11 th anniversary Robofest 2010 Kickoff Info Meeting

11 th anniversary Robofest 2010 Kick-off Info Meeting December 10, 2009 6: 00 pm EST “Inspiring Young Minds to Master the Machine. ” Please download a zip file containing Robofest 2010 rule documents at http: //www. robofest. net/10. htm The (webinar) meeting will begin shortly.

11 th anniversary Robofest 2010 Kick-off Info Meeting “Inspiring Young Minds to Master the Machine. ”

Welcome to Robofest 2010 Little robots, Big Missions • Wendy Mac. Lennan – Robofest Coordinator, • • wmaclenna@ltu. edu, 248 -204 -3568, (office hrs: M, T, W, F) Jerri Ureel – Assistant Coordinator, jureel@ltu. edu Sara Moss – Web Application Development, data entry Teri Dubois – Assistant Coordinator Others • LTU student assistants § § Tiffany Platt (M, W, F) – Communication, Packaging, Shipping Ryan Matthews (L 2 Bot, Ryan@mrrsm. com ) Joe Long Others • CJ Chung, Associate Prof. of Computer Science, Founder and Director 3

Agenda • • • Overview of Robofest 2010 General Rules 2010 Rules for each competition category 2010 Registration Schedule Q&A Please join the Robofest e. News list at robofest. net! 4

Features of Robofest? • • Autonomous; sensors required Challenging – dynamic playing fields & UP No direct adult help allowed Affordable (reusing old kits; reg. fee: $50) Pre and Post Assessments (on-line) Qualifiers, Regionals & World Championship Age Divisions § Jr. Division: (4)5 th – 8 th (icon-based language) § Sr. Division: 9 th – 12 th / College • Various competition categories 5

Age Team Robot Division Size Unknown Asses Problems sment Game Jr. & Sr. Max 7 Any Yes Exhibition Jr. & Sr. Max 7 Any No Yes Competition Category Jr. Max 7 Any Fashion & Dance Show Sr. & Max 3 L 2 Bot Vision College Centric Partly Yes – for Sr. 6

Goals of Robofest • Motivate students’ interest in STEM • • subjects Integrate STEM subjects into autonomous Robotics Competitions Put theories into practice through Robotics Promote students’ creative and innovative thinking Build the work force of the future

Robofest Growth - # of students 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 8

2010 Qualifying Sites • United States: MI, CA, HI, TX, FL, IN, MN, OH, WA … • Video Submission • International § § Kent, United Kingdom France Canada – Ontario, Alberta Asia-Pacific Regional (Korea, China, Singapore, Thailand, etc. ) • Check out the complete list at robofest. net 9

2010 Competition Categories • • Game - Robo. Power Exhibition Robo. Fashion & Dance Show Collegiate & Senior Vision Centric Challenge – Advanced Division 10

2010 Game: Robo. Power To remove debris bottles and to save a human bottle

Watch a You. Tube video http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=h 4 Hy. ZULHY 6 E This video file can be found at http: //www. robofest. net/10. htm Or you may go to You. Tube Search keyword: robofest 2 File name: MOV 01 A

Features Looks similar to previous year games, but… • Bottles are heavy – hard to move more than • • 3 at once Table is inclined – problems with going down Multiple unknown factors on the playing field Unknown Problem (UP) is completely unknown and performed during rounds Judging and scoring are simple and easy

Bottles ? Debris bottles will be dark, but unknown

Home Base • 5 cm x 5 cm foil tape at unknown location along table edge • Robots must start the game while any part of the robot is on or over the Home Base • Orientation of the robot does not matter • No picking-up penalty points as long as any part of the robot is on or over the Home Base

Safe Zone • • Width: possibly 8. 5 inches (around 21 cm) Length: 25 cm ~ 50 cm Black paper All four sides are taped to the table (robot or bottle cannot move it) • The entire bottle, tipped or standing upright, must be on the Safe Zone to receive points

Procedures to play rounds • To be announced after the opening ceremony: (1) an Unknown Problem (UP), (2) the number of bottles to be used, and (3) the exact locations of the bottles • These, as well as table set up, will be the same for every team and both Rounds 1 & 2. • Each team will have 2 rounds, 2 minutes per round. There is no final match.

How to play • Robot must start with any part on or over the Home Base • There is no order; UP can be done anytime • Pick-up penalty (-5) • There is no reset of the bottles

Unknown Problem (UP) • • Completely unknown Will be simple Will involve learning about math Must be performed at any time DURING the mission. If a player grabs the robot before, during or after the UP, a penalty will be incurred for each touch. • Must be performed in each round

Jr. & Sr. Divisions Junior Max. weight of 1 kg the robot Number of less bottles Location of Simple and bottles easy Recommended icon-based Programming graphical Language programming language Senior 1. 3 kg (VEX can be used) more Complex and hard C or Java

How to determine winners • Jr. and Sr. Divisions will be judged separately. • Winners in each division will be decided by average scores of Rounds 1 and 2. • Tie breaker: (1) Completion time (2) Best score (3) Rerun, if needed

Exhibition Competition Category • Complete freedom to show off any type of creative autonomous robotics project • Must employ sensors • Using robotics to learn/teach STEM highly recommended. For example, Power & Energy related experiments – 20 free energy sensors will be available for high school students • Online video (such as You. Tube or School. Tube) is highly recommended 24

Robo. Fashion & Dance Show • • Two robots are recommended Communication between two robots Interaction with team members Stage § Two 30”x 72” plastic (folding leg) tables should be used § Team will have freedom to design their landmarks by themselves § Bring the tables to the competition site 25

L 2 Bot Vision Centric Challenge • Vision-based robot competition • Senior and College Divisions • More difficult than previous years Go to robofest. net/collegiate for 2010 Rules and to watch a video of a past competition 26

Special Competition: Team Photo Contest • A team picture needs to be uploaded within 3 weeks after the team registration • Selection criteria: team spirit, unity, harmony, uniqueness, etc. • Winners will be announced during the World Championship on May 8, 2010 27

Regional Championships (RC) • Top teams from each qualifying site will advance to a Regional Championship § Asia-pacific RC: Feb 5, Hanyang Univ. , Korea § Michigan RC: April 24, Lawrence Tech, 60 team slots available § Video RC: phone interview possible • Number of World team slots allocated to each Regional will be determined in late Feb. 28

World Robofest 2010 Championship: • 60 -70 teams will be invited from Regional Championships (RCs) • Friday, May 7, 2010 – 11 th anniversary dinner • Saturday, May 8, 2010 World Robofest • Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan, in the Don Ridler Field House 29

How to Register a Team 1. Read 2010 rules; if returning coach, go to 4 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. below. Go to robofest. net and submit New Coach Registration form Confirm the registration at your email account – If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact robofest 10@gmail. com Log on to the coach account at robofest. net Select a qualifying site and a category per team Register team(s) Pay registration fee online using Pay. Pal (or send a check) Upload team photo within 3 weeks after the registration; update team info as necessary 30

Registration Deadline • 21 days (3 weeks) before the qualifying date • If a division at a site does not have 5 teams or more, teams registered at the site may be moved to another site; or teams can enter via video submission 31

Team Coach • Responsible for facilitating, overseeing, and teaching team members • Please note: email is the primary and official communication method between the team and the Robofest organizer • Coaches must agree to and abide by the 2010 Coach’s Pledge 32

Roles of Team Coach • Recruit team volunteers including tech • • mentors, if needed Provide at least one volunteer for either setup or cleanup at the qualifying site Responsible for entering/updating the team data and uploading team & robot photos Collect Consent & Release forms to submit at Competition check-in Coordinate web-based pre & post assessment 33

Age Division Waiver Requests: • Coaches must submit the Age Division Waiver Request Form, if there is any age exception • Robofest will return the form to the coach with approval or disapproval • Usually, playing up is O. K. 34

Things to bring on Competition Day • $20 or $25 check-in fee (if required by the qualifying host) • No fee for RC • A laptop or PC for each team • Only for exhibition teams: § Hard copy of programs to give to judges § Poster boards to introduce the exhibition description and all the necessary materials for the exhibition. • • A power strip and power cord Extra batteries or battery charger Signed Consent & Release forms Read the rules for details 35

Rules for Video Submission for qualifier entry • Video Submission in Games, Exhibition, Fashion Show, and VCC is available to teams who do not have a Robofest Qualifier in close proximity • Game teams must contact robofest@LTU. edu prior to the video submission • When submitting a video, the coach must include the signed submission form • All videos must be postmarked by April 10, 2010. 36

Robofest 2010 Season Schedule • Dec 10: Rules announced and posted on the • • • web; kick-off meeting, coach & team registration begins Early January: finalization of Rules; watch for e. News announcement Jan ~ Feb, 2010: Technical workshops, Onsite workshops, pre-assessment Feb 13: Warm-up at LTU (Judge Training) Mar ~ Apr: Qualifiers, post assessment April 24: Regional Championships completed May 8: World Robofest Championship 37

Technical Workshops at LTU & (Webinar: watch for URL by email) Tentative Schedule • Game (NXTG) § January 23, 9: 00 AM to 12: 00 Noon § January 30, 1: 00 PM to 4: 00 PM • Vision Centric Challenge (L 2 Bot) § January 16, 1: 00 PM to 4: 00 PM § February 6, 1: 00 PM to 4: 00 PM All workshops are to be held in M 218, Buell Mgt. Bldg, Lawrence Tech, Southfield, MI. 38

Questions? • Please read the 2010 rules • Send robofest@LTU. edu questions, comments, corrections, and suggestions 39