Introduction to Micromouse
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Transcript Introduction to Micromouse
Introduction to
Micromouse
WVU IEEE Student Branch
9/24/2014
Stephen Itschner
What is a Micromouse?
Autonomous robot able to find
its way through a maze in the
shortest possible time
Maze is a fixed size, but
configuration is unknown until
the competition
Cannot receive any external
input or control (limited to
onboard hardware and
processing)
Robot no more than 25cm x
25cm
Many Possible Designs
This Mouse Has Solved the Maze
How to Win
Get to the
center squares in
the shortest
time
1 of the 4
corners is the
starting block
The Only Info Going In:
Maze size is 16 squares by 16 squares
Each square is 18cm X 18cm (16.8 cm
between walls)
Walls are 5cm high, red on top, white
on sides (IR reflective paint)
Floor is black (IR absorbing paint)
Goal will always be to reach the center
4 squares
Rules
The robot cannot:
Burn through, cut through, fly over, or climb over the walls
Damage the maze in any way
Leave parts of itself behind
Be powered by any flammable substance
The clock starts when the robot leaves the starting square and stops when it
enters the goal square, measured from the front edge
Each robot gets 10 minutes to run the maze as many times as desired
The official time is the fastest run completed within the 10 minute period
Every time the mouse is touched after being set down is a 30 second penalty
added to the fastest run
Slow robots that solve the maze place higher than fast robots that do not
Cash Prizes (vary by year)
Option 1: built from a commercial OTS kit
$300 1st
$200 2nd
$100 3rd
Option 2: built from scratch
$600 1st
$500 2nd
$300 3rd
An Expert Micromouse, Fast Run Only:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=video&cd=2&cad
=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCUQtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fw
atch%3Fv%3DCLwICJKV4dw&ei=WRwjVMjhH4u3yATlhYKAAQ&usg=AFQjCNG2lzY
Ru1DWSXm-Bf7lTsi5c8iGvQ&bvm=bv.76180860,d.aWw
Path Forward for WVU IEEE
Scratch Team
Currently own a micromouse made
from scratch
Pet project of the presenter since
~Sept. 2013
Order known working hardware
Program the maze exploration and
solving
Pros:
Needs to be debugged and
programmed
Kit Team
Optimizations to hardware
permissible
Full hardware and design brief
available for those interested
Known, working hardware
Online support
Potential for finding source code
online
Cons:
Lower prize
Other teams have same advantages