li@tybalt.caltech.edu.UUCP (01/29/87)
Anybody have any experience building one of those electronic mouses that can solve a maze? I was thinking of putting one together as a project. Any magazine references or books would be helpful. Also, are there still those contest that see which one can solve it in the least amount of time? Thanks in advance. li@tybalt.caltech.edu (James Li) __ __ (also li@citromeo.caltech.bitnet) | | "Official KANK symbol" ------> | |
keith@amc.UUCP (01/30/87)
Funny you should ask. Just last night I attended our monthly meeting of the Seattle Robotics Society. The main event last night was the running of a maze contest. My partner and I have built a mouse to run this maze (although not successfully yet :-)). The rules are pretty simple. The walls of the maze are one inch plywood on two foot centers. They are painted in various colors of gloss enamel. You can't move the walls or use internal combustion engines. That's about it. The Mice themselves range from dumb motors and switches with no processors to some pretty ambitious full blown ai. My advice would be to keep it simple. Our Robot is a basic Z80 with some H bridges to drive the two motors, and some reflective IR sensors to detect walls. Three wheels are better than four because if the floor is uneven, you might lift a drive wheel off the floor during a turn and get confused about your position and orientation. This can't happen with a three wheeled configuration. We have a four wheeled robot, but ended up installing spring loaded suspension on one of the castors to get around that problem. I'd be glad to talk to anyone out there about particular problems or ideas you might have. See my addresses below. Telephone is OK too if you don't mind the expense. Keith Payea Applied Microsystems Corp. P.O. Box C-1002 Redmond, WA 98073-1002 (206)882-5249 ...ihnp4!uw-beaver!tikal!amc!keith "The only things which separates us from the animals are mindless superstition and pointless ritual." Latka Gravas
daveb@eneevax.UUCP (David Bengtson) (02/01/87)
IEEE sponsors a 'micromouse ' competition every year or so. The entries
are generally from groups of people - IEEE student branches - generally
We ( UM Student Branch ) are thinking of putting one together this year.
kits of hardware seem to be availible, The prob seems to be in coming up
with an intelligent algorithm to get through the maze.
--
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David Bengtson/Laboratory for Plasma Fusion/University of Maryland
College Park Md 20742 {your keyboard} !seismo!mimsy!eneevax!daveb
======================================================================hmj@tut.UUCP (02/18/87)
In article <620@eneevax.UUCP> daveb@eneevax.UUCP (David Bengtson) writes: > > IEEE sponsors a 'micromouse ' competition every year or so. The entries >are generally from groups of people - IEEE student branches - generally >We ( UM Student Branch ) are thinking of putting one together this year. >kits of hardware seem to be availible, The prob seems to be in coming up >with an intelligent algorithm to get through the maze. ^^^^^^^ Are you really getting through the maze? You don't need any intelligent algorithm, just follow the right side all the time. Here in Europe goal is at the center of maze, so you HAVE TO make an intelligent algorithm to solve it. Students of Tampere University of Technology have built several "micromice", I've worked with three of them, mostly programming. Maze solving algoritm is quite simple, difficulties raise when you speed up the mouse. (It tries to get out of maze through walls...) Somebody told three weels are better than four because they are all tightly on the floor. No they are not. On turnings (on good speed, of course) one wheel will be lifted off the floor. Three weels are better, because mouse with three weels is easier to build and drive. Micromouse World Contest will be in London 7 of July. -- Hannu-Matti Jarvinen ASENTO - Ada Software ENgineering TOols -project Tampere University of Technology, Finland hmj@tut.uucp, hmj@tut.funet (Note that tut.ARPA is not the same computer).
ron@brl-sem.UUCP (02/20/87)
In article <571@korppi.tut.UUCP>, hmj@tut.UUCP (Matti J{rvinen) writes: > Are you really getting through the maze? You don't need any intelligent > algorithm, just follow the right side all the time. 1. Following the right side (wall banging) might seem intelligent to you but is not necessarily efficient. 2. Some mazes can't be solved by wall banging if the start or finish point is within the maze.
hmj@tut.UUCP (03/03/87)
In article <637@brl-sem.ARPA> ron@brl-sem.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) writes: >In article <571@korppi.tut.UUCP>, hmj@tut.UUCP (Matti J{rvinen) writes: >> Are you really getting through the maze? You don't need any intelligent >> algorithm, just follow the right side all the time. >1. Following the right side (wall banging) might seem intelligent to you > but is not necessarily efficient. >2. Some mazes can't be solved by wall banging if the start or finish > point is within the maze. It seems you didn't read my previous posting to the end. I had to think one week are you worth of responding. First you ask something, then you don't even read the answers! I wrote "here in Europe goal is at the center of the maze, etc. etc" So it is just the case number 2 you mentioned. Wall banging never seemed intelligent to me. I wanted to point out that going THROUGH the maze is trivial. I have made algorithm which finds out the fastest route to the center (or any square of the maze). The fastest is not the same as shortest, because turnings get (usually) more time than corriders. Consider following: (Start at upper left corner, goal x-marked square). ___________ !__ _____ ! Longer route is faster, for it has only 2 turnings, ! !_ !_ ! ! shorter one has 6. Shorter is more difficult to drive, ! !_ ! ! ! because turnings cause measurement errors and suitable ! x ! places for calibration does not exist. !______!_!_! I think intellingence is not the main problem (you can solve it somehow anyway), but the driving of the mouse. IF you want to make it fast. Micromouse Tellu has top speed about 3.2 m/s. To accelerate and drive it is not simple task. For me, it is the most difficult part of the programs. And I have programmed three mice, two of them have been European Champions. -- Hannu-Matti Jarvinen ASENTO - Ada Software ENgineering TOols -project Tampere University of Technology, Finland hmj@tut.fi, hmj@tut.uucp, hmj@tut.funet (tut.ARPA is not the same computer).