Description of the contest

Robot jousting is essentially “sumo on a tightrope”. The game will be played on a relatively narrow surface, supported so that it is off the ground. Robots will start at opposite ends of the jousting track and travel towards each other. The winner will be either the one that stays on the track the longest, or in the event both are still on track at the end, the one that has traveled the furthest.

 

Overall competition board setup

The jousting competition will be played on a 10” wide white track. The track will be at least ½” thick. The track thickness will be thick enough so that there is very little droop from side to side. At the center of the track will be a 1” wide black stripe. The track will be an “S” shaped course, so robot contestants will have to turn in order to navigate the full course. There will also be a 1” wide black stripe across the track 12” from the ends of the track. This will define the start line. Robots will have to be behind this line in their “start zone” at the beginning of the match.

 

Overall Robot Building Rules

All robots must start completely behind the 1” wide black stripes that define the “starting zones”, there is no specific limit to the robot’s length. There is no width limit for this competition either, but remember that the track is only 10” wide. All robots are subject to a 1 Kg (2.2lb) weight limit, to be verified by the judge at check-in for the competition. All robots are to be constructed of 100% LEGO brand parts (see sensors exception below). No glue, melting or modification of LEGO brand parts is allowed. Robots are to be completely autonomous. The controller (NXT®, RCX®, Spybot®, Cybermaster® etc) may not rely on an external computer for computational assistance via infrared or wireless communication.

 

Sensors exception: Commercially available 3rd party sensors such as sensors from HiTechnic® and Mindsensors® WILL be allowed. Home-brewed sensors or sensors derived using prototyping board will NOT be allowed.

 

Scoring the competition

Jousting scoring is simple. There are two competition goals. First, stay on the track. Second, travel further from your starting zone than your opponent. A robot that stays on the track longer than its opponent will receive two points for a win. In the event both robots are still on track at the end of the round, the one that has traveled further from its starting zone will receive two points for a win. If both are still on the track AND are equidistant from their respective starting zones when the match ends, a rematch will be declared and both robots will compete against one another again. Should the rematch end in the same manner as the first, a draw will be declared and both robots will receive one point. In the unlikely even the robots manage to pass one another, and both successfully reach the opposite end of the track, a tie will be declared and each will receive one point. Losing robots will receive zero points. If neither robot moves, and neither falls off (i.e. LEGO brick vs LEGO brick) each will be declared a “loser” and will receive zero points for the match.

 

Running the competition

The competition will either be a round-robin style competition, or a single-elimination style event, or a combination of both. The organization of the competition will be determined immediately prior to the event and depend on the time available and number of robots entered.

Each competition round will last 2 minutes. The two robots will start at opposite ends of the track. The round will begin with a countdown from the judge. Robots can be started as soon as the round begins and there is no mandatory start delay.

 

Strategy & Robot building

During the competition, the entire robot should be above the plane of the top of the jousting track at all times. It is strictly prohibited for a robot to clamp onto the jousting track. It is also illegal for a robot to use permanent guides to stay on track. However, some leniency will be allowed for a robot that is designed to use “whiskers” or another sort of sensor system that feels for the edge of the track as a navigational aide. A whisker that droops over the edge of the track will be allowed as long as the judge believes that the whisker is not being used as a rigid guide. The judge may also allow a robot to compete even if it does droop slightly over the edge so long as it is not getting a competitive advantage from its construction. The judge decision on this is final.