The Octagon Mission | Shaastra 2010

We have sent a mail to the team leaders of the selected teams with some clarifications and the latest updated problem statement which has been put up in the "Problem Statement" tab also. Any team which did not receive the mail write to us at robotics@shaastra.org with "Octagon Mission No mail" and your team name.

Final 38 teams which are going to fight the battle to complete the Octagon Mission have been selected.

Total Prize money of Rs. 45000 to be won!!

The story dates back to the post 9/11 period and still a lot of tension and terror threats exist to the civilian America. The terrorists have taken shelter in a house somewhere in Washington DC. The very unique feature about this house is its octagonal structure which makes it an easy target for the terrorist due the complicated inner architecture and the historical background behind such Octagon Houses which dates back to the 19th century. The US counter-terrorism team has been successful in evacuating the hostages and has been trying to make the terrorists inside the house surrender, but in vain. Entering the house has been concluded to be risky and can lead to loss of lives due to the intricacy of the house. A decision has been taken and permission has been acquired to destroy the house and completely root out the terrorists. Now you can play an active role in placing the bombs and help the US Counter-Terrorism Team in their mission.
The terrorists have damaged the way that leads to the house and also have placed various blockades in the way to the center of the house. You have to complete this task with the help of two bots and go through the series of the obstacles that block your way to the center of the house.

We at Shaastra give you a chance with the same real-life tensions to complete this mission and stand against the terrorism in a firm manner.

1. The event is open to all colleges in India and abroad. There is no restriction on the number of teams from any given college. Also, a team might consist of students from different colleges.

2. The maximum number of participants to a team is five for "The Octagon Mission" event. A person involved in one of the problem statements can be involved in the other two also unless he/she is a bot operator. This is because the events will be held somewhat simultaneously and his/her presence in both the competitions cannot be ensured from our side.

3. Teams must be prepared to send a team description paper (TDP) and/or video/stills at least two to three weeks prior to the competition. More details about this will be available soon.

4. The TDPs will be used to select the participants for the contests. You will be allowed to register once you have been selected through the TDPs.

5. Please refer to the Shaastra Certificate Policy for information regarding certificates.

6. IMPORTANT: Some of the rules may be clarified, corrected or added through FAQs. So please keep checking the FAQ section. This section would be regularly updated to answer all possible queries of teams. The final rulebook would consider all changes made through FAQs.

Selection Procedure:

1. The selection to this event would include submission of a TDP (team description paper) by the teams containing the team particulars, algorithm and code/pseudo code used for Line following and Maze solving. It needs to be submitted by the given dead line which would be 3 or 4 weeks before the event.

2. The template for the TDP’s will be shortly up on the website.

Note: The rules and regulations to be followed in writing a team description paper (format and other considerations) will be given in the rules and regulation section of robotics on the website.

Octagon Mission is a semi-autonomous robotics event at Shaastra this year. This year we bring you a completely new and never seen before problem statement.

The participants will be required to make a manually operated bot and an autonomous bot to achieve the desired goal.

Latest Problem Statement uploaded on 27th Sept. with all the clarifications written in bold. A mail was sent to all team leaders regarding this and the contact details of the coordinators. So please check your mails regularly. Any team which did not receive mail write to us at robotics@shaastra.org with subject "Octagon Mission No Mail".

Attachment	Size
figures.pdf	504.42 KB
The Octagon Mission Problem Statement.pdf	673.4 KB

Q1. Can I use readymade controller boards or readymade motor driver boards?
Ans. No. However use of self-designed PCBs is allowed and the team has to produce the hard-copies of the gerber files or the schematics.

Q2. If I participate in Sampark Robotics and dont get selected there can I still submit my TDP for Shaastra?
Ans. Yes.

Q3. The teams are going to be tested one at a time. So why are there two types arenas available?
Ans. The two types of arena namely A and B are exactly same. They differ only in relative positions of the discontinuities. The arena type will be selected before the match by a toss.

Q4. What material are the bombs(blocks) made from and what is their weight?
Ans. The bombs(blocks) are made from wood and will weigh approximately 100-150gm.

Weight of the bombs(blocks) and the colour of the basement area and the grids-width has been updated in the Problem Statement on 6th Aug.

Q5. Is it necessary for the autonomous bot to follow the grids while making its way to the innermost octagon?
Ans. Yes.

Q6. What is the criteria for getting the points for reaching the innermost octagonal grid?
Ans. The points will be awarded only when the bot completely aligns itself along the innermost octagonal grid.

Q7. What does "Use of readymade parts is not allowed" imply?
Ans. Readymade parts refers to ready made mechanisms like robotic arms,etc. available in the market. Other examples can be lego kits. Basic electronic components like microcontrollers, motor drivers do not come under the readymade category.

Q8. Should the battery be on the bot?
Ans. Yes.

Q9. Are Arduino boards allowed to use?
Ans. No

Q10. The dimensional contraints of 30cmx30cmx30cm are during the match or before the start of the match?
Ans. The given contraints are only before the start of the match. The bots can expand to any size once the match starts.

Q11. Is it compulsory that the autonomous bot moves with the help of grid lines only? If yes, can the bot cross the discontinuities?
Ans. The bot can move only with the help of grid lines and it can cross the discontinuities.

Upload your TDPs latest by 31st August, 2010 on the user portal.
The TDP should be named as TOM_cityname_institutename_teamname.pdf.
Only PDF format would be accepted. Please convert the .doc to .pdf before submitting the TDP.
If you have any videos, upload the video on youtube and mention the link in TDP.
The TDP has to submitted on the Userportal - http://www.shaastra.org/userportal/home/

For any query, mail us at robotics@shaastra.org

Attachment	Size
Octagon Mission TDP template.doc	49 KB

The Autonomous Robotics Tutorial 1 is up!!!
Keep watching this space for weekly updates.

Attachment	Size
Shaastra Autonomous robotics Tutorial 1.pdf	307.51 KB

Following are the teams selected in First Phase

Sr. No.	Team	Institute	City
1	Adaptor Unplugged	College of Engineering	Trivandrum
2	BLOCK STOCK	NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY KARNATAKA	SURATHKAL
3	Blackpearl	College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG), Madras Institute of Technology (MIT)	Chennai
4	LARZIUS	SRI SAI RAM ENGINEERING COLLEGE, CHENNAI	CHENNAI
5	Impedance	College of Engineering, Trivandrum	Trivandrum
6	Blitz	VISWAKARMA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY , PUNE	PUNE
7	Gristmillers	IIT BOMBAY	MUMBAI
8	The Octagon Terror	PEC	CHANDIGARH
9	hsv	college of engineering, Thiruvananthapuram	Thiruvananthapuram
10	Enthiran	SASTRA UNIVERSITY	THANJAVUR
11	VIBGYOR	College of engineering Trivandrum	Thiruvanathapuram
12	ROBOTORPEDOES	Godavari Institute Of Engineering & Technology	Rajahmundry
13	Myrmidons	College of engineering, Guindy	Chennai
14	Prime7	College of Engineering , Guindy	Chennai
15	Deadboltz	BITS Pilani	Pilani
16	Tech dazzlers	SASTRA University	Thanjavur
17	XS Power	ITER, SOA University	Bhubaneswar
18	Pride	Lendi College Of Engineering	Vishakapatnam
19	Thundertiger	National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal	SURATHKAL
20	Flame_On_again	BMSIT	BENGALURU
21	SwatBots	RV College of Engg.	BENGALURU
22	SAMAY	Madras Institute of Technology,Anna Univesity	Chennai
23	CrazyBots	MES College of Engg	Pune
24	The Detonators	Chandigarh college of Engg. & Technology	Chandigarh
25	SUNBOYS	IIT RAJASTHAN	JODHPUR
26	Aacrobats	GITAM UNIVERSITY	Visakhapatnam
27	Thunderbotz	MESCOE	Pune

Following are team selected in second phase

28	Team NITK	NITK(Team leader Shri31)
29	Front Runner
30	MANITB
31	SWAT
32	SAN
33	Silverrobots
34	vsimpulse
35	Innovators
36	Droids
37	Uceou
38	Bot_Boys	East point College	Banglore

All the above teams have been selected for The Octagon Mission. Congratulations to all the above teams.