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2008 Results:
Here is a video showing Craig Cordill and Josue DeLeon of the University of Illinois (3rd place) during an interview with WCIA News Channel, Champaign, IL.
The second Robotics competition was held at the American Society of Agricultural & Biological Engineers' 2008 Annual International Meeting June 29-July 2, 2008, Providence, Rhode Island.
Participating in this competition is simple: Send an email containing 1) Team Name, 2) Names of team members, 3) University and department name, 4) Advisor name and email, 5) Team web site (if available) to Dr. Tony Grift before the deadline which is May 1st, 2008.
For a complete description of the challenge see the 2008 Challenge and Rules document.
This year's competition will have a two-part format: a robotic trial demonstrating the capabilities of small robots designed and built by university students and a presentation outlining the details of their design. The theme for the trial portion of the competition will emulate the operation of a tree harvester. Here is a John Deere Feller Buncher in action. This is a true feller buncher, the machine is a dozer frame fitted with a feller buncher head. This machine will drive up to a 50cm diameter tree and cut it down within a second without even slowing down! The operator then engages arms that collect a number of trees in a bunch.
After harvesting a number of trees he will tilt the head forward and release the bunch which is later picked up by skidders (here is a picture of a skidder).
One or two robots developed by the team will be placed in the competition area and run autonomously to harvest, gather and transport as many trees as possible during the time allotted. Trees will be simulated by rods and marked as "harvestable" and "unharvestable". The trees will be secured to the floor of the competition area. Teams will move the tree to the unloading zone to "harvest" it. Points will be awarded for each harvested tree that is placed in a holding portion of the competition area. Points will also be deducted for harvesting unharvestable trees and/or knocking over trees. The configuration of the trees will be randomized before each run to avoid teams from pre-mapping the location of the harvestable trees. Each team will be allowed two runs and the best run will be used as that team's score.
The size and weight of the robots are up to the teams' discretion, though the teams should take care to notice the dimensions and layout of the competition area. A compromise should be made between a large robot for increased harvesting capabilities and a small robot for maneuverability among the trees. Students will be allowed to purchase robotic kits from which to build their robot or build their own from scratch. Students may not purchase or use pre-built robots, nor may they use designs other than their own. Though it is often useful to study the designs of other engineers, the theme behind the competition is to design and build your own robots.
Costs to compete in the competition including travel to and from the competition and the cost of parts and materials will be paid by the university teams. Students are expected to participate in fundraising in order to obtain all needed funds.