Robot Tour C [TRIAL]

[Little-Acorn]

Brian9640, how does the event now "move away from printed tracks"?

And, you say after that that "The new rules are based on navigating the track by position tracking and additional sensors.". That doesn't sound to me like they "move away from printed tracks" much.

I'm new to this event, and it's quite likely that I don't understand much about it. I'd greatly appreciate your input, thanks!

[brian9640]

Hopefully the full presentation for Robot Tour 2023 will be posted on the National site soon. For now, I have included a few images from the presentation. A picture is worth a thousand words. Hopefully. If not, please let me know any additional questions.



Image below shows the 2x4 obstacles placed on the track. Teams have the option to remove the 2x4 obstacles for a penalty which is a smaller penalty then the one for making contact with any of the 2x4 obstacles during a run.

[Little-Acorn]

Brian9640, thanks for the new descriptions!

Are the locations you show here for the 2x4 obstacles, permanent and will be in these locations for all tournaments this season (unless a team opts to have them removed and take a penalty)? Or are they just examples, and likely to be different for each tournament? And possibly different for each run in the same tournament?

(Similar question for the purple squares) And, are the purple squares shown here always in the same place for all tournaments? Or might they be in different places at different tournaments, and even in different places within the same tournament? Do you get a better score every time you enter a purple square, as long as you don't hit a 2x4 obstacle?

[brian9640]

Brian9640, thanks for the new descriptions!

Are the locations you show here for the 2x4 obstacles, permanent and will be in these locations for all tournaments this season (unless a team opts to have them removed and take a penalty)? Or are they just examples, and likely to be different for each tournament? And possibly different for each run in the same tournament?

(Similar question for the purple squares) And, are the purple squares shown here always in the same place for all tournaments? Or might they be in different places at different tournaments, and even in different places within the same tournament? Do you get a better score every time you enter a purple square, as long as you don't hit a 2x4 obstacle?

The 2x4 obstacles are placed randomly by the event supervisor for each tournament. The track configuration remains the same for all competitors at a tournament. One of the goals of the event is for the students to make programming changes during their competition time instead of using a pre-programmed device. Also this is an impound event. All robots are impounded before the event supervisor announces the track configuration.

The Gate Zones (purple squares) award teams bonus points for only the first time entering the zone. These are also positioned by the event supervisor before the tournament. The score has additional components (distance and time). I recommending looking at the Robot Tour rules in the 2023 Div C rulebook for a complete description.

[brian9640]

For anyone curious about trying the event, I have included below the track layout from a recent tournament that I ran Robot Tour at. I have also included the top scores from the 1st and 2nd place teams.

1st Place score = -8.14 [lowest wins]
2nd Place score = -6.14

Both of these teams choose to run without the 2x4s which added 35 points to their score. The 2nd place team could have run with the 2x4 obstacles. The choice to run with or without 2x4s is done before moving to the track. FYI, removing the 2x4s adds 35 points to a team's score. Contacting a 2x4 during a run adds 50 points. Both top teams made the decision to play it safe.

Both teams were a couple seconds over the target time and were between 1.5 and 4 cm from target point. Both teams entered all 3 gate zones (A, B, & C).

If you do try the track layout below, please post your scores.

[brian9640]

Below is the Robot Tour track layout for another tournament and top score. I believe both top scores could be improved with a little work.

1st Place = -6.58
2nd Place = 13.96

[cloudcake8]

Is the floor typically just a hard floor with black tape? Or is it a paper course?

[brian9640]

The paper track was removed when the rules changed for 2023.

The track can be setup on any smooth, level and hard surface. The track lines are approximate 1" tape lines. The color of the tape is the event supervisor's choice.

To be clear, Robot Tour is no longer a line following event. The event concept was changed from line following to navigating by tracking position. The information posted in the beginning of this topic is incorrect for 2023.

[BlankySpaceOfSpace]

Hopefully the full presentation for Robot Tour 2023 will be posted on the National site soon. For now, I have included a few images from the presentation. A picture is worth a thousand words. Hopefully. If not, please let me know any additional questions.



Image below shows the 2x4 obstacles placed on the track. Teams have the option to remove the 2x4 obstacles for a penalty which is a smaller penalty then the one for making contact with any of the 2x4 obstacles during a run.

Do you have the link to the presentation yet?

[brian9640]

The presentation is posted under Trial Events on the national website at the time of this reply. Please keep in mind there will be some minor changes for the 2024 rules. Plus this presentation will be removed from the trial event page soon with this event entering the rotation for 2024.