A.N.T.Z.

1.1 Introduction Cooperate to dominate, is the philosophy behind the upcoming field of Swarm Robotics. Swarm intelligence - the mother field - is known to have useful applications in various fields from medicine and cancer treatment to algorithm design. Swarm intelligence (SI) is a type of artificial intelligence introduced on the collective behavior of decentralized, self organized systems. A.N.T.Z. introduces you to this highly exciting field which originated from the colony behaviour of ants. A.N.T.Z. challenges you to design "ants" which will search for sugar cubes and store them safely at their own little shelters. We have modelled the sugar cubes as blocks of fixed, given dimensions and left the job of modelling the ants at your disposal. Do you have the divine touch? 1.2 Problem Statement Build two autonomous machines cooperate and collaborate to transport blocks placed randomly on a grid, to the required locations.

Arena
2.1 Launching Zone 1. The arena shall comprise of an 8 x 8 square grid of white lines each of thickness 30 mm on a black surface. The lines will be equally spaced. Each cell of the grid will be a square with inner dimensions 220 mm x 220 mm. (See Fig. 1). The total grid size is 2300 mm x 2300 mm. 2. The arena is divided into 4 zones:-

A.N.T.Z.
a. Central Zone (Coloured Black in Fig. 2): It is a 6 x 6 square grid in the center of the 2. The is divided zones:- in this zone. arena. 4 arena "Blocks" will be into kept4randomly b. "One Zone (Coloured blue in Fig. Bot" Central Zone (Coloured Black in 2): Fig.It is the 1 unit square wide perimeter of the Central Zone. Ita also includes Squares. 2): It is 6x6 square the gridDeposition in the center of the arena. 4 "Blocks" will be c. Start Squares (Coloured Green in Fig. 2): These are the 2 squares in the Central Zone kept randomly in this zone. each measuring 200 mm x 200 mm. The bots initiate their run from these squares. Only onemachine from each Start "Onemay Bot"start Zone (Coloured blueSquare. in Fig. 2): It is the 1 unit square wide d. Deposition Squares (Coloured Fig. 2): There are 4 deposition squares on the perimeter of the Central Yellow Zone. Itin also arena each measuring 200 mm x 200 mm. These are the locations where the blocks lying includes the Deposition Squares. in the Central Zone must be deposited. . Start Squares (Coloured Green in Fig. 2. Note that the colours Green, inin Fig. 2 are only to distinguish different parts of the 2): These areBlue, the 2Yellow squares the arena for the contestants. The actual arena will look like Fig. 1, that is, the surface of the arena Central Zone each measuring 200 mm will consist of white line on black surface. x 200 mm. The bots initiate their run from these squares. Only one 3. A "Block" is a 80 mm x 80 mm x 80 mm cube. 4 such blocks will be placed randomly in the machine may start from each Start Central Zone. Each block will be placed such that its centre coincides with the centre point of a Square. grid intersection as closely as possible. The color of the box will be white. The block is made of non-magentic and weighs 45 gms. The pictures of the block are given below material Deposition Squares (Coloured Yellow in Fig. 2): There are 4 deposition 4. The dimensions of the arena and blocks shall be accurate to within 5% or 20 mm, whichever is squares on the arena each measuring less. Assembly joints on the arena floor shall not involve steps greater than 0.5 mm. 200 mm x 200 mm. These are the locations where the blocks lying in the Central Zone must be deposited. 3. Note that the colours Green, Blue, Yellow in Fig. 2 are only to distinguish different parts of the arena for the contestants. The actual arena will look like surface Figure 1 Fig. 1, that is, the Figure 2of the arena will consist of white line on black surface. 4. A "Block" is a 80 mm x 80 mm x 80 mm cube. 4 such blocks will be placed randomly in the Central Zone. Each block will be placed such that its centre coincides with the centre point of a Picture 1 Picture 2 The grid intersection as closely as possible. color of the box will be white. The block is made of non- magentic material and weighs 45 gms. The pictures of the block are given below 5. The dimensions of the arena and blocks

Figure 3

Picture 3

A.N.T.Z.
Machine Specifications
3.1 Dimensions and Fabrication 1. Each machine must fit within a square of dimensions 200mm x 200mm. No part of the machine should be outside the starting zone at the beginning of the race. There are no height constraints. 2. Each machine must be stable and should be able to stand on its own at the beginning of the race when put in the start zone. Machines not fulfilling this criterion will be disqualified. 3. During the run, the machine can expand itself provided it does not damage the arena in anyway. However, it is not allowed to leave anything behind or make any marks while traversing the grid. No machine can separate or split into two or more units. All machines found damaging the arena will be immediately disqualified. The final decision is at the discretion of the judges. 4. Each machine brought in by the team must be clearly labelled with the team name and with 'A' & 'B' for the two machines. The organizers must be able to clearly distinguish from one another the machines brought in by a team. 5. The methods of collection and delivery of the blocks are at the discretion of the builder. But use of ready made mechanical kits is not allowed . 6. The teams are allowed to use ready made wireless modules/ ready made micro controller boards/ready made sensor kits. 3.2 Power Supply and Propulsion 1. The machines have to use an on-board power supply. No external power supply will be allowed. 2. Each team shall prepare its own power supply for all its machines. 3. The potential difference between any two points on any of the machines must not exceed 24 V DC. 4. The method of propulsion is at the discretion of the builder, provided that the power source is nonpolluting. 5. In case the machine is using a non-electric power supply, kindly get it approved from the organizers beforehand via email. Organizers are not responsible for inconvenience if approval is not sought.

A.N.T.Z.
3.3 Controls The machines must be completely autonomous. They should not receive any external manual help during the course of the run. They are however encouraged to communicate wirelessly with the other machine in the arena for cooperative benefits. But none of the machines must receive any signal from outside the arena.

Rules
4.1 Game Rules 1. Maximum time given for completing the task is 5 minutes. 2. The robots shall be placed completely within the Start Areas. The starting procedure of the robot should be simple and should not involve giving the machine any manual force or impulse in any direction. After the start signal from the judges, the 'A' machine shall be started by pressing a "start" button once by a member from the team. Machine 'A' will then instruct the other machine to start. 3. The one bot zone permits at most one machine inside it at a time. A machine which is partially/completely over the one bot zone as defined in arena specifications rule (2.b) , is said to be in the one bot zone. 4. Each Machine is supposed to indicate with a red LED, clearly visible to the judges, only the presence of the other machine in the one bot zone. This LED should be off at all other times. Any team unable to display this accurately, will incur a penalty of 10 points each time they fail to do it. No machine can enter the one bot zone without a block. 5. There are deposition areas inside the one bot zone. The boxes have to be deposited in the deposition areas by a machine completely in the one bot zone. One deposition square can hold a maximum of only one box. More than one boxes deposited in the deposition area will not earn multiple points. 6. The machines have to enter the one bot zone alternately. 7. The first block may be deposited either by machine 'A' or machine 'B'.

A.N.T.Z.
8. During the run if any block gets displaced from its original location and lies somewhere else in the central zone, it will be picked up and put back to any other random grid point. 9. During a restart, both machines will have to be restarted by putting them back on the respective start zone squares. For a restart, the machine will have to be in Power Off mode. And turned on again at the start square on the signal of the judges. In a restart, the timer will not be set back to zero. 10. During restarts, a contestant may not feed information about the grid to the machine. However, contestants are allowed to: Adjust sensors (Gain, Position etc.), Change speed settings and Make repairs. However, a contestant may not alter a machine in a manner that alters its weight (e.g. removal of a bulky sensor array or switching to lighter batteries to get better speed). The judges shall arbitrate. The points earned by the team till that time will be retained. 11. Each team is allowed a maximum of 5 restarts. All restarts require the approval of the presiding Judges before the machine(s) can be removed from the arena. Any boxes the machine(s) maybe handling will be kept back at random position on the grid. The machine will be kept back on the start zone at their respective initial positions. The team will be disqualified if the robots were handled within the arena without approval. 12. At the finish of the run, Boxes still on the bots or in the One Bot Zone, but not on the Deposition Squares will not be considered for scoring. 13. Team members will not be allowed to handle the boxes. Only officials are allowed to handle the boxes in any situation (e.g. to clear the delivery area, etc.) 14. Participants are not allowed to keep anything inside the arena other than the 2 machines. 15. The contest judges may stop any robot at any time if they feel that it is performing, or is about to perform, any action that is dangerous or hazardous to people or equipment. No robot is allowed to use any flammable, combustible, explosive or potentially dangerous processes. 4.1 Penalties 1. If 2 machines are found to be in the one bot zone or deposition area at the same time, both of them will be picked up and put back to the starting zone while removing any boxes that they may have been carrying. These boxes, if any, will be put in their original position on the grid lines. A penalty of 20 points is awarded. This will constitute a restart.

A.N.T.Z.
2. If a machine is found to enter the one bot zone without a box, it will be picked up and put back to the starting zone by the organizers. A penalty of 20 points is awarded. This will constitute a restart. The team may choose to restart both machines. 3. If a machine is found to enter the one bot zone out of turn , then it will be picked up and put back to the starting zone. A penalty of 20 points will be awarded. This will constitute a restart. The team may choose to restart both machines. 4. If machine 'B' does not start within 5 seconds of the start of machine 'A', then machine 'A' will be picked up and put back to the starting zone. This will constitute a restart. 5. For violating any of these clauses, a penalty of 10 points will be awarded, and the teams must restart: A block can be touched by only 1 machine at a time, not by 2 machines or another block. If found doing so, the block(s) will be kept back on the arena at some random location. A machine may not touch more than one block at a time. If found doing so, the blocks that the erring machine was carrying will be kept back on the central zone at its original location. The machines may not touch each other. If found doing so, the block(s) that the erring machines may be carrying will be kept back on the central zone at its original location. both machines will be restarted. 4.3 Scoring 1. The competition time for each team starts from the moment the judges give the signal to start. 2. A run is considered finished when either all deposition squares have a block on them or the total time for the run reaches 5 minutes or a situation arises when no further points can be gained by the team. 3. A block is successfully deposited if it is entirely inside the deposition zone completely resting on the floor of the deposition area without being in touch with any machine or any other block. A successfully deposited block earns 50 points. The corresponding deposition area floor must not be in touch with any other block. 4. A team's score will be equal to: (300 - T) + (50 * N) - P Where, T is the total time taken to complete the entire task in seconds or T equals 300 if the team is unable to complete the entire task. N is the number of blocks successfully deposited in a deposition square. P is equal to the penalties awarded.

A.N.T.Z.
4.4 General rules 1. Laptops/personal computers are not allowed near the arena. Other WiFi, Bluetooth, etc devices must be switched off. The organisers hold the right to check for these devices and their usage. 2. Only one pair of robot handlers per entry is allowed. The robot handlers from a previous entry are not allowed to handle another entry's robots. 3. The time measured by the organizers will be final and will be used for scoring the teams. Time measured by any contestant by any other means is not acceptable for scoring. 4. In case of any disputes / discrepancies, the organizers' decision will be final and binding. 5. 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 teams.

4.5 Accommodation

1. Due to the limited accommodation facilities, teams will be short listed for accommodation based on the following abstract provided by the team. Please note that even if your abstract does not get short listed, you are still eligible to participate in the competition. 2. All participants who want accommodation at IIT Bombay during Techfest should fill the abstract form and rename the .doc file as "<Team_no>.doc" and email the form to antz[at]techfest[dot]org. The abstract should reach us latest by 2359 hrs on 15th December 2009. No more requests for accommodation will be entertained thereafter.

A.N.T.Z
Judging Criteria
5.1 Judging Criterion A team's score will be equal to: (300 - T) + (50 * N) - P. As given in Rule 4.3.4 A teams' score calculated from the above formula will be considered for final judging. In case of a tie, teams will be judged based on the time taken for the first successful deposition of a block. 5.2 Certificate Policy Certificate of Excellence will be awarded to all winners. Certificate of Participation will be awarded to teams whose final score is more than or equal to 50. 5.3 Team Specifications A team must consist of (a maximum of) 4 participants. Students from different educational institutes can form a team. 5.4 Eligibility: All students with a valid identity card of their respective educational institutes are eligible to participate in A.N.T.Z. at Techfest 2010.