NASA meatball logo National Aeronautics and Space Administration Click here to skip to the main content + NASA Home Page
Robotics Alliance Project Banner
×The information on this page is no longer updated and is available for archival information. Please visit our new website at: https://robotics.nasa.gov.
Students


Image of students working with Legos LEGO-based Sumo Challenge


The Rules
  • One minute will be allowed for setup and calibration before each round.

  • The LEGO robot must fit within the 18 x 18 cm starting box and weigh a maximum of 500 grams (the weight effectively excludes Handy Board robots).

  • The maximum number of motors is two. Servo motors are not allowed.

  • The robot must start behind one of the two central lines.

  • The team operator is only allowed to place the robot on the board and to push its starting button when told to do so.

  • The robot must beep when the button is pushed and start no sooner than 5 seconds after the button is pushed. (to allow the operator to remove his/her hand and step back).

  • The robot must move during the first 35 seconds after the starting button is pushed, and then stop. Robots that donĂ• move or stop after 35 seconds will forfeit the round.

  • The robot winning two out of three rounds is the winner.

  • During the round the first robot to touch the outer line loses the round; if neither robot goes out after 35 seconds, the one with the red power button farthest from an outer line wins.

Game Board Description:

Image of the robotics challenge layout

  • The board is a 4 x 4 foot white enamel masonite board, the same material as used in Botball.

  • The board is edged with 1x2" pine furring strips (only needed for protection and for the Line Running Challenge).

  • The lines are made with standard 19 mm (3/4" black electrician's tape except for the two lines in the center, which are light green paper, attached with scotch tape. In some places the tape may be two layers thick (where tape overlaps).

  • The two centered lines are 21.6 cm long and 5 cm apart .

  • The sharp curves are 7.6 cm radius and broader curves are 15.2 cm radius on the inside edges.

  • The inner area is 64 cm x 64 cm and the space between parallel lines is 10 cm.

  • The circled numbers are not on the board, but identify the reference lines for the line running competition.

  • The two starting boxes are 18 cm x 18 cm and 10 cm apart, equally spaced with one edge on the inner edge of the outside straight line.

Robot Course Construction Tips:

  • Suggested method for accurate line layout: Measure and draw the inside edges of the tape as two concentric boxes on the board, then use a compass to draw the curves. Finally, lay the tape along the marked edges, taking care to not stretch the tape, as it tends to shrink back to its unstretched length.

  • You should try to make the board lighting as uniform as possible, but the entrants are responsible for calibrating out the local lighting effects on their sensors.

Sharing the Results:

If you would like to share the results of your runs or competition, please feel free to send Terry Grant with your data and other information regarding the challenge, or if you have any questions about what to send.


FirstGov NASA
Curator: Drew Price
NASA Official: Lucien Junkin
Last Updated: April 28, 2020
+ Contact Us