Lego Challenge Rules

Note: All rules subject to change without notice.

Name of Event: Lego Challenge

Number of Robots per Event: One

Length of Event: 3 minutes maximum

Robot Weight Range: No limit

Robot Dimensions: 18 cm long by 18 cm wide (7" x 7"), any height

Arena Specifications: 121 cm long by 121 cm wide (4 ft x 4 ft)

Robot Control Specifications: Autonomous

Board Specifications:

The board is a 4 x 4 foot white enamel masonite board, the same material as used in Botball.
The board is edged with 1x2" pine furring strips (only needed for protection and for the Line Running Challenge).
The lines are made with standard 19 mm (3/4") black electrician's tape except for the two lines in the center, which are light green paper, attached with scotch tape. In some places the tape may be two layers thick (where tape overlaps).
The two centered lines are 21.6 cm long and 5 cm apart.
The sharp curves are 7.6 cm radius and broader curves are 15.2 cm radius on the inside edges.
The inner area is 64 cm x 64 cm and the space between parallel lines is 10 cm.
The circled numbers are not on the board, but identify the reference lines for the line running competition.
The two starting boxes are 18 cm x 18 cm and 10 cm apart, equally spaced with one edge on the inner edge of the outside straight line. Tips:
Suggested method for accurate line layout: Measure and draw the inside edges of the tape as two concentric boxes on the board, then use a compass to draw the curves. Finally, lay the tape along the marked edges, taking care to not stretch the tape, as it tends to shrink back to its unstretched length.
You should try to make the board lighting as uniform as possible, but the entrants are responsible for calibrating out the local lighting effects on their sensors.

Rules of the Game:

One minute will be allowed for setup and calibration before each round.
The robot must fit within the 18 x 18 cm starting box (no weight limit).
The maximum number of motors is two.
The robot starts in the starting box, at the edge of the game board (a 1x2" pine furring strip).
The team operator is only allowed to place the robot on the board and to push its starting button when told to do so.
The robot must beep when the button is pushed and start no sooner than 5 seconds after the button is pushed. (to allow the operator to remove his/her hand and step back).
The robot must run straight ahead, at least touching each of the numbered lines in order and then returning to the starting game board edge. [Go out and back once for each line, like a basketball warm-up exercise.]
The judge will time the robot.
Each robot will be given two official trials at running the lines and the shortest time will be recorded.
The robot finishing the run in the shortest time will be the winner.
If two or more robots finish within 2 seconds, a run off will be declared between the best entries.
If the robot misses a line it will be disqualified for that run. (The judge's decision on 'miss-of-line' is final.)