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RoboRugby*08

Sir Winalot wins!

After may weeks of hard work, the teams of first-year Engineering and Computer Science students finally got to see their robots compete on 22 April.  21 robots competed in 41 matches to decide the overall winner.

The winning team: Con Murray, John Kirby and Shane Power

The aptly-named Sir Winalot deployed an ingenious hinged wall, cleverly designed to allow the robot to manoeuver behind the wall, yet come through the wall when it wanted to.  It started the competition ranked only ninth, as its defensive strategy was of no benefit in the raking round.  

Playing against other robots in the competition, Sir Winalot lived up to its name, winning three matches before being defeated by Jen 2.0.  The double-elimination tournament provides a second chance, and Sir Winalot went on to beat Speedy Gonzales into third place and then beat Jen 2.0 twice in the final rounds to claim a well-deserved victory.

Second place went to Jen 2.0, a fast robot with a simple attacking strategy, created by Conor Murphy, Brendan Murray and Ian Woods.  Jen was undefeated until the final matches, where the defensive Sir Winalot managed to block her attack. 

Vincent Grace, Aidan Harvey and John Layden took third place with another fast-moving and entertaining robot, appropriately named Speedy Gonzales.  This team also used a very effective wall - no robot scored against them.  However, the wall trapped 3 balls in their own scoring area, and this proved to be their downfall when they were beaten twice by Sir Winalot.

In fourth place was Gone in 60 seconds, created by Glenn Hingerty, Donal McGovern and Jamie Rothwell.  Their robot was designed to collect balls and deliver them to the scoring zone, but was defeated in its first match.  Undaunted, they fought back, winning 5 matches before being defeated by Speedy Gonzales.

The Innovation award went to Team Nein! and their robot Sid, which was slow but methodical and used an ingenious kicking mechanism to score points without having to travel the full length of the table.

Full competition results are available here.

What is RoboRugby?

RoboRugby is a game where small autonomous robots try to score points by moving balls into the scoring areas at each end of the playing table.  A match involves 2 robots and many balls of different colour and value.  Each match lasts for 60 seconds, and the position of the balls at the end of the match determines the score.

The robots are designed and built by first-year students, mostly Engineering students, working in small teams.  Each robot must be built from a standard kit of parts.  The robots are controlled by an on-board computer, programmed in advance of the competition.  There is no remote control - the team cannot intervene during a match.  The robots must rely on information from sensors to find balls and move them to the scoring areas. 

The teams initially spent 4 weeks learning how to use various sensors and actuators, and developing the programming skills and algorithms needed to control an autonomous robot.  During this time, they also devised strategies for the game of RoboRugby, and selected a likely winner.

With their skills perfected and a winning strategy chosen, each team proceeded to design and build a unique robot, optimised for their chosen strategy.  They programmed their robot's computer to carry out this strategy, trying to anticipate all the possibilities and devise algorithms to deal with them.

Why RoboRugby?

Design and problem-solving are an important part of an Engineering education and there is no substitute for learning by doing.  The RoboRugby design exercise provides an interesting and enjoyable problem, with plenty of scope for innovation and creative thinking.  The competition and prizes provide an extra incentive, thanks to generous sponsorship from Siemens Ireland. 

RoboRugby forms the basis of a module: EEEN 10020 - Robotics Design Project.  It is available as an elective module under the UCD Horizons system, to students who have taken an introductory module in Electronic and Electrical Engineering.

News:

Competition results.

Ranking round results.

Competition rules available.
 

Pictures below from RoboRugby competition 2007, courtesy of Pierre Jolivet, UCD

Pictures from 2008 coming soon!

Sponsor
For more than 155 years, the Siemens name has been synonymous with cutting-edge technologies.  Siemens' divisions are world leaders in automation and control, information and communications, lighting, medical, power and transportation.  Siemens and its subsidiaries employ 430,000 people in 192 countries.
University College Dublin
UCD is a research-intensive university where we strive to advance knowledge through cutting-edge research and to communicate knowledge through excellence in teaching.  Through innovative links in Ireland and abroad, UCD has exciting educational and research partnerships and collaborations with other academic, industrial and not-for-profit organisations.  UCD's staff and students influence the fabric of Ireland's cultural, social and economic development through a range of extramural activities.
School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering
The UCD School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering at UCD has 35 academic staff, 20 support staff, over 100 postgraduate students and many visiting researchers.  The School provides courses for over 400 undergraduate students, and is active in research in a wide range of areas, including Digital Signal and Image Processing, Non-linear Circuits and Systems, Optoelectronics, RF and Microwave Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Energy, Magnetics and Machines, Materials, Manufacturing and Energy Conversion.
Origins
RoboRugby was created by lecturers Dr. Scott Rickard, Brian Mulkeen and Dr. Paul Curran; students Maurice Fallon, Liza Kierans, John Healy, Vincent Grace and Peadar Grant; and technicians Gerry Hughes, Frank Hoye, Declan Lehane, Liam Carroll, and Luke Dalton.  RoboRugby was inspired by MIT's 6.270 Competition and was created with support from a 2004 UCD President's Teaching Award and the (then) Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering at UCD.

 

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