The Robotics Challenge Day
Introduction The Robotics Challenge Day is intended to be a fun introduction to the world of engineering, robotics & advanced manufacturing, giving you the opportunity to get hands-‐on with an engineering product in a fun way. You’ll need to work as a team, communicate clearly, problem solve effectively & concentrate on following instructions carefully. The information below will ensure that you are able to build your robot successfully. READ THROUGH ALL THE INFORMATION BEFORE YOU START! Typical Timetable for the Day 09.45 – 10.00 Registration 10.00 – 10.15 Introductory Presentation 10.15 – 12.30 Build Session 12.30 – 13.00 [Approx]: Lunch 13.00 Robot Wars Competition! 15.00 [Approx]: Finish Overview of the Robot Building Session Use the instructions in the ‘VEX Guide to Building the Protobot & Tumbler’ instruction booklet. Split your team of 4 students into two pairs. Pair 1 -‐ follow instructions on pages 4-‐8 to build the Robot Base. Pair 2 -‐ follow instructions on pages 9-‐12 to build the Robot Arm. Your two groups should then work together to bring the two parts of your robot together following the instructions on pages 13, 14, 19, 20 & 26. N.B. In the front of the instruction booklet, there is a page which folds out providing you with scale photos of the elements used to build the robot. You may find this useful if you’re struggling to see which part you have to use!
Each robot will be the same design, like the one above, BUT the metal ‘claw’ that pulls the tennis ball into the robot’s grasp can be designed in anyway you think will be best!
Overview of ‘Tennis Ball Tussle’ Game
In the afternoon you will play a game called ‘Tennis Ball Tussle’! There will be a league stage, semi finals & a grand-‐final. The game is fast-‐paced. Keep one eye on your match schedule and one on your robot – tighten screws and nuts at every opportunity…you don’t want a wheel falling off mid-‐match! One team member should control your robot, moving it into position and moving the claw arm in order to capture a tennis ball & score points by dropping it into your goal [the one positioned nearest to your team on the competition field]. There are five ‘pyramids’ positioned across the centre of the competition field, each consisting of four tennis balls. Most balls are yellow and worth 1 point and one is different-‐coloured and worth 2 points. Team 1
Team 2
Game Rules
• Other than the ‘claw’, teams cannot change the design of the robot in any way from the instructions provided. • It is important that matches start on time; at the referee’s discretion, teams arriving late may be issued with penalty points. • If robots topple or become tangled, the referee will correct the robot. • Players must not enter the field of play during the game. • Referees decisions are final on points scored.