In my four years of engineering, the only thing that I really enjoyed was participating in LEVEL-I robotics competitions at ‘TECH-FESTS’ in various engineering colleges all over Mumbai. Although these were “national level events”, most of the teams that took part were from Mumbai’s colleges itself. What was so interesting about this robotics competition was the fact that it was the only means by which I could learn new stuff, get new ideas about engineering field, gain some practical knowledge and catch up with old friends who often come to such events. These events always had big prize money and winner’s certificates (extra curricular activities make an engineer’s profile stronger) to lure me to enter the competition and it also allowed me to participate in ‘bird-watching activity’, something that I could not pursue in my penitentiary.
The unfortunate few who are into engineering know what these events are like. For those who are not, here goes:-
A ROBOT in level-I competition is a 4-wheel car which operates on 12-30V DC power supply. It generally consists of 4 motors (one for each wheel) whose one end is connected to a remote-control via wires (yes, very lucid explanation, isn’t it) and the other to the power source. In short, it is an unmanned vehicle also known as a toy-car.
A TEAM generally consists of 4 individuals who share a common goal (of winning) and are full of energy & enthusiasm until they get knocked out of the competition & then start blaming each other for the loss till they come to know about the next event. The 4 man team should split the work in such a way that on the day of the event, two members repair the car, one keeps a tab on the competition and the fourth one is busy cracking silly jokes & getting nostalgic with his old friends (hey! Don’t look at me...i am the one doing the “repair” work...get it...”REPAIR” work). During the event, one guy drives the robot (via remote), one guy holds the wire so that the car does not get tangled in it, one guy keeps an eye on the opposition for possible violation of rules & the 4th one is still cracking jokes.
An EVENT in level-I consists of a racing track which is mostly an obstacle course. The car has to complete the course in some stipulated time period. Rules and regulations are almost similar everywhere. The event goes on for 2 days, day 1 for eliminations which are time-trialed & day 2 for pre-quarters, quarters, semis & final races which are one-on-one.
Now that everyone is acquainted with the term ‘robotics’, here are a few real life incidents which occurred during my team team’s tryst to win the coveted prize. TEAM PETEBOY’s CHRONICLES of CARnia at robotics competitions:-
1) Build an all aluminum robot-car which will have a unique steering mechanism. This makes the car so bulky it literally crawls on flat surface and does not climb an inclined surface with inclination angle greater than 5o . You end up spending 2000 bucks on car which will get you disqualified for not completing the course.
2) Ok. Now you know how other teams build cars using lightweight materials. So, you build a new robot-car out of plumbing accessories viz the tee-joints, the cylindrical pipes etc so that the motor is press-fitted in the pipe and wheels are mounted on the motor shaft using a super-glue.
When the car has to tackle an obstacle course which has angle-channels as speed-bumps, the car see-saws on it and you get disqualified for not completing the course on time.
3) When one of the motor burns out due to mysterious reasons, you cannot replace it because you have super-glued the wheel to it and applying excessive force on wheel to remove it means the wheel is going to break as crack developed in the hub just got wider. This means an automatic disqualification as the rules clearly state “robots with 3 wheels are not allowed.”
4) For the next event, you somehow find a spare wheel to mount on the spare motor. You struggle to press-fit the motor in the pipe and are disqualified for not reaching the event ‘on time’.
5) Still trying your luck with the same old car, you participate in another event and your hopes to win the event end when the press-fitted spare motor with spare wheel pops out when the event organizer says “GO!”
6) You build a third robot which is even lighter than the previous two, does not have any press-fits & wheels are screwed to the motor shaft. You clear the first round (whew!) and are the first team to participate on the 2nd day (pre-quarters). Once the head-to-head racing starts, you win after a tight finish but since your teammate who was holding the wire stepped on the racing track thereby damaging it (actually his stepping over caused the chalk marks to disappear), you are disqualified as the rules clearly say, “the participants should not damage the track surface. If caught, it will result in direct disqualification.”
7) This is the 7th event you are participating in. you have mastered the art of qualifying for the pre-quarters by continuously being the fastest car to complete the required course. Everything looks fine until the remote control connections come out & you cannot figure out which wire goes where at the heat of the moment...c’mon, it’s never happened before...I mean, with the wheel...you know what’s wrong atleast!!! Sheesh!!!
8) Repairing the remote has made robot go even faster for this event (no more leakage currents). On the way to the event, you hang the utility kit on the rear holder of your bike and zoom to the event. On reaching there, you find that the utility kit is on there...the only thing hanging on the handle is the HAND of the plastic bag...err...the handle must have given away. You loose the QF race because you cannot stop thinking of the utility bag. Screws, spare motors, wheels, power source, soldering iron...everything was there in it.
9) Another QF. The opposite team has two really hot chicks in it. The obstacle course has pin-balls around which the car is to be maneuvered so that none of them fall. Each pin-ball has 10 second penalty written on it. But your driver who goes by the name ‘D-FOOL’ is thinking about maneuvering other curves while he flirts with those two chicks and unknowingly holds the remote the other way round. FORWARD becomes reverse, REVERSE becomes forward, “1-2-3-GO!” and the pin-balls come tumbling after. Need I say more?
10) New event, another QF, same opponent. A close win & you are in semi-finals. Here’s a twist. The 2 hot chicks are able to convince the event-head that it was unfair of him to say “1-2-3 GO!” when they had practiced on “Ready, Steady, Go!” They demand a re-match; you cannot revolt because they are HOT! & you loose the race coz... “I think she FL****ED”... “THOSE B****ES”.
11) A semifinal where the task is to push all 10 balls in the net within 4 minutes. Your driver publicly declares that he can complete the task in not less than 90 seconds. 3 minutes and 57 seconds down & 7 balls to go....
12) This event is organized by a college where your best friend studies. What more, he even is a sub-sub-event-head and he promises a fair battle if at all you are pitted against a team representing his college. Come the semifinals and you are drawn against the home-team. Whole college is at the racing track. A tight race which we think we won but the main organizer turns out to be a nepotist. You turn to your best friend for justice & he stands by you & speaks out, “actually, I didn’t see what happened as I was waving at my girlfriend. Besides, I am just a volunteer; he is the event head...his decision, final decision.” The best friend is never to be seen again.
13) Big semi-final at a big event. Big prize money at stake. A course which comprises of a sand-pit followed by an iron-mesh bump. Every team has struggled to due lack of grip. Experience is the greatest teacher which means you are prepared for anything. Lack of grip was never a problem as you clean the wheels of our robot after every race. Knowing that your opponent has an underperforming car, you offer them the cleaning brush; that is sportsmanship, isn’t it? The race starts and what something which never happened till the SF happens for the first time. Your car suffers from lack of grip, your opponent, who could have struggled if his car’s wheels weren’t clean enough, sails to victory!!!
14) It’s the final. You haven’t put a foot wrong. You have been the fastest car on track till now. The other finalist looks tensed but you are not.
SWITCHES...checked!
ALIGNMENT...checked!
CONNECTIONS...checked!
MOTORS...running...checked!
DISTRACTIONS....checked em out yesterday...and its the FINALS...so please...
ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, GO!!!... “Oh! Superb start...the car tackles the speed bumps with effortless ease...cuts the apex of the corner...jumps up the ramp...and lands on all 4 wheels...the opponent is being left behind...the car comes out of sand pit and onto the mesh...no slip-ups...another jump...perfect landing...finish line just centimeters away...oh you can smell the victory atlast...the crowd cheers for you...
GODDAMNIT!!! It’s the WRECHED WHEEL AGAIN!!!!............................................................”
- peteboy