DIY Obstacle Course

Premise

Your robot must tackle the world of DIY on this create-your-own obstacle course.

Aim of the Challenge

To build an obstacle course with as much inventiveness as you can muster using DIY tools and other household objects and show that your robot can navigate its way around and return ‘home’ at the end.

Control Method

Remote control or Autonomous.

Time Limit

5 minutes.

Rules

  • You must construct your own obstacle course. It should feature the following:
    • Items of DIY equipment. (e.g. You could run your robot over a hammer, but this is just a simple example!)
    • Level changes (e.g. a ramp or lift)
    • Different terrain examples. (e.g. stones, sand).
  • Your obstacle course can use your entire location and is not limited in size to the normal 1500mm arena.
  • You may use as many obstacles as you wish on your course.
  • You are not limited to just DIY objects.
  • If you are running the course autonomously, you are permitted to place any markers you see fit in order to complete the course.
  • You are permitted to go outside your location (for instance into a garden or car park) if you would like to.
  • You must return (approximately) to your start point at the end of the run. (i.e. the course should return you to your ‘home’ position).
  • You should video-record your entire run for judging.

Ranking and Points

  • The merits of the courses and your run of that course will be judged by at least three independent Judges on the following criteria:
    • How imaginitive your obstacle course is – out of 100 points.
    • The complexity of your obstacle course – out of 200 points.
    • The amount of humour on display – out of 300 points. (Please make the Judges laugh – this is not an easy challenge to Judge!)
    • The agility of your robot – out of 200 points.
  • The following bonus points are also judged:
    • For remote control robots – the skill of the driver – out of 200 points.
    • For autonomous robots – the accuracy and maneuverability of the robot – out of 300 points.
  • Certain control methods gain additional bonus points:
    • Fully autonomous robots will be awarded a bonus of 400 points.
    • For remote-controlled robots, if audio commands are used as well, a bonus of 150 points will be awarded.

We recognise that many of these are entirely subjective criteria. We will have a panel of three Judges per challenge run so that the whole process is as fair as possible.

Penalties

  • None.

Ask Questions and Discuss

You can discuss this challenge and the general rules with fellow competitors on our Discord chat. If you have questions for the organisers, please contact us through the website.