January is not a month for the fainthearted

'Survival is more of an accomplishment than winning'

by Sara Peters

January is the time for no more apologies. Teams may be crippled by inexperience, fatigue, poor coaching, and injuries. Using strategy, practice, and pure gumption, they battle their way to that final event. It is the wintry finale of a grueling autumn. It is the MAE321 Robot Competition.

For the uninitiated, a description is in order. The competitors are six Search and Rescue Robots (SaRRs) and the student teams that design, construct, and operate them. The SaRR construction and competition is the final project for students in MAE321: Engineering Design.

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Daniel Nosenchuck teaches the course, with considerable assistance from Glenn Northey, Kurt Polzin, and David Luet.

The SaRRs face four trials against a clock:

* The Slalom: Using remote control, a student drives the SaRR through a series of obstacles and halts the SaRR in a 3-feet-by-3-feet square. Penalties are assigned for hitting walls and knocking over obstacles.

* The Wall: The SaRR must surmount a 12-inch wooden wall.

* The Drag Race: The SaRR speeds through a 100-foot dash.

* The Autonomous: The SaRR must navigate its way to a light source in a darkened hallway without the benefit of remote control.

January 13

It was a great day for sport. After many sleepless nights filled with tinkering the teams washed the slumber from their eyes, dressed in their best business attire, and met for a 9 a.m. presentation. Each team's assignment requires a PowerPoint presentation describing and marketing the design and introducing their SaRRs: Canyonero, Johnny 5, Squirrel Brand, The Stinky, Walter, and Wangdoodlerest.

The presentation was judged by David Quinlen, a local patent attorney, and Tyrone Pike '77, an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. Mr. Pike said he was interested in demonstrated innovation.

"I look for how far they stretched in their design," he said. "Are they innovative design ideas, or did they just tinker with what was done last year?"

The lower level of the Friend Center for Engineering Education was packed with competitors, who were charging batteries, greasing gears, and giving their robots encouraging pats on the chassis. Spectators waited anxiously, discussing their bets on the impending tourney.

The judges speculated that the competitors would have more success than last year's, for three main reasons: They could build on the successes and failures of their predecessors; the wall had been changed to one that was 12 inches with a 6-inch step, as opposed to last year's 18-inch sheer face; and early deadlines had been set to keep construction on schedule.

The judges, however, had a suspicion that the teams still left much of their work for the final hours.

The teams had been working on their SaRRs all night and morning, and at the hour of competition few had completely charged batteries.

First to the slalom line was Canyonero, and the battery power problem immediately snapped its fangs. Canyonero scurried, sputtered, and lurched through the course, spurred forth with encouraging hooping and hollering from the sidelines, meeting high fives at the finish.

The first really impressive slalom came from Johnny 5, which slammed the competition, completing a very clean run in 47.06 seconds--half the best time recorded thus far.

Later that evening, in a decision that will be debated for years to come, Canyonero was permitted to make several more runs through the slalom, eventually conquering the battery problems and Johnny 5, with a speedy 39.07 seconds.

The next challenge was the wall, an obstruction that shattered the dreams of many teams last year. Neither Canyonero, Johnny 5, nor Squirrel Brand succeeded.

Squirrel Brand had an arm to grasp a pole above the wall and swing over. Unfortunately, Squirrel Brand's arm was just too heavy for these acrobatics.

The Stinky suffered from a disease known as "too many coaches." The Stinky's elegant design required the operator to execute precise maneuvers with the remote, but team members clashed on which maneuvers to make. After several tense minutes, The Stinky dropped over the wall, with a sigh of relief.

Wangdoodlerest was tormented by a lack of tread on the slick hallway floor. Yet, in true wangdoodle fashion, the team duct-taped the floor to increase traction and triumphed in under a minute.

The real champion of the wall, however, was Walter, surmounting it by use of a superior grappling hook in an impressive 25.63 seconds.

Weary spectators could not help but be rattled into wakefulness by Walter's stunning showing in the drag race. The SaRR hightailed it to the finish line in a mere 4.9 seconds. Johnny 5, unfortunately, having battery failure, trundled to the end in a sad 35.75 seconds, smashing any hopes of making up for the failure at the wall, or Canyonero's obstacle course usurpation.

After a full day of competing, the officials decided to postpone the autonomous until the following evening. Exhausted and battered, the teams trudged home and tucked their SaRRs in for the night, dreaming dreams of robotic glory to come.

January 14

The tension of the previous day lingered in the air around the Friend Center like the scent of smoke around a day-old bonfire.

Teams struggled with the woes of new turf. Trials had been held in a different corridor. The competition's location proved a challenge to the SaRR's light sensors, which were confused by reflections off shiny floors and bright walls. Wangdoodlerest and The Stinky had success, but once again, the indomitable Walter swept up the lead, in a quick and clean 20.94 seconds.

Thus, Walter, winning three of the four stages, took home the much-deserved prize. Walter's creators were pleased, though tired.

"It felt great to win the competition and to know that our design philosophy was on the mark," Orion Crisafulli '03 said.

"However," said Patrick Coogan '04, "the most pronounced emotion was one of relief. Considering that in addition to the robot, the groups had to complete a design report and that just about everybody had at least one term project to complete for another course, not to mention studying for finals, survival was more of an accomplishment than winning."

"It was a wonderful opportunity to share what we had learned about in class with our fellow students," Orion said, "but, I can't forget what it was like to go two days without sleeping!"

The teams

* Canyonero: juniors Jason Geder, James Leighton, Dan MacKenzie, Tamir Packin, Josaphat Plater-Zyberk, and J. Darnell Thompson, and sophomore Rick Clark.

* Johnny 5: juniors Aaron Ellerbee, Brendan Kavanagh, Colin Ligon, Tyler Mincey, and Paul Vanduyne.

* Squirrel Brand: juniors Ezekiel Burke, Becca Gilles-pie, Erica Gralla, Condon Lau, Austin Merritt, Christina Mester, Stephen Moore, and Jonathan Thomas.

* The Stinky: juniors Matt Antony, Chris Carr, Corydon Jerch, Charles Louden, Lizzy Louis, and Lindsay Turk, and special student Yusuke Okabayashi.

* Walter: seniors Orion Crisafulli and Nathan Lindell, and juniors Randy Bly, Patrick Coogan, Leah Crider, Willard Moore, and Adrian Mullings.

* Wangdoodlerest: juniors Mati Chessin, Naomi Chow, David Follette, Joshua Girvin, Johanna Kleingeld, Hugh Strange, and John Swigart.