1st.
Attila (Austria) v.2 (the one who beat me the second time around) V.2 is there because the
team had fitted an additional "plastic" sheet to the drop down scoop.
Robotchallenge Austria
Cph 03/04 2008
Robotchallenge 2008 update.
A little delayed but here it goes.
So... The competition has ended and i / "Red Devil" managed to place third among 32 contestants.
Since my goal for this tournament was to place in the top three i can only say it has been a complete success in spite of numerous technical problems. (Blown motor and edge sensors going all crazy on me)
I cannot even begin to describe the atmosphere. Never have i experienced so much support, backup and positive comments from other builders, competitors or visitors. It basically made me feel like a national favorite.
Besides that i had the pleasure of meeting some of what i would define as being the finest builders in Europe, Slovakia (are they part of Europe?) and not least Russia.
I have had a chance to try to inspire several younger upcoming designers and engineers and i hope i have succeeded.
Having said that i have to put out a special thanks to the teams from Wroclaw, Malta and last but not least Rio personally.
The technical level this year was quite a bit higher than that of last year and i have seen some seriously well made robots and innovative designs. I believe i remember Peter W. saying "the level of mini sumo seems to be going up in leaps and bounds" robotchallenge 2008 is definatly proof of that.
One of the things i really like about the minisumo concept is that the whole technical range is allowed to have a go at one another. From anyone who can build the most basic robot to the teams showing up with CAD designed CNC cut marvels of engineering.
Having had such a great experience here in wienna i will be working hard to come next year :-) and can only advise anyone else with a running robot to do the same.
There where a few minor issues with the lighting and the dohyo's design but it was all sorted during the tournament. (i'm sure nothing similar will happen next year)
A few notes before going over how my part of the competition went.
1. I'm horrible with names and i apologize for that.
2. The quality of the pictures does not do the general craftsmanship justice but due to a number of circumstances that i won’t mention here it's the best i can do.
1st.
Attila (Austria) v.2 (the one who beat me the second time around) V.2 is there because the
team had fitted an additional "plastic" sheet to the drop down scoop.
Tracked concept with drop down scoop and six sharp XXXX sensors placed in what appears to be a 270 Deg. field of view and a drop down scoop. drive train is based on Faulhaber motors and a double toothed synchro belt. CNC cut aluminium and a general high level of engineering.
2nd.
Place Merlin (Slovakian)
Did not get the chance to fight it. It's build on the conventional 10x10 square four smaller diameter wheels and a drop down scoop.
3rd.
Красный Дьявол
(Red Devil) (Denmark)
Fight for Third Place
Vratislavia (Poland)
One of three very very nice made robots from the Wroclaw team. 10x10 square with a unique triangular drop down scoop CAD Designed CNC cut polished aluminium with a smoke colored plexiglass/lexan top and loads of leds. I was told by these guy's that they where built for a project promoting the town of Wroclaw. Originally i believe they built some thirty to forty of them and had brought three to Robotchallenge.
Drive Train: On this particular one was based on a couple of modded servos. And the traction was provided by a fairly thin stripe of foam rubber.
1/4 final.
SumoBot
(Slovakia).
Unknown Black 10x10 box with drop down scoop.
Drive train: Was based on eight (I think) high traction "rubber" rollers placed four on each side covering almost the entire bottom. (It had me worried.)
1/8 final
Breslau (Poland).
One of three very very nice made robots from the Wroclaw team. 10x10 square with a unique triangular drop down scoop CAD Designed CNC cut polished aluminium with a smoke colored plexiglass/lexan top and loads of leds. I was told by these guy's that they where built for a project promoting the town of Wroclaw. Originally i believe they built some thirty to forty of them and had brought three to Robotchallenge.
Drive Train: On this particular one was based on a couple of metal incased gearhead motors (pretty heavy duty stuff). And the traction was provided by a fairly thin stripe of foam rubber.
Qualifications:
Attila
(Austria) V.1. As mentioned above.
but without the added sheet on the scoop.
Cupon
(Turkey).
Drive train: Based on the tamiya gearbox. PCB's as structural components loads of hot glue and large bolts for ballast. Built by the Turkish guy as an easy to construct low cost concept. I believe they brought three of the and that one made it to the 1/4 finals.
Enyo
(Austria). (The other one who beat me)
10x10 all sheet aluminium cube with no scoop.
Drive train: Unknown to me.
And a few others i'm sorry to say i cannot quite remember.
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Robotchallenge Austria
Cph 03/04 2008
It's
time... The robot is ready and packed. The Travel Arrangements are in place and
the excitement is high.
There will be live webcasts from the competition days on the Robotchallenge site.
I will off-cause return with the results.
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Robotchallenge Austria
Cph 29/03 2008
I have entered Красный Дьявол in the Robotchallenge competition in Austria and i’m currently preparing it.
There where a few minor things that became apparent at RobotSM in Sweden last year that needs to be sorted before it’s fit for fight. This includes both hardware and software.
I have to say that i’m really looking forward to it. As of now there are 32 registered competitors for the mini sumo class and as far as i know that makes it the biggest competition in Europe.
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The JSM Project (Joint Strike Minisumo)
Cph 22/12 2007
I have gone into a joint venture with Bob Cook designing and building a new minisumo called Joint Strike Minisumo “JSM”
You can follow the public part of the project on minisumo.org.uk.
So far we have been discussing design and built some of the basic parts. I will try to update this page as the build progresses.
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Robotchallenge Austria
Cph. 30/07 2007
Well… The Micromouse TIC event didn’t really happen for me. A combination of traveling costs, a personal issue and the lack of contenders prevented me from entering which is a shame since i really wanted to go.
The event i am now looking forward to is Robotchallenge in Austria presumably to take place in March. This year they had 18 competing robots in the minisumo class which i believe makes them the biggest minisumo competition in Europe at this time. Furthermore March being out of the holiday season traveling expenses should be tolerable.
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Robotsm Sweden
Before i begin i would like to thank all the Chalmers robot association members for doing a great job in setting up the competition and Aske in particular for leading my attention to it.
I have been looking for an event in Scandinavia for quite a while now and Aske was the one making it possible. (He has a web page of his own which i encourage you to visit. codeduck)
I am happy to announce that i have participated in Robotsm which was held in GÖTEBORG SWEDEN May 4th. 2007 with my latest MiniSumo robot красный дьявол (Red Devil).
I was running in the mini Class and despite seven other great designs i managed to win first prise. The event ran from about ten in the morning till about four in the afternoon and i participated in nine matches to before winning the finals. Undefeated by the way :-)
There was supposed to be video recordings form the event but unfortunately something went wrong so they will not be available.
I am currently looking at an event in Birmingham United Kingdom June 30. 2007 http://www.tic.ac.uk/micromouse/ and although this is primarily a MicroMouse event they want to get into the MiniSumo class as well. Since this is new to them they would appreciate any help they can get and have involved the guys at http://www.er-online.co.uk/minisumo/index.php
If they manage to get enough "players" i will drop by. (Travelling to Birmingham from Copenhagen is a costly affair)
Should you wish to contact me for one reason or another please email. mail@minisumo.dk