RE: Rule comparison

[Duncan Louttit <duncan@swallow.co.uk>]

Hi Everyone,

         For what it's worth, I tried using an optical mouse on Melamine at 
a hotel and got as far as thinking that the mouse was broken! It had no 
response at all. I wouldn't recommend anyone to try one for a micormouse as 
on my computer the optical mouse sometimes leaps half a screen to one side.

         Regards,

         Duncan

At 12:39 27/08/04, you wrote:
>Recognizing that the rules in question are the UK rules and that Yanks 
>should have no vote, I humbly offer my comments.
>
>I don't think the surface should be metal or glass.  I think wood 
>specification is designed to be a little vague so that people build mice 
>that are adaptive to a range of conditions.  Personally I spend a great 
>deal to time trying to make my mice adaptive to the coefficient of 
>friction d'jour.  I would certainly not be against MDF, in fact my Korean 
>maze is probably made from a material much like that.  I think the paint 
>often gives it some sort of texture which I tend to think is good.
>
>Does anyone know if optical computer mice work well on MDF?
>
>
>At 11:02 AM 8/27/04 +0100, you wrote:
>>Hi Everyone,
>>
>>         No comments at all about rule 1 so far, hardly surprising. Rule 
>> 2 is slightly more controversial. The current wording is:
>>
>>"2. The side of the micromouse maze walls shall be white, and the top of 
>>the walls shall be red. The floor of the micromouse maze shall be made of 
>>wood and finished with a non-gloss black paint. The coating on the top 
>>and side of the wall shall be selected to reflect infra-red light and the 
>>coating on the floor shall absorb it."
>>
>>         I am concerned about the words "made of wood". Not all mazes are 
>> currently made of wood. It is hard to see how a mouse could require some 
>> property of wood that MDF, for example, doesn't have, but it may be 
>> possible. I have in mind something like the use of an optical computer 
>> mouse as odometry sensor. These work well on slightly textured surfaces 
>> (like wood) but fail spectacularly on entirely fatureless surfaces like 
>> a perfectly painted metal sheet. I would like this part of the maze 
>> specification removed to allow the maze to be made of any material.
>>
>>         Regards,
>>
>>         Duncan
>>
>>
>>