Robotix (competition)

Robotix is an annual robotics and programming event, organised by the Technology Robotics Society of the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. Robotix is organised during Kshitij, the annual techno-management festival of the institute. Participation is open to any college student. The event gives the contestants an opportunity to showcase their talent in the fields of mechanical robotics, autonomous robotics and programming.

History

Robotix started off in the year 2001, under IDEON, the old name of Kshitj. It was the brainchild of Kunal Sinha, Saurabh Prasad and Varun Rai (all batch of 2002, IIT Kharagpur). It started as an in-house event for the students of IIT Kharagpur. 8 teams turned up in the inaugural year. IDEON became Kshitij in 2003. Currently, Robotix is organised under the umbrella of Kshitij. The participation has increased over the years, with 220 teams turning up for Robotix 2006, 546 teams turning up for Robotix 2007, and over a 1000 teams for Robotix 2008.

The Event

The events pits the robots of the participants against each other in an arena. Events are either of solo-run type or one-on-one type. In a solo-run event, the bot is given free run in the arena, and then evaluated on various marking criteria like time taken, task completed and efficiency etc.

In a one-on-one event (usually employed in knockout rounds), two or more teams fight against each other. There is a direct competition between the two teams and only team makes through.

Events during Robotix are conducted under three categories — mechanical, autonomous and programming.

Manual events

In a manual event, the robot is manually controlled by the participant with the help of a remote control. The remote system may be either wired or unwired. The robot then has to perform the specified task. The event maybe be held as a solo run type or a one-on-one type.

Autonomous events

In autonomous events, robots are independent and participants are not allowed to control them in any way during their run. These robots usually use programmed micro controllers that lends the robots its decision making powers. Here too, the event maybe solo-run or one-on-one type.

Programming events

Participants are required to write program codes in these events in order to solve the problem that has been posed. Online participation is allowed in programming events.

Robotix 2008

Robotix 2008 was held from 31st January to 3rd February 2008.The following events were held in Robotix 2008; which span the three fields of robotics: programming, autonomous and mechanical.

Autonomous Events

;I.M.A.G.E. (Image Mapping Autonomous Generic Explorer):In this event participants are required to build a computer controlled semi-autonomous robot which should be able to navigate the arena avoiding the obstacles and pass through various checkpoints before finally reaching the end point.

;Robo-Relay:In Robo-Relay participants are expected to build two fully autonomous robots which are capable of traversing an irregular track with a baton. The bots should be synchronized so as to run one after another, after the passing of a baton supplied. The first bot will traverse a part of the arena with the baton, stop at a particular point, and pass the baton to its counterpart. Only then the second bot moves ahead to complete the remaining part of the arena.

Programming - Online Events

;Mission Mars:This is the fourth year since Mission Mars was started. Participants are required to code robot ants which can coordinate among themselves during their mission and to help them probe as much area of the planet as possible in a time constraint. Multiple instances of the same program shall be run at the same time, and they should be able to communicate with each other to prevent any collision, which will render both the robots extinct. The competition gives its participants the liberty to code in either C or C++ or Java.

Mechanical Events

;Terra-Ranger:Terra-Ranger requires participants to build a mechanically controlled robot capable of traveling on varied surfaces. The arena will require the bot to move around different land forms and terrains, including water surfaces. The bot will also have to cross a pit by placing a bridge over it. Hence it should have a mechanism capable of carrying and placing the bridge.

;Stakistics:The task of the robot(s) to be build by the participants is to assemble blocks of various pre-specified shapes and dimensions to arrange them to form a given spatial structure.The robot should have the required mechanism to pick up and hold the blocks and place them at the appropriate positions.

Robotix 2007

Robotix 2007 was held from 1st to 4th February 2007. The following six events were held in Robotix 2007; two each from the three fields of robotics: programming, autonomous and mechanical.

Autonomous Events

;Rail Track Inspector:In Rail Track Inspector, the participants were required to build a robot that could follow two parallel white lines, 5 cm apart, on a black background and report errors, if any, as and when they occurred. The errors were of two types::*The distance between the white lines differed from their specified :gap.
*One of the white lines became discontinuous.:The robot was required to identify both the errors separately.

;Grid Navigator:Grid Navigator, required participants to build autonomous robots that could move in a 8x8 square maze and detect the position of obstacles placed in the maze without dislocating it. The maze was in the form of a two dimensional numbered grid. Squares were marked with white lines on a black background. The robot had to start from one end of the maze and reach the diagonally opposite end after identifying all the obstacles. The robot was free to roam in the grid in any given way.

Programming - Online Events

;Mission Mars:Mission Mars required the participants to write codes to control robot ants on a simulated Martian surface, such that it could cover the maximum area in a given time. Multiple instances of the same program were run at the same time, each being able to communicate with the other to prevent any collision, which rendered both the robots extinct. The competition gave its participants the liberty to code in either C or C++ or Java.

;Jigsaw:In Jigsaw, the participants were required to write a code that could solve a jumbled up picture. The picture was broken up into fragments and jumbled up using a program itself. As per the rules mentioned on the official website, the top left corner of the jumbled picture was the same as the original picture. Here, the participants were allowed to code either in C or C++.

Mechanical Events

;Load runner:Load runner required participants to build a manually controlled robot that had a hooking mechanism so that it could hook up to freights and link them together to form a train. It then had to form the engine of the same train and pull it to its destination. Use of magnetic material to attach to the freights was prohibited.

;Step climber:In this event, participants were required to build a manually controlled robot that could climb up and down a flight of stairs. The height of the steps varied up and down the stairs.

Robotix 2006

Robotix 2006 was held from 2nd to 5th February 2006. The following five events were held in Robotix 2006; which spaned the three fields of robotics: programming, autonomous and mechanical.

Autonomous Events

;Distance Tracker : In this event participant had to build a fully autonomous machine that would not only know exactly the distance that it has traversed, but would also flash it in digital format; paths ranged from a simple circle to an arbitrary route.

;Match Maker :This event required participants to prepare a computer controlled robot that would move the white blocks placed in the arena to regions of their corresponding shape.

Programming - Online Events

;Mission Mars: In this online programming event participants had to code their robot ants to cover as much area of the Martian surface, given time is a constraint.

Mechanical Events

;Top-sy Turvy:Top-sy Turvy required participants to make bots which could pick the balls kept at different altitudes and on different surfaces and throw them in a goal-post within a stipulated amount of time.

;Water Polo :This event was a race on water surface. The machine made by the participants had to put five balls inside a ceratin goalpost (net) in the least time possible.

ee also

External links

* [http://robotix.in Official Page of .:ROBOTIX:.]
* [http://www.iitkgp.ac.in Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur]
* [http://ktj.in Kshitij Website]