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NileBot Project

The objective of this competition is to design a robot that can follow a meandering path that mimics Nile river path from Aswan to Cairo accurately in the least amount of time. The robot will be placed at a pre-assigned starting point (Aswan) and may be started by hand as directed by the judge. Once started your robot must navigate along a black line as quickly as possible. This robot must have two important aspects: the capacity of detecting and following-up the path and the rapidity with which the maneuvers are carried out.

Competition Theme and Idea:

The layout is based on the course taken by a ship crossing the Nile from south to north, starting from Aswan and ending at Cairo city as shown in the following map.

1. Outline of the contest: Each team will build one robot, completely automatic, to accomplish all tasks required.
The robot will have to travel along the course from the START ZONE to the PARKING ZONE. The course has many twists and turns specifically designed to test the design and measure the accuracy and reliability. Each phase of the course will have its dedicated score points, depending on its level of hardness. There are also two objectives that need to be achieved, also having their own score points. Time is also a deciding factor of the winning team, the robot that manages to finish the track in shorter time will get higher points. Also violations will be punished with deducing score points. In case that no one was able to finish the track completely, the winner will be decided based on the earned score of the completed task. Matches are played one team at a time, and the arrangement will be decided based on a toss that will be held publically at the competition day and time.

2. Game Track: The game field area is made of compressed foam. The field will be colored non-reflective white. The track lines painted with non-reflective black lines with width of 50 mm. Every corner or turn is a sharp 90o, unless stated otherwise. The floor will be adequately processed with high friction agent to prevent slippage of wheels.

3. Game proceedings:

  • Once the game starts, the robot will team will have ten minutes to finish the track, however, the robot should finish in the least possible time.
  • The time of following the track will be measured from the instant that the front edge of the robot crosses over the start TIME-MARKER line, to the instant that the same front edge of the robot crosses over the end TIME-MARKER line.
  • In any of the following cases, the game will end immediately (before the ten minutes): a. The robot reached the end of the track. b. The team is disqualified from the competition. c. When the judging committee decides that the game cannot continue.
  • Two minutes are given before the game starts for setting the robot.
  • Only one member of the team will be responsible for setting and handling the robot during the entire game.
  • 6. In case the team member fails to complete the setting of the robot within the two minutes, he may continue after the game time has begun.
  • 7. Once the game has started, any touching of the robot is not allowed unless in case of a retry, and after the permission of the judging committee.
4. Game Tasks and objectives: Once the game started, the robot must accomplish the following:
  • Starts moving from the START ZONE and crosses the TIME-MARKER LINE, in order to start timing.
  • Follow the track as precisely as possible, the robot's body must cover the track line at all times.
  • The robot will proceed to cross the finish TIME-MARKER line, which will stop the timing at the instant that first front edge of the robot crosses it.
5. Retries of the Robot:
  • Starts moving from the START ZONE and crosses the TIME-MARKER LINE, in order to start timing.
  • Follow the track as precisely as possible, the robot's body must cover the track line at all times.
  • The robot will proceed to cross the finish TIME-MARKER line, which will stop the timing at the instant that first front edge of the robot crosses it.
  • A retry can be made only after the judge's permission.
  • Only the team member in charge of setting the robot is allowed to touch the robot during preparing for a retry.
  • Retries can be made as many times as necessary.
  • During preparing and setting for a retry, the timer will NOT be stopped.
  • When a retry is granted, the robot may start from any point in the track that it has already successfully passed.
  • In case of retry during accomplishing an objective, the team can ask the judge to place a displaced cargo box back at its original location.
  • In case of retry after accomplishing an objective, or after passing an area that earned the team score points, these points will be retained.
  • In case of retry after scoring points, and passing through the same scoring area again, the score points will not be added again.
  • Strategies premised on retries are allowed.

6. Scoring and Deciding the Winner: The wining team will be decided based on the number of points that the team has managed to collect during the game. The scoring of each phase in the game is described as follows:
  • Each 90 degrees turn (Asyut) is worth 10 points.
  • Crossing the S-Curve (Luxor-Quena-Nag Hammadi) is worth 35 points. a) Each half a circle is worth 15 points, and will be scored individually in case the robot fails to achieve one of them. b) Crossing the Curve completely without any skipping or losing track is worth total points.
  • Crossing the "Tight Curve" (Minya) is worth 15 points.
  • The result of the each match will be announced at the end of the match and after the judges are finished counting the team's completed tasks and faulty actions.
  • The match will end and no score will be announced in case of disqualification.
  • In case the robot accomplishes all stages and arrives to the finish line in less than five minutes, each second of early arrival is worth two points.

7.Violations and Disqualification:

  • In case the robot completely leaves the track (not covering the line by any part of its body) one point will be deduced from the earned score for each second spent off-track.
  • In case of retry, each retry will deduce 15 points from the earned score.
  • In case the robot enters a nor-responsive state, each second of standing still will deduce 2 points from earned score.
  • If a robot fails to start (called: false start), 10 points will be deduced for each time.
  • In case the robot makes an action that results in harming the game arena or any of the spectators, the team will be disqualified.
  • If the robot makes three false starts in a row, it will be disqualified.
  • If the team performs any acts that are not in the spirit of fair play, or displays poor sportsmanship, it will be disqualified.
  • If the robot fails to reach the end TIME-MARKER within 10 minutes from the time start, the team will be disqualified.
  • Any other actions that infringe on the rules and not specified with the result of disqualification, are considered as violations. And the penalty will be set by the judges as proportional to the infringement.

8. Conditions of building the Robot:

  • The robot must perform its tasks automatically after it is started by a team member.
  • The robot must not have its dimensions larger than 500 mm by 500 mm.
  • The robot must be built with respect to all safety regulations.
  • If a laser is used, it must be class two or less. And must be carefully designed and placed in order protect all persons in the venue from harm during all proceedings. Specifically, the laser must be so oriented that it cannot shine in to the eyes of the spectators.
  • Each team must prepare their own power source; it will be available at the arena.
  • The voltage of the power source used by the robot must not exceed DC24V.
  • In case of any usage of compressed air, the pressure must not exceed 6 bars.
  • The organizer has the right to declare and prohibit any dangerous and inappropriate power sources.

9. General Rules:

  • The organizers reserve the right to introduce any change in the regulations, whenever they consider it necessary for the development of the competition. The decisions of the judges will always be inappealable.
  • Before starting time, all participating robots must be ready. If a robot has not been ready just in time, this robot will be eliminated. Once the competition started, no new robots are permitted to participate. Once the competition started, no modifications in the participating robot will be allowed. When the turn of participation of each robot comes, only one representative of the team must take charge of starting it by just pressing a push-button switch. Making any modification or changing the state of the robot's deep switches is not allowed unless a "Reset Time" is requested. Five minutes before the beginning of every round, the participants will have a limited time (according to a pre-established order), to perform last minute tweaks of their robots and to fit their robot's sensors to the lighting and the material of the track.
  • Training sessions can be carried out some days before the competition day. According to schedule determined by organizers, the teams will be able to test, adjust and refine their robots during the time slot assigned for each team.
  • Classification round: All the ready robots will participate in order established by gambling. The team with highest number of accumulated points will win. In case of equality in number of points, the robot that finished the course in minor time will win. The best teams will be classified for the eliminatory round. If insufficient number teams have finished the classification round, the judge committee can select some of the unclassified teams to participate in the eliminatory round.
  • Eliminatory Round: all the classified teams will participate in order established by gambling. The best teams will be classified based on the same guidelines as in the classification phase. Again if insufficient number or teams have finished the eliminatory round, the judge committee can select some of the unclassified robots to participate in the final round.
  • Final Round: The classified team will have to realize a final course, being winning the best classified one according to the same guidelines. If a team or several teams don't finish the course, the judge committee must decide the order of the final classification, based on different arguments such as:
    o Minimum time of the previous rounds,
    o Being the unique team that keeps moving,
    o Minimum number of wrong detections
    o ....
    o The decisions of the judges will be inappealable.

10. Budget: