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Fabbed robots to the rescue!

Edwin Dertien is a media artist, scientist and teacher at Twente University, Enschede, Netherlands.
He explores the boundaries of science, art and technology. At Techfest Edwin presents 'Fabbed robots to the rescue'
These walking robots are incubated in a Fablab where they hatch under the lasercutter. A swarm of four legged critters have been made, trying to make their way into the world. Also other shapes are evolving out of flat acrylic sheets; quadrupeds, hexapods, even tracked and wheeled vehicles. This evolution has creationist's aspects, since the evolution is helped by an overall design challenge: build the best robot out of (max) 1A4 of sheet material. The serious idea behind these swarms are building dirt-cheap expendable robot swarms for search-and-rescue operations.

The tiny battery powered robots will be available for demonstration & play, Also some DIY kit versions of the robots will be brought. Edwin Dertien will discuss the way these robots have been designed, the way the Fablab plays a roll in this and how the future of robot fabrication and robot research is affected by these ideas. Also a setup for a local (or global) A4-design challenge....

Get more information: http://www.edwindertien.nl/

GOGBOT


The GOGBOT festival is an annual festival, organized by PLANETART. The festival deals with subjects on the area of multimedia, art, music and technology. GOGBOT is a free entrance festival and wants to take art of international quality out of the museums and make it accessible for a broad audience, by presenting it in public space. Also part of the yearly program are lectures, a film program and the Youngblood award. Here the work of graduates of Dutch art academies are presented. The festival takes place and takes place in Enschede, near the German border in the Netherlands, on a yearly base and counts around 20,000 visitors.

To visit GOGBOT website, please click here

For further queries contact:
Vaibhav Pednekar
Manager, Events
pednekar.vaibhav@techfest.org
Ph. +91 97696 89718 		Revanth Raju
Manager, Events
revanth@techfest.org
Ph. +91 98191 92942

Arena

The track will be an all terrain track with sharp turns and big jumps. In this edition of Full Throttle both speed and control will be important. The car should be able to cross bumps, jumps and other obstacles on the track and outdo the opponents' car while maintaining its stability and not compromising on its pace.
The track will be an off road track. Most parts of the track will be made up of mud, however at a few places wood and jute mat can be used.

The exact track will be revealed at a later date.

The obstacles in the track are as follows:
  1. One Big bump of 1.5 feet height and width 3 feet.
  2. Small bumps of 3 inch diameter and of semi-circular shape.
  3. Small Jump of height 6 inch and length 2.5 feet
  4. Big Jump of height 1 feet and length 4 feet.
  5. Bumps in the form of inverted baskets of diameter 16 inch and maximum height of 3 inch.
  6. Trees of width 1-2 feet may be present obstructing the vision of driver.
  7. The width of the track will be around 7 feet for most of the part.
  8. A control stand will be provided along the track for the driver to position himself to control his vehicle during the run. The height of the stand will be around 8 feet. The controlling of machine has to be done from this site only.
  9. Despite organizers efforts to keep the track quality intact, the track is subjected to undergo wear and tear as machines run over it. The machine is expected to be able to perform on such a weakened track.
  10. Multiple machines will race on a single lane track at a time.
  11. A lap of the track is defined to be completed when the machine comes back to the start-finish line.
    12. Inverted basket Big Bump
    Big Ramp Small Bump
    Small Ramp

Machine Specifications

  1. Machine should fit in a box of dimensions 800 mm x 600 mm x 600 mm (l x b x h) at any moment of time during the race. The external device which is used to control the machine is not included in the size constraint.
  2. The machine should be controlled by a wireless remote control mechanism throughout the race.
  3. The machine must not be made from Lego parts, or any ready-made assembly kits other than the parts mentioned below. Readily available chassis layouts are not allowed. Any machine found having a ready-made chassis will be disqualified.
  4. The machine may be roughly classified into structural and functional parts:
    Functional parts - Gears, differential gear, engine, springs, shock absorbers, servo motors (non-propulsion purposes only), batteries, wheels, wheel hub are allowed to be used as available in the market.
    Structural parts - Chassis, steering mechanism, shock towers and suspension (excluding upper suspension arm, suspension spring and shock absorbers) have to be built by the participants themselves.
    Judging for the same will be strict and the participant will be immediately disqualified if any of the above structural components are found to be ready-made.

  5. The tires used must have a minimum diameter of 3 inches. You are advised to use tyres of good width for better performance on dirt tracks.
    6. Figure 1
  6. Brake Mechanism: It is compulsory to incorporate braking mechanism in the car. Participants have to fabricate the brake pad as a part of the braking mechanism. Any other part used in braking mechanism (including the brake disk) can be ready-made.
    7. Figure 2 Figure 3
  7. Wheel Hub: Any part rigidly attached to the wheel hub will be considered as a part of it and hence can be ready-made. An example here is that of the ball stud.
    Figure 4
  8. Steering Mechanism: Any part which is connected to steering rod rigidly i.e. has no degrees of freedom with respect to steering rod (example: heim joint) will be considered as part of steering rod and thus has to be fabricated by participants.
    Figure 5 Figure 6
  9. Suspension mechanism: Any part rigidly connected to suspension arms or one with no degrees of freedom with respect to suspension arm will be considered as its part and has to be fabricated by the participants, except the upper suspension arm. For example both the heim joint for the upper suspension arm and the stud rigidly connected to the wheel hub can be bought from the market.
    10. Figure 7 Figure 8


  10. If there are parts used in the concerned joint which are neither rigidly connected with suspension or the hub, steering system or hub; they can be used ready-made from the market.
  11. The above pictures are just sample pictures for you to understand the rules easily.


Propulsion & Steering

  1. The machine must use only mechanical power generated by an internal combustion (IC) engine for propulsion. Only one IC engine should be used in the machine. Use of any other sources such as chemicals, compressed gas, rockets etc. is not allowed.
  2. Any machine which uses DC Motors for propulsion will be disqualified. However DC motors and servos can be used for steering mechanisms or any other control mechanisms apart from propulsion.
  3. The machine must have an on-board power supply to run any mechanism requiring electric power.
  4. The maximum allowed capacity of IC engine to be used is 4.6 cc (i.e. Participants can also use 2.5 cc, 3 cc, 3.5 cc or any other IC engine lower in capacity).
  5. The electric voltage anywhere in the machine should not exceed 12V at any point of time.
  6. There shall be a countdown preceding the start of the race. No participant is allowed to touch the machine during the countdown period.
  7. Providing a clutch mechanism between the engine and the wheel would prove useful, as it would prevent the engine from dying out at any stage of the race.
  8. Participants are advised to use a proper cooling mechanism to prevent overheating of the engine
  9. Participants are advised to use sway bars for better control and stability.
  10. The participants are advised to use proper air filters as dirt might cause serious problems to the engine.
  11. Readymade wheels are allowed.
  12. The machine will be inspected and if found to be dangerous, the team will be disqualified. This decision rests solely with the judges and the organizers.


Rules

Game Rules

  1. There will be a qualifying session with each team getting 2 laps out of which the faster lap will be considered. Note that these laps will have to be taken successively.
  2. The top teams from the qualifying rounds will make it to the second round.
  3. After the qualifying round there will be races with multiple cars racing at a time. So the participants must use remote with frequency of band spectrum 2.4 GHz.
  4. The track will have check points at regular intervals. If a machine tumbles, or halts, or goes off the arena at any point on the track, one of the team members is allowed to lift it up and place it at the nearest checkpoint behind that point. The time shall still be running in the meantime.
  5. Team members are not permitted to touch either their machines or those of their opponents once the race begins (unless there is need to lift the machine as stated in fifth point). The penalty for doing so is disqualification.
  6. In the qualification round there will be maximum two team members allowed from a team in the racing arena while in the final round only one of the team member will be in the racing arena except the controller on the stand.
  7. The machines are not allowed to leave any loose parts on any part of the arena. Any machine disintegrating during the race will be disqualified.
  8. If any of the machines starts off before the flag is waved, the counter would be restarted and the machines will get a second chance. However, if any machine starts off before the waving of flag (or countdown) for a second time, it will be disqualified. No re-match will be held for the second time.
  9. Teams are not allowed to purposefully damage the machine of the opponent's team. If found doing so on track (while racing), the concerned team will be disqualified. Execution of last three rules will be subjective and relies completely on judges' discretion.

Control Rules

  1. Participants are required to use a remote control of frequency of band spectrum 2.4 GHz.
  2. The above rule is to ensure that there is no frequency clash during the competition and participants are not allowed to use any other remotes with frequency other than 2.4 GHz.

General Rules

  1. The teams may obtain a time slot for practice before first round of the game. The number of practice slots will be limited and the slots will be given on a first come first served basis. The teams will get to use the track only during the time of their practice slot. Any requests for using the track at any other time will not be entertained.
  2. Any team that is not ready at the time specified will be eliminated from the competition automatically.
  3. The teams must adhere to the spirit of healthy competition. The teams must not damage the opponent's machine in any way. Judges reserve the right to disqualify any team indulged in misbehaviour.
  4. The name of your machine should be prominently displayed on the machine.
  5. Judges decision shall be treated as final and binding on all.
  6. The organizers reserve the rights to change any or all of the above rules as they deem fit. Change in rules, if any will be highlighted on the website and notified to the registered participants.

Abstract Submission

Participants have to submit a written abstract of the working model before the competition. This abstract and the video will be used to shortlist teams for the competition. Only teams which send the abstract will be eligible to participate in Full Throttle: Nitrox at Techfest 2012. Organisers can declare a team ineligible to participate in Full Throttle: Nitrox based on the abstract submitted. Such teams would be notified beforehand. For teams requiring accommodation, the last date for submitting the abstracts is 1st December, 2011. For teams not requiring accommodation, the last date of submitting the abstracts is 10th December, 2011. So, teams are advised to register before 1st December, 2011..

Click here to download the abstract format.

The written abstract should be prepared on the following lines:
  1. The steering mechanism, suspension mechanism, braking mechanism and the chassis layout should be explained in detail, along with proper diagrams. These have to be fabricated by participants themselves (excluding shock absorbers and springs in suspension mechanism). Readymade kits are not allowed. Picture(s) showing all the three should be attached.
  2. Photographs of empty chassis have to be attached. The chassis has to be built by the participants themselves. If participants have already proceeded building their chassis, they are requested to take photographs of their machine in current state. These photographs are required for verifying that the machine has been indigenously built.
  3. Description of any unique/ advantageous mechanism used.
  4. The specifications of ALL the components used, including engine, suspension springs, remote controller etc. have to be mentioned.
  5. This abstract can be attached as a PDF file to the video and a CD can be prepared; or the abstract can be submitted on paper. The CD and the papers have to be couriered in a single envelope to the postal address of Techfest:
    Techfest Office
    Students' Gymkhana
    IIT Bombay, Powai
    Mumbai - 400076.
  6. You can email the portfolio minus the video, and send the video by a CD. This will make sure at least the abstract part of your portfolio reaches us before the deadline.
  7. An email will be sent to the team leader confirming the reception of the entry.
  8. Each team is allowed to make one submission only. In case of multiple submissions, the last submission before the deadline will only be used for judging purposes.
  9. Techfest 2012 is not responsible for any postal/courier delays, so participants are encouraged to send their entries well in advance to ensure receipt before the last date.

Video Submission

The video should be an unedited clip, at least 1 minute long, showing the machine running at least 10-15 meters and performing a U turn on an off road dirt area.
The clip should be preferably in AVI format. If any other unusual format is used, please attach appropriate video plug-ins to ensure that the organizers can run the video properly.
It is not necessary to explain the mechanisms in video.The last date of submitting the video is 10th December, 2011.
Note: All the portfolios will be used strictly for the elimination purposes. The elimination procedure will be objective and the evaluation of every participant will be published on the website. Techfest takes the responsibility that no information will be made available to any third party. The portfolio of your machine will be helpful everywhere in future as an evidence of your hard-work, along with determining your position for the competition. So please pay adequate attention to it.
The portfolio is meant to assess the efforts put in by participants. Thus even if you are not able to meet the requirements asked in the portfolio, please send us the portfolios based on the current state of your machine before the deadline. That means even if your machine is incomplete, please send the portfolios anyway, instead of not sending them or requesting permissions for sending them late.

Judging

Judging Criterion

In the qualification round on the basis of individual best times for completing one lap, top teams will be selected who will get into the final round. In the finals multiple teams will race together to triumph over the others.

Certificate Policy

Certificate of Excellence will be awarded to top 3 winners.
Certificates of Participation will be given to all the teams that will complete at least one checkpoint in the qualification round, but not to the teams which get disqualified due to disobeying any of the competition rules.

Team Specifications

A team may consist of a maximum of 5 participants. Students from different educational institutes can form a team.

Eligibility

All students with a valid identity card of their respective educational institutes are eligible to participate in Techfest 2011-12.