Not all robots are meant to be large. In fact, some of the most impressive robots are often rather small. The Micromouse team comprised of two Computer Engineers: Daniel Benedetti and Randal Bognatz, set out to design a robot capable of navigating a maze like a mouse. The Institute of Electrical Electronics Engineers (IEEE) every year holds Region 1 Student Conference Micromouse Competition. This year’s competition took place on March 10 in Hartford, Connecticut. The team took third place overall.
A micromouse is a self-contained autonomous robot capable of navigating a maze. The maze is a 16 by 16 grid made up of 18cm by 18cm squares. Each wall is 1.2cm, leaving the mouse with only 16.8cm to move around in. It is placed in one of the four corners of the maze and must find its way to the center without climbing, jumping over, or damaging the walls of the maze. The micromouse can make as many runs to the center of the maze in the allotted 10 minutes. The team with the fastest time from the corner to the center wins the competition.
Designing and fabricating a micromouse is a rigorous and difficult process that requires quite a bit of knowledge for the various components. Not only must the motor and drive systems be created but everything from the chassis to the device’s wheels must be made to fit within the small maze. Sensors have to be designed and placed on the micromouse, and perhaps most importantly, software must be programmed to allow all of the systems to work together to identify and maneuver around tricky paths the maze has to offer. After a break from the competition over the past two years, the team started fresh this year with a brand new design. They also plan on helping out future teams with the knowledge and experience they gained from the project. Overall the team has put a lot work and dedication into this project and it seems to have definitely paid off.
In previous years teams from The College of New Jersey have always performed well in the competition. In the past five times that TCNJ has entered the competition, they have taken home one 3rd Place, one 2nd place, and three 1st place awards.
Learn more:
- Region 1 Student Conference Micromouse Competition
- Micromouse Team website