IEEE SoutheastCon 2004
Theme "....Engineering Connects....."

For the first time, IEEE SoutheastCon 2004 is organizing a Robot Challenge for High School Students

It's the Walking Robot Challenge!!

The members of the Central North Carolina Chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has organized this event to give High School Students a taste of what it’s like to be an engineer and have fun!

AGE/GRADE GROUP: Grades 9-12 TEAM SIZE: 2-8 students

A kit for a 2-leg robot will be provided at NO CHARGE for each school. We have 20 kits that will be sent to qualified schools. Qualified teams should submit an application as soon as possible (ASAP), electronically (by e-mail) to the Pre-College Program Chair, Dr. Numan Dogan, before the deadline of Feb 20, 2004, 5 pm EST. After reviewing the applications, a kit for a 2-leg robot will be sent to the address listed in the application. We will send kits to qualified teams on a first-come-first serve basis. We encourage early applications. Schools requesting additional kits will be required to pay a charge to cover the cost of these materials^*.

* The cost for additional 2-leg kits is $49. SPECIAL: Automation kits: $69 for 2-leg.

Application

Application should be submitted ASAP, electronically (by e-mail), before the deadline of Feb 20, 2004. Microsoft Word or PDF format is suggested. Application should include the contact information (address, phone number, fax, e-mail of the teacher/mentor, students in the team, and a brief description of your approach and team work to successfully complete the project. Prior robot design experience is not required. We want each participant to have fun and learn!

Challenge problem

Design and build a motor powered Robot that walks under direction. The robot can have any form, 2 legs, and have the ability to go over uneven terrain. Each leg shall be controlled by two independent motors, and the control and co-ordination of the motors, and the smoothness and speed of the robot, will be factors considered by the judges. Manual control of the Robot is a basic requirement, but extra credit (up to 15 points) will be given for any form of add-on automation that furthers the above goals. 

Key dates

                Application deadline                                                           Feb 20, 2004

                Last date to start work on the project                               Feb 20, 2004

                Written report due                                                               March 17, 2004

                IEEE Southeastcon Conference date                                March 26-28, 2004

                                                                                                (Competition will be on Saturday, March 27, 2004)

Teams should keep in mind that 2 leg-robot requires 7 weeks, 3 to 4 hrs per week, for a successful completion of the project.  Automation requires additional 2 months. Robot workshop and information sessions will be scheduled for training teachers and mentors. Workshop and information dates will be announced on this web site and through e-mail and phone calls.

Rules

DETAILED SPECIFICATIONS AND CHALLENGE JUDGING GUIDELINES

The competition involves four main components, a written report, the construction of the entry, the robot’s performance on a course in competition with other entries, and an oral report (including an optional video presentation). The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) will provide training materials, mentors, blueprints and instructions for the basic electrical equipment, and they will supply the parts for the power unit and the control unit. Each team will be responsible for creating the robot body and building the power units and control units, and should contact their mentors by e-mail at defined intervals. They will need to provide the D-cell batteries and learn to co-ordinate the operation of the motors (learn to walk) as a team. No entries accepted after February 20, 2004. For more information, please call the organizers on (336) 334 7760 ext 223, or send e-mail to Dr. Numan Dogan.

I. DESIGN DEVELOPMENT AND WRITTEN REPORT Competition value: 25 points

Points will be awarded for creativity, originality, sketches, and the neat housing of the power unit.

II. FABRICATION Competition value: 20 points

The team must use the parts provided in the kit, substitutions are not allowed, but additions are permitted. Wheels (if used) may not touch the table or be visible. The robot body must be designed such that the team can fully expose all mechanism for inspection by the judges. Points will be awarded for originality and workmanship.

III. PERFORMANCE DEMONSTRATION Competition value: 40 points

The course will have 2 tracks on an 8 foot table, with the start and finish lines 6 feet apart. Two half inch high hurdles will have to be climbed over. The robots will first race two at a time in manual mode, and team members (one per leg) must stay at their side of the table. Points will be awarded for the time taken, the smoothness of the robot’s movements, and the coordination of the operating team. In the event that some degree of automation has been added, the robot shall run a second time in that mode for bonus points.

IV. ORAL PRESENTATION TO JUDGES Competition value: 15 points

ELEMENTS THAT MAY NOT BE CHANGED

1. - Motors and the 2-56 threaded rod power trains for both up-down and front-rear motion.

2. - "No wheels" of course.

3. - Skid wires for 2-leg robots may only be replaced if the proposed alternative has no more than 2 points of contact with the table ( a point of contact is an area smaller than 1/4" x 1/4"). 2 points of fixed support are also allowed for 4-leg robots. Exceptions may be granted if the supports are part of the "personality" of the robot body.

4. - The paper clips and brass round head fasteners are the mandatory electrical switches for the Control Unit during the manual run.

5. - A request to incorporate a previously used idea is more likely to be rejected, than if you come up with something new and creative.

If you have any questions, contact your mentor

AUTOMATION

In the description sheet for the project it states: "In the event that some degree of automation has been added, the robot shall run a second time in that mode for bonus points".

Note that the manual run must be done with the automation circuitry completely disconnected and preferably removed. The bonus points shall be based on either scoring the automation run to the same criteria as the manual run, or on the degree of improvement over the manual run, depending on the overall level of performance obtained. All teams doing the automation run will be scored to the same criteria.

PERFORMANCE RUN FAILURES

For the first 2 'problems':

A team that has problems prior to the start of the Performance Run, arrives late, or encounters a sudden component failure after the start of the run, may be given a time-out. A penalty will be imposed of 1 point per 3 minutes of delay or per visit to the "pit" or lay down area.

For the remaining problems:

For the 3rd. and any subsequent incidents, the penalty is increased to 3 points per incident.

If the run time at the time of a component failure is under 5 minutes, the run and the clock are restarted after the repair.

If over 5 minutes, the clock records the time, the robot is repaired, and returned to the place where it failed.

The "time to finish" is added to the earlier reading.

Printed run times show the best time for the run, and are not impacted by penalties - scores are. Note that 1 added minute of run time subtracts 1 point from the score.

Oral Presentation

Parents and teachers may not attend or listen-in to Oral Presentations.

Scoring

Its more than just building the robot...

Written Report

Remember: the report is an important part of you winning

Report Guidelines:

Report Format (suggested format):

1. Title Page

   1. Title of the project

   2. Team Name and Number

   3. Name of the Robot(s)

   4. Date of the Report

2. Table of Contents

An outline of the sections of your report.

3. List of Figures and Tables

Figures and tables include pictures, drawings, tables, and lists. A good thing to put here is the name of the figure and what page it can be found. Figures are often listed by their order in a section. For example: "Figure 5.5 - 3 The Control Panel" is the third figure in section 5.5 of the report.

4. List of Referenced Documents

Documents (handouts, books, WEB sites) that you used in the project.

5. Introduction

   1. What this Project is…

Talk about the project in general terms like if someone who didn't have a clue what was going on had picked up this report and wanted to find out what it was about

2. Project background

Where, when and who did this project. What was this project a part of…?

6. Project Discussion

This is the "meat" of your report. The really good stuff goes in this section.

1. The project goals

What were you trying to accomplish in this project?

2. The project team

Talk about the team members. Who was in charge if what?

3. The project plan

When do you meet. What had to happen first in this project? Then what? And after that? What things had to happen for this project to be a success.

4. The project schedule

Major project milestones events like: Begin design, secure parts, Fabricate body, First Test, Start Report ,…… Think in terms of planned (when it was supposed to happen) and actual dates (when it really happened).

5. The robot.

   1. The design of the robot. Describe the design and robot. Why did you pick this design? Did you look at other designs? Why was this best one? Did it change as time went on? How and why?

   2. The final product. What did you end up in the end? Was it the same? Why was it different than the design? List of materials and parts?

   3. Testing and Operation. Did stuff break? How did you fix it? Are there ways to improve it?

6.  Log of Events

Dates and what happen on these dates. Meetings, work sessions, fabrication sessions, test sessions,…

7. Results

   1. Result Summary: What happened? Did it work?

   2. How did the team organization work?

Lessons Learned: What would you do differently the next time? What would you tell someone who is doing this project next year that they should focus upon? Was it fun? Was it hard or easy?

8. Conclusion

A general statement of what happened and what was learned in the project. What would you like to say about project in overall terms?

We need help

We can use judges, people to help out with grading reports etc. 

It only takes a couple of hours and really is a blast!  If you are, were or going to be an engineer (Active Engineers/ Retirees/ Engineering College Students) Educators or anybody else interested in helping with the challenge, please contact us:

For track judging, General Judging, and The Pit: Dr. Numan Dogan

We need digital photographers on the challenge date!

Links

Engineering Links

Future Engineers

American Society for Engineering Education

How do I become an Engineer?

 How much money does an Engineer make each week? (not to shabby eh?)

Please visit these!  These guys paid for your robot!

IEEE National Site