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RE: Questions about the Micromouse & Maze

Duncan,

It is quite arbitrary, but you could just as easily make an agrument for
rolling a sheet of construction paper into a tube with a 25cm diameter, and
placing this over the mouse.  If any dimention exceeds 25cm, then it doesn't
pass.  If one wishes to use a square, then you get into having to ensure all
four sides of the square are equal, requires a larger sheet of material, ...
more issues than what we have used in the Region 6 contests in the past.
What we typically do, if anyone looks like they will be exceeding the limits
(usually only on the front sensor array width), we take a yardstick (I
assume you would use a meter ruler, unless you are selling bananas ;-) and
measure across the widest points.  If that exceeds 25cm, then we penalize
the contestant, up to the point of disqualifying them.  I would be fine with
the box, as long as the contestant had to place their rodents in aligned
with the sides of the cell, not diagonal across the cell.  It would
accomplish the same thing, 25cm max.

It is just a rule, open to interpretation.  I prefer the simpler, easier to
enforce and easier to follow aspect of no portion of the MicroMouse shall
exceed 25cm at any time.

How about a request to have the robot remove the walls, traverse under it,
and attempt to replace it back where it came from, thereby allowing for a
direct path to the center?  This request came from the same person that
wants to do the 35cm MicroMouse.

Do you have the felling that this person just does not understand the
competition yet, but is looking to manipulate the rules just because they do
not like following rules?  If you follow the personalities, most engineers
are high D's.  Classic example, I will follow my rules, I don't care what
yours are, even to the point of endangering the end objective.  A mouse with
20cm wide sensor arrays will perform much better than a mouse with 35cm wide
sensor arrays, given all else is equal.  A mouse that fits inside 8cm x 8cm
x 5 cm will embarass a 20cm wide mouse, if it can roll and think.  They all
could solve the maze, but the smaller the better chances of winning, to a
point.  I still have not built my pocket rocket.

John




-----Original Message-----
From: Duncan Louttit [mailto:duncan@swallow.co.uk]
Sent: Monday, March 04, 2002 1:03 AM
To: micromouse@cs.rhul.ac.uk
Subject: Questions about the Micromouse & Maze


Hi Everyone,

	John Wright wrote about the rules for the size of a mouse. We have been
scrutineering the rule for some time as follows.

	Cut a 25 cm square in a piece of cardboard. Can the scrutineer drop the
square over the mouse?

	This allows a mouse to be up to 35cm wide if everything else fits. (It
passes Michael Schumouser) It is very easy to implement and scrutineering
takes a few seconds.

	Regards,

	Duncan
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