Sports robotics: an interview with a member of RobotChallenge 2014
RobotChallenge is one of the largest international competitions in the field of robotics.
Since 2004, craftsmen from 35 countries took part in the competition and showed the world more than 1000 different robots.
This year, March 29-30, competitions in 15 nominations will be held in Vienna.
Under the cut description of the types of competitions at the RobotChallenge and an interview with a participant in the upcoming competitions in the nomination "Collecting pucks" Konstantin Kostyuk
Konstantin Kostiuk, President of the Association of Sports Robotics , Member of the Hackspace Neuron, the host of the courses "Do-It-Yourself Mobile Robot" and "Arduino for Beginners"
- A few words about the competition.
- RobotChallenge - the largest robotics competition in Europe. It is believed that this is an informal European Championship.
Informal, because not only Europe comes to the competition, for example, last year there were teams from Hong Kong, Mexico, and this year Egypt and the United Arab Emirates will go.
RobotChallenge is an open robotic competition, the key word is open. In all regulations, if there are restrictions, then restrictions aimed at improving security and creating equal conditions for all robots. There are no restrictions on age, status, number of participants (there can be any number in a team). Schoolchildren and gray-haired professors can compete in the same disciplines. All have equal conditions, and the strongest, cleverest, smartest wins. Very often, schoolchildren beat older participants.
- What are the new nominations this year?
- This year the nomination “Hack Arduino Robot” was added. Last year, Arduino released their training robot and to participate in the competition you need to suggest how you can upgrade this robot.
And 2 years ago the Air Race discipline appeared and now every year the organizers tighten the rules of the competition a little bit to make it more interesting.
- What nomination will you go to?
- We will go to the Pack Collect competition - collecting pucks. (Two robots drive around the field, interacting with each other. Their task is to collect the pucks of their color as quickly as possible and bring them to their base.)
- And robozumo?
- In my opinion, with this development of this discipline, teams from Russia have little chance of getting into 1/16
- What do Rochochellange organizers ultimately want to achieve? Will the best solutions be used for military purposes?
- The main goal of sports robotics is the growth of personnel. Each participant has his own idea, he believes that his robot is the best. Participation in a competition is a way to test your decisions for adequacy. Moreover, after the competition, the participants get food for thought, what the rivals have done better and what can be upgraded. The analysis of other people's robots, the creation and improvement of their robot, the constant development, you need to learn something new - as a result, a person grows in his knowledge.
70-80% of Russian participants are schoolchildren, in Europe they are student teams.
Competitions can be divided into 3 types:
- Power. The main role in the victory is played by design. Good calculations, properly selected motors, dimensions, etc. - you have good chances, even if the programs are not perfect. (Sumo, Follow the Line)
- Intellectual. This year tasks are solved when there is a game interaction. (Eurobot, Pucks)
- Competitions that imitate real life situations. As a result, teams and participants gain experience in solving problems from real life. And further this experience can be applied in various projects.
What is significant if you look at Russian robotics, then each company has employees who at one time participated in sports robotics competitions.
- Tell me some funny incident.
- 2 years ago, the grandfather-predecessor based on Lego assembled a robot that paints balls with a felt-tip pen. This project was liked by many, but did not receive a prize. But another thing is noteworthy that the youngest was 8 years old and the oldest (grandfather-predecessor) was 60+. That is, the variation in age among the participants was more than half a century.
The German team in the “gathering pucks” nomination has a robot that has the coolest software (video, telemetry, it builds a map, predicts angles, builds a motion plan, etc.), but for several years they cannot achieve normal sorting washers.
- What is the purpose of going to the competition?
- In order to win.
This year will be a very strong composition. The winners are 2011, 2012, 2013. Therefore, the fight will be hot, but we hope to win.
The fact that we will reach the final will not even doubt.
- Where to begin?
- Periodically, free courses “Do-it-yourself mobile robot” courses are held in Hackspace; there are courses in Arduino.
For schoolchildren and students, there are many courses in various CICCs, palaces of creativity, and so on. In fact, there is nothing difficult in this, you can go to the site rus-robots.ru/kalendar , go to the calendar of competitions, come to these competitions and chat with participants of the competition. The participants, too, when they started from something, have a very friendly atmosphere at the competitions, if possible, they will tell you everything and tell you.
- Favorite movie
- "Short Circuit"
PS
Good luck in the championship!
You can follow the hackspace event on Timepad
UPD
The Russian team in the discipline "Hack the Arduino Robot" reached the final!
9 teams from all over the world were selected for the final.
Further distribution of seats depends on online voting, you need to watch the video and like it.
The submitted project Eyeduino is the implementation of connecting the video camera to the microcontroller.
Since 2004, craftsmen from 35 countries took part in the competition and showed the world more than 1000 different robots.
This year, March 29-30, competitions in 15 nominations will be held in Vienna.
Under the cut description of the types of competitions at the RobotChallenge and an interview with a participant in the upcoming competitions in the nomination "Collecting pucks" Konstantin Kostyuk
List of nominations and beautiful photos
')
To participate in the competition it was required to send a description of your idea until January 26th. It was necessary to reveal 3 questions:
1. How can I use a robot?
2. What makes your idea outstanding?
3. What is the real problem your robot will solve?
Prizes will be in two nominations: the best project and the best technical documentation
As in the traditional Japanese sumo it is necessary to throw the opponent out of the ring.
There are several "weight categories":
Mega Sumo (20 x 20 cm, 3 kg)
Mini Sumo (10 x 10 cm, 500 g)
Micro Sumo (5 x 5 cm, 100 g)
Nano Sumo (2.5 x 2.5 cm, 25 g)
Humanoid Sumo (50 x 20cm, 3 kg)
Lego Sumo (15 x 15 cm, 1 kg)
Under the terms of the competition you need to describe the eight around the two pillars. Robots will demonstrate their maneuverability, speed and accuracy in three dimensions.
In this competition, the robot will follow the black line on a white background as quickly as possible. In the advanced version, obstacles are added. There is a special subsection of competition for Lego-based robots.
Competition will require interaction in the field of sensors, mechanics and artificial intelligence. The robot needs to collect the pucks of its color.
On the 2.5x2.5m field, 2 robots collect the pucks of their color and return them to their base. Who was the first to collect all the pucks of his color, he won.
Humanoid robots will compete in walking / running speed. The robot must have 2 legs and move the center of gravity while moving, while one foot is on the ground and the other is in the air.
A robot that overcomes 2 meters ahead of the rest will win.
In this category, robots do anything that does not fall into the previous categories. Unlimited flight of your imagination and imagination.
')
“Hack the Arduino Robot!”
To participate in the competition it was required to send a description of your idea until January 26th. It was necessary to reveal 3 questions:
1. How can I use a robot?
2. What makes your idea outstanding?
3. What is the real problem your robot will solve?
Prizes will be in two nominations: the best project and the best technical documentation
Robot Sumo (Sumo)
As in the traditional Japanese sumo it is necessary to throw the opponent out of the ring.
There are several "weight categories":
Mega Sumo (20 x 20 cm, 3 kg)
Mini Sumo (10 x 10 cm, 500 g)
Micro Sumo (5 x 5 cm, 100 g)
Nano Sumo (2.5 x 2.5 cm, 25 g)
Humanoid Sumo (50 x 20cm, 3 kg)
Lego Sumo (15 x 15 cm, 1 kg)
Air Race
Under the terms of the competition you need to describe the eight around the two pillars. Robots will demonstrate their maneuverability, speed and accuracy in three dimensions.
Line Follower
In this competition, the robot will follow the black line on a white background as quickly as possible. In the advanced version, obstacles are added. There is a special subsection of competition for Lego-based robots.
Puck Collect
Competition will require interaction in the field of sensors, mechanics and artificial intelligence. The robot needs to collect the pucks of its color.
On the 2.5x2.5m field, 2 robots collect the pucks of their color and return them to their base. Who was the first to collect all the pucks of his color, he won.
Humanoid Sprint
Humanoid robots will compete in walking / running speed. The robot must have 2 legs and move the center of gravity while moving, while one foot is on the ground and the other is in the air.
A robot that overcomes 2 meters ahead of the rest will win.
Freestyle
In this category, robots do anything that does not fall into the previous categories. Unlimited flight of your imagination and imagination.
Interview with a participant from Russia
Konstantin Kostiuk, President of the Association of Sports Robotics , Member of the Hackspace Neuron, the host of the courses "Do-It-Yourself Mobile Robot" and "Arduino for Beginners"- A few words about the competition.
- RobotChallenge - the largest robotics competition in Europe. It is believed that this is an informal European Championship.
Informal, because not only Europe comes to the competition, for example, last year there were teams from Hong Kong, Mexico, and this year Egypt and the United Arab Emirates will go.
RobotChallenge is an open robotic competition, the key word is open. In all regulations, if there are restrictions, then restrictions aimed at improving security and creating equal conditions for all robots. There are no restrictions on age, status, number of participants (there can be any number in a team). Schoolchildren and gray-haired professors can compete in the same disciplines. All have equal conditions, and the strongest, cleverest, smartest wins. Very often, schoolchildren beat older participants.
- What are the new nominations this year?
- This year the nomination “Hack Arduino Robot” was added. Last year, Arduino released their training robot and to participate in the competition you need to suggest how you can upgrade this robot.
And 2 years ago the Air Race discipline appeared and now every year the organizers tighten the rules of the competition a little bit to make it more interesting.
- What nomination will you go to?
- We will go to the Pack Collect competition - collecting pucks. (Two robots drive around the field, interacting with each other. Their task is to collect the pucks of their color as quickly as possible and bring them to their base.)
- And robozumo?
- In my opinion, with this development of this discipline, teams from Russia have little chance of getting into 1/16
- What do Rochochellange organizers ultimately want to achieve? Will the best solutions be used for military purposes?
- The main goal of sports robotics is the growth of personnel. Each participant has his own idea, he believes that his robot is the best. Participation in a competition is a way to test your decisions for adequacy. Moreover, after the competition, the participants get food for thought, what the rivals have done better and what can be upgraded. The analysis of other people's robots, the creation and improvement of their robot, the constant development, you need to learn something new - as a result, a person grows in his knowledge.
70-80% of Russian participants are schoolchildren, in Europe they are student teams.
Competitions can be divided into 3 types:
- Power. The main role in the victory is played by design. Good calculations, properly selected motors, dimensions, etc. - you have good chances, even if the programs are not perfect. (Sumo, Follow the Line)
- Intellectual. This year tasks are solved when there is a game interaction. (Eurobot, Pucks)
- Competitions that imitate real life situations. As a result, teams and participants gain experience in solving problems from real life. And further this experience can be applied in various projects.
What is significant if you look at Russian robotics, then each company has employees who at one time participated in sports robotics competitions.
- Tell me some funny incident.
- 2 years ago, the grandfather-predecessor based on Lego assembled a robot that paints balls with a felt-tip pen. This project was liked by many, but did not receive a prize. But another thing is noteworthy that the youngest was 8 years old and the oldest (grandfather-predecessor) was 60+. That is, the variation in age among the participants was more than half a century.
The German team in the “gathering pucks” nomination has a robot that has the coolest software (video, telemetry, it builds a map, predicts angles, builds a motion plan, etc.), but for several years they cannot achieve normal sorting washers.
- What is the purpose of going to the competition?
- In order to win.
This year will be a very strong composition. The winners are 2011, 2012, 2013. Therefore, the fight will be hot, but we hope to win.
The fact that we will reach the final will not even doubt.
- Where to begin?- Periodically, free courses “Do-it-yourself mobile robot” courses are held in Hackspace; there are courses in Arduino.
For schoolchildren and students, there are many courses in various CICCs, palaces of creativity, and so on. In fact, there is nothing difficult in this, you can go to the site rus-robots.ru/kalendar , go to the calendar of competitions, come to these competitions and chat with participants of the competition. The participants, too, when they started from something, have a very friendly atmosphere at the competitions, if possible, they will tell you everything and tell you.
- Favorite movie
- "Short Circuit"
PS
Good luck in the championship!
You can follow the hackspace event on Timepad
UPD
The Russian team in the discipline "Hack the Arduino Robot" reached the final!
9 teams from all over the world were selected for the final.
Further distribution of seats depends on online voting, you need to watch the video and like it.
The submitted project Eyeduino is the implementation of connecting the video camera to the microcontroller.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/214655/
All Articles