius and max length of each type of bottle or can.

   -See the revised rules.

    

5. The rules state that  "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."

   Can the containers be made of any type of material? Could the containers themselves be the plastic trash bag? 

   -See the revised rules.  The “containers” must be plastic bags.

    

6. When are you guys going to release a final version of the Hardware Competition rules? 

   -We’ll get back to you on this.

    

7. The rules say that the robot must be 12"x12"x18" is the 18" required to be the height?

   -Technically no, those are the dimensions of the box.  Be careful, see updated rules concerning expansion.

    

8. What kind of surface will the Astroturf lie on?

   -“Indoor/Outdoor Carpeting”

    

   ---------------------------------------- Updated 8/9/08 ------------------------------------------------- 

    

9. Since the dog fence is still under construction, do you at least have some specifications for the signal that is output?  Frequency? Signal Strength?

   - Not at this time.  It is still under design.
   EDIT: See the Transmitter Datasheet

    

10. It is my impression from reading the rules that only one robot will be operating on a course at a given time.  Can you confirm?

    - Yes, that is correct.

     

11. I sent you a question last time regarding scoring.  I essentially wanted to make sure that one bad apple doesn't spoil the whole bunch. For example:

    * The robot has just two bags, labeled glass and aluminum

    * All glass and aluminum is correctly sorted

    * All plastic is sorted into the bag marked for aluminum

    Do all the glass and aluminum objects get the extra credit, while plastic gets the minimum points?

     -Yes, this is correct.

     

12. If the robot acquires an item, but the item does not make it into a labeled bag, does the item earn any points?

    -No.  To make the scoring simpler and avoid conflicts, only what is in the labeled bags will be scored.

     

13. Can we supply our own bags, or will y'all supply them at the competition?  In either case, are there any specifications other than that they must be plastic? (Such as capacity, thickness)

     -You are responsible to provide your own bags.  There are no other specifications besides being plastic and removable.

     

14. Where have you been able to find the pictured glass Coca-Cola bottles?  In Starkville, I've only found the following at gas stations, grocery stores, Wal-Mart...

    -You can buy the glass Coca-Cola bottles at www.retrosoda.com/ccre.html  They are $1.05 each and you only need 2 of them.

     

15. Could you provide a measure of the maximum width/diameter of the glass bottle near mid-height (as opposed to the width at the base)?  We mainly want to know if the measures are nearly equal, or rather, if the bottle rolls in a straight line.

    -The approximate diameter in the center is 2.18 inch.  The diameter at the end is approximately 2.24 inch.  So, it does roll fairly straight. 

     

16. Will items be reasonable centered on the dots, or could they be placed so that just the end of the container is over the dot?

    -Yes, the containers will be reasonably centered.  A cylindrical jig (I.E. bucket without a bottom) will be centered on the dot, and the container will be dropped into the top of the jig.

     

17. Regarding lines 47-49 (Rev 2.0), does "playing field" refer only to the turf and the wall, and *not* to the containers?  (Sorry if that sounds like an obvious one).

    -Yes.  The intent of this rule is that any wheels or casters must stay within the 12”x12”.
    

     

18. Regarding lines 140-142 (Rev 2.0), I want to make sure you've considered the following likely scenario:  a robot incidentally (perhaps while going for a can) knocks a bottle towards the wall, so that said bottle rests against the wall.  The robot then must manage to retrieve that bottle without ever touching the wall.  This could be easy or impossible depending on the design approach, but I would guess that most designs will be poorly equipped to cope with this.  Yes, you can say that the robot should not knock bottles to the side like that in the first place, and that would be fine; I just want to make sure you've considered the situation.

    -Yes, we have considered this.  The teams will have to be careful about pushing the containers.  The reasoning is if the robot was in the real world, it could not make contact with anything beyond the boundary for fear of damaging objects like parked cars or buildings. 

     

19. I understand the field dimensions from the description and graphic, but I have looked over the graphic a few times, and I think there is a mistake.  I believe there should be one more column and row of dots.  If the dots are spaced 1', and are all '1 from the wall, then the graphic appears to be 9' x 9', rather than the annotated 10'.

    -Yes, you are correct.  This will be fixed.

    
    ---------------------------------------- Updated 8/16/08 -------------------------------------------------
    
    

20. What tests are you going to perform to make certain that the electric dog fence is operating properly, regardless of materials potentially present near the indoor playing surface (iron, steel, copper, conduit, wires, rebar, etc.) that are not normally present in the ground in which the electric dog fence is designed to work?  Since the only navigational aid that you have provided is the electric dog fence, it is important that it works reliably and consistently. 

    -Great question.  This potential problem was considered in the decision to use the "invisible fence" as the primary navigation aid.  Given the transmitter circuit (soon...), each team will be able to test their own receivers in a variety of conditions and make them sensitive enough to account for such interference. 
    
    -However, we will soon be running tests on a prototype transmitter/receiver and will see if large metal object in the vicinity can cause detrimental effects.  We will even go to the conference hall where the competition will take place and test it.
    
     -During the competition, we will have a receiver of our own to periodically ensure that the transmitters are working to specifications (TBD). 
    
    

    ---------------------------------------- Updated 8/25/08 ------------------------------------------------- 

    
    

21. If we have a plan that includes puncturing the cans with a metal poker, would that be considered dangerous?

    - It depends on how it is done.  Puncturing the can is allowed, but it has to be done in a way that will not damage the playing field, or the carpet underneath it in the hotel where the rounds will be held.  If it was an arm with a nail just whacking the ground, it would have a high probability of damaging the carpet and we would not allow that.  For the safety side of it, it is hard to make a call on that without seeing the robot, so we just advise you to use good judgment.  A lot of the rules around this years robot are meant to be similar to those placed on it if you were designing this for a company to use.  So decide if you think a company would feel comfortable letting this robot work alone around people and children in a park.    
       
    

22. I am somewhat confused about this statement "After the beginning of the round, expansion is unrestricted, but nothing can touch the playing field outside the 12"x12" footprint." Say we have a design that included a fold out ramp that scraped the ground in front of the bot outside of the 12 X 12 footprint; would we be disqualified or is this allowed?
    
    -Yes a ramp scraping on the playing field would violate that rule.  Any wheels, casters, slides that contact the ground for "load baring reasons" must stay in the 12"x12" footprint.  If you have something like a brush or something that sweeps the bottles onto the robot and the brush makes contact with the playing field, that is fine. 
    
    
    

23. The diagram of the playing field in the rules pdf shows that the invisible dog fence is on the 8'x8' grid and the hard boundary is on the 10'x10' line, while in the rules themselves it states that the dog fence will be on a 10'x10' perimeter and the hard boundary will be 12" away from it. Could you clarify as to which will be the actual specifications?
    
    -The playing field is 10'x10' with a hard boundary.  12" in from the 10'x10' hard boundary is the underground fence 8'x8' as the diagram indicates.
    
    
    
24. The 12"x12"x18" box that our bot has to fit in: if the bot has any folding or bendable parts, say a fold down trash container or some flexible sweepers, are we allowed to manually move these parts so that the bot can fit inside the box in such a way that when the box is removed the parts will fall back into place? Or do the parts have to hold themselves in place until the round begins and then be lowered/expanded by the bot itself?
    
    -On line 47 (Rev 2.0) it states "After the beginning of the round, expansion is unrestricted" so your bot will have to initiate the expansion.
    
    
    ---------------------------------------- Updated 9/28/08 -------------------------------------------------
    
    
    
25.  Can two teams from the same school register or only one per school?
    
    -As with all the previous competitions, only one robot from each school can compete in the competition.
    
    
    
26. Will the Astroturf lie on the indoor/outdoor carpeting in such a way that the Astroturf carpet is adhered to the floor so that it will not slip or move around.
    
    -The outer edge of the field will have duct tape (or similar) holding it to the ground to keep it from moving for the competition.
    
    
    
27. Will the grid of 1' on center dots be a grid of 10x10, 9x9 or 8x8?  The board diagram at lines 193-195 (Rev 2.0) of the instructions rev 2.0 shows a 8x8 dot grid on a 8'x8' playfield.  Also, is the underground fence on a 8'x8' setup as shown on lines 193-195 (Rev 2.0) 
    
    -That is a mistake in the diagram that will be fixed in the next revision.  There will be a 9x9 grid of dots, the size of the grid will be 8'x8'.  And yes the diagram does show the correct location of the underground fence except that the 2 wires leading from the perimeter to the control circuit will be twisted together to reduce its transmission. 
    
    
    
28. Will the underground fence be on the last series of dots or will the underground fence be 1' away from the last series of dots.
    
    -The underground fence will be directly underneath the last series of dots as shown in the diagram.
    
    
    
29. Do multiple robots compete in the same arena at the same time or one at a time?
    
    -The robots will compete one at a time.
    
    
    
30. During qualification, may we use recyclable to motivate robot to move?
    
    - The playing field will have recyclables spread out on the field just like in the competition rounds, and just like the rounds you will be able to place the robot as discussed in line 81-84 (rev 2.0). 
    
    
    ---------------------------------------- Updated 9/30/08 -------------------------------------------------
    
    
    
31. As per the below scoring rule :- 5. A penalty is assessed whenever a team either impacts the hard stop surrounding the playing field, or an extremity of the robot passes beyond the 10'x10' edge of the board.  Looking into the words "extremity of the robot passes beyond the 10'x10' edge of the board"  Can a part of the robot cross the 10'x10' edge in air without touching the ground?
    
    -No it can not.  No part of the robot may brake the vertical plane the 10'x10' edge makes.
    
    
    ---------------------------------------- Updated 11/4/08 -------------------------------------------------
    
    
    
32. Is it okay if there are some bristles from a sweeper sticking out the side of the bot past the 12X12 footprint as long as the box can still fit over them?  If you could give me a detailed description of how the box fitting will take place it would help greatly.  What is allowed as far as flexible objects? Who will be placing the box? Thanks again.
    
    -Each team will box there own robot for the officials.
    
    -The robot must be within the confines of the box and the sides of the box should not be constraining the robot from expanding in any direction.  Final call will be made by the official inspecting.
    
    ---------------------------------------- Updated 1/22/09 -------------------------------------------------
    
    
33. I cannot find the paint for the green placement dots on Lowes.com according to the listed part number. Is this the correct part number? Can you describe the paint in any way? Is it matte or glossy? I am afraid it may interfere with my vision algorithm.
    
    -The part number is right but it does not show up on Lowes.com.  It is 12 oz Hunter Green Gloss Rust-Oleum 
    
    
34. May we construct bags out of some other more environmentally friendly material other than plastic such as cloth or is the use of plastic bags a "must"?
    
    -Although it would be nice to allow bags out of some other more environmentally friendly material, we feel it is too late to change the rule.  The use of plastic bags a "must".
    
    
35. In the rules list, it states that a robot may have 1 up to 3 bags to store recyclables. But out of curiosity, if hard containers are being used to store the recyclables, that are removable & replaceable, are these containers still allowed? Is there any point reduction?
    
    -You may put the plastic bags inside of hard containers if you wish.  I hope that helps.
    
    
36. You said: The robot must be within the confines of the box and the sides of the box should not be constraining the robot from expanding in any direction.
    Would the removable bags be considered part of the robot and not allowed to touch the box?
    
    -Don't worry about bags touching the box.
    
    
37. We have received the dog fence kit a few days ago and have the transmitter schematic.  Is it true that there is no available information about how to receive this signal from our robot?  Are there any hints available as to what type of circuit and antenna we are looking for?
    
    -tbd
    
    
38. In testing the electric dog fence, will you test the effects of adjacent dog fence loops, since there will be multiple playing fields?
    
    -We have tested the circuit at the competition arena and determined that interference should not be an issue. The relative intensities of adjacent fields should be negligible compared to the local field. We will also be walking around with our testers to verify that there is not a large amount of interference.
    
    
39. I see the edges of the field will be taped down.  Does this mean we can expect a fairly wrinkle-free turf?
    
    -No, it only means you can expect the edges to be taped down. We'll do our best, but can't guarantee a completely wrinkle-free turf.
    
    
40. Will there be a paper/presentation portion of the competition like the previous year?
    
    -No paper/presentation this year.  (We will be re-introducing subjective awards like "best electrical" etc.)
    
    
41. A part of our robot drops down (outside of the footprint) for just a second or two, I was wondering if this is still considered following the rules, it's not load bearing but I wanted to make sure?
    
    -The weight of the robot part that "drops down" must be supported by the robot (i.e. does not drag/roll.)  Incidental brushing against the carpet is OK, but if the robot were placed on a hard flat surface, the part should be suspended above the surface by the robot.