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Robot Coding Race by TiES
Bring your robot to life in a 24-hour programming marathon!
THIS PROGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO LACK OF PARTICIPANTS
TiES’ robot coding race is organized as part of the Assembly Summer 2023 event. There will be a 24-hour programming marathon, during which the robot must be programmed to perform a specific task. The competition is open to all university, university of applied sciences and secondary school student teams who are already familiar with working with electronics and programming!
The competition is carried out in teams of 1–4 people. The programmable robot is the Smart Cutebot robot, which, despite its humble appearance, can be made to do miracles.
The exact task is revealed when the 24-hour coding period starts, but the general idea is to get the robot to do a specific task within a certain competition area. The results of the teams are tested in a separate final event, where the robot’s performance can be seen by the public. The final event will be held after a 10-hour break from the end of the programming marathon.
The requirements for participation
You can participate in the robot coding race in groups of 1–4 people. On the day of the competition, the participant must be either a university or secondary school student or, alternatively, a person who has graduated from secondary school who is still aspiring to higher education. The participant cannot have a master’s degree in technology.
Teams can be formed from students of different educational institutions. More than one group can register from the same educational institution.
Participants are initially not required to have any programming or electronics skills. If the competition proves to be popular in terms of registrations, possible qualifying rounds will be announced later. In any case, good programming and basic electronics skills play a crucial role in terms of success in the competition.
Registration
Registration is free and is done through the following link: https://forms.gle/CPrW6idPB1YucSAw6
Prizes
Each participating team gets to keep the CuteBot robot they borrowed as a reward. In addition, prizes will be awarded to the winning teams, which will be published on this page in the near future.
In addition to this, it may be possible for university students to receive 1 credit for their competitive performance. You should discuss this possibility and the related requirements with your study advisor.
Description of the race
The competition consists of two parts: a 24-hour coding period, during which the teams try to program the robot to carry out a specific task, and the final event, when the programmed robots are tested in the competition area.
Each team gets a desk to work at. There are plugs for laptop chargers, etc., near the desk. The robot and additional components are provided on site, but coding is done on your own computers.
During the coding period, the teams are free to program and test their robot at their own area and in a separate testing area similar to the competition area. For the competition, you should reserve food and drink – or alternatively, buy it on the spot, because you will definitely be hungry within 24 hours! Even during the coding period, you are free to leave the work area, e.g. to go to the bathroom, eat, rest. Leaving the Messukeskus as a whole is also allowed. Competition supervisors will be there to help. They answer general practical questions, e.g. to clarify the assignment, and can help in using the libraries of the programming environments. However, the supervisors do not give suggestions for solving the code.
Internet and printed materials can be freely used in the competition. However, asking outsiders for help is prohibited. Misconduct may result in rejection of the competition performance. However, contact with e.g. parents is not restricted at all.
At the end of the coding period, the code is given to the competition organizers, after which the participants can go to their well-deserved rest before the final event.
In the final event, the achievements of each team in the competition area are checked in random order. Even though the teams have nothing more to do at this stage, this stage is still full of excitement. Will the robot survive the competition area? And what about the other teams’ robots?
The winners will be announced and awarded immediately at the end of the final event.
Robot platform and preparation tips
The competition robot is the Smart Cutebot robot, whose central circuit is a BBC micro:bit circuit board. Although the purpose of the competition is mostly just to program the robot, some of the sensors and other components listed below can be attached to it (depending on the exact task):
- Ultrasonic sensor
The robot, central circuit and all other available components are loaned to the participating teams for the duration of the 24-hour coding period. If they wish, the teams can redeem the robot and the central circuit in advance to familiarize themselves with it. Borrowing takes place with the registration form.
In the competition, the robot must be programmed using one of the following programming platforms. If your team would like to use another platform, that may also be possible, as long as you agree with the organizers:
In the competition, the Bluetooth serial communication feature of the micro:bit circuit will be used, so it is worth familiarizing yourself with it in advance. In addition, you should familiarize yourself with the sensors built into the robot (e.g. accelerometer and compass) and other components so that you are familiar with using them in a competitive situation. Overall, it’s worth practicing programming the robot in advance. Of course, in a competition situation, internet materials and any code from old projects can be freely used.
