DRC Rules

 

Team Eligibility

  • Competitors must be current students at any Australian or New Zealand University/TAFE or equivalent.
  • Maximum of 6 official members per team. We recommend having at least 4 per team: 2 software programmers; 1 in charge of electrical and 1 for mechanical requirements for each team.
  • Participating institutions must have no more than three teams competing.
  • This competition is designed for undergraduate students, therefore a maximum of 1 postgraduate student is allowed per team.
  • Each university will be required to have at least one staff supervisor contact us by June 9th for a progress update to ensure that the team(s) will meet the requirements and rules of the challenge and be ready by the final.
    • This will include each team to submit a short video diary/showcase/logbook of their robot so far.

The Robot

  • The droid must use computer vision to sense the track, obstacles and other droids.
  • The total budget of the final product must be no more than $1500 AUD. As all components will be at the expense of the teams, a budget limit is imposed to ensure a level playing field.
  • Droids must have a method to wirelessly start and stop, and stop automatically within 5 metres of finishing the race.
  • Each robot will be scrutineered on the day of the competition and if it does not meet the specifications it will not be allowed to compete.

Specifications:

  • Each droid must have an outer shell that covers at least (80%) of the droid, visible from all directions, and must be red. .
  • Droids must not have blue or yellow components on the back or sides of the chassis.
  • Droids must not be designed to intentionally interfere with and/or damage other robots
  • Width: Less than 400mm
  • Height: Less than 350mm
  • Length: Less than 800mm
  • Processing: Any, off board is also OK
  • Software: Any software may be used.
  • Power: Any (avoid large capacitors, see FAQ)
  • Sensing: On-board sensors only, no GPS, no remote control, no Lidar technology. The main guidance system must be computer vision based.  There is an exemption for on-board sensors for detecting obstacles. Provided they are not banned as per the list above.

The Track

  • The droids will be racing indoors
  • Coloured tape (blue and yellow) will indicate the left and right boundaries of the track.
  • Droids must not drive over the blue or yellow boundary lines. Droids that do will be handicapped by a time penalty.
  • The finish line will be indicated by a solid green line.
  • The width of the track will range between 1 and 2 meters.
  • The track will have obstacles that the droids must aim to avoid. If a collision occurs the team will incur a time penalty
  • Be prepared. As the track is now indoors and the biggest challenge has been removed (the lighting changes and sun glare) be ready for some different obstacles and challenges to previous years.  

Obstacles

  • 400mm x 400mm and 500mm tall
  • Purple
  • Obstacle placement may vary from round to round, becoming increasingly challenging in later rounds.
  • Up to 1 (one) obstacle for thin parts of the course (1m wide).
  • Up to 2 (two) obstacles for wide parts of the course (2m wide).
  • There will always be a clear space of at least 600mm for the droid.
  • Track and obstacles will be designed so an Ackermann steering based droid will be able to navigate (i.e. corners won’t be too sharp)

Winners

  • The winning droid of the Droid Racing Competition will be the droid that completes the lap in the shortest possible time.
  • In the case of no clear winner, or neither droid completing the lap, third-party adjudicators will determine the outcome.
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