Micromouse (LEGO)

Micromouse is an autonomous self contained machine designed to get to the centre of a maze in shortest
possible time. A Micromouse generally comprises of motors to move it, a turning method, sensors to detect
the presence or absence of maze walls, sensors or control logic to oversee the action of the rest and keep the
vehicle 'on track' or to solve the maze, batteries to provide power.

1. Maze Specifications

1. The maze shall comprise 12 x 12 multiples of an 18 cm x 18 cm unit square. The walls constituting
the maze shall be 5 cm high and 1.2 cm thick. Passageways between the walls shall be 16.8 cm wide.
The outside wall shall enclose the entire maze.
2.
3. The sides of the maze shall be white, and the top of the walls shall be red. The floor of the maze shall
be made of wood (plywood) and finished with non-gloss black paint (black-board paint).

4. Caution: Do not assume the walls are consistently white, or that the tops of the walls are consistently
red, or that the floor is consistently black. Fading may occur. Parts from different mazes may be used.
Do not assume the floor provides a given amount of friction. It is simply painted plywood and may be
quite slick.

5. The start of the maze shall be located at one of the four corners. The starting square shall have walls
on three sides. At the center of the maze shall be a large opening which is composed of 4 unit squares.
This central square shall be the destination.

6. The dimensions of the maze shall be accurate to within 5% or 2 cm, whichever is less. Assembly
joints on the maze floor shall not involve steps greater than1cm. The change of slope at an assembly
joint shall not be greater than 4. Gaps between the walls of adjacent squares shall not be greater than 1
mm.

7. Multiple paths to the destination square are allowed and are to be expected.

2. Mouse Specifications:

1. A Micromouse shall be self contained. It shall not use an energy source employing a combustion
process.

2. Although the superstructure of the mice may 'bulge' above the top of the maze walls, mice must be
 subject to the following size constraints - width 25cm, length 25cm. There is no height limit. Mice
must be completely self-contained and must receive no outside assistance.

3. The method of wall sensing is at the discretion of the builder (touch sensor, light sensor etc).
However, the mouse must not exert a force on any wall likely to cause damage (Judges can debar any
machine if it is likely to cause damage to the maze in anyway).

4. The method of propulsion is at the discretion of the builder, provided that the power source is non-
polluting. If the judges consider that a mouse has a high risk of damaging or sullying the maze they
will not permit it to run. Nothing may be deposited in the maze.

5. No part of the mouse should be left behind or to be detached from the main body during its run.

6. A Micromouse shall not jump over, climb, scratch, damage, or destroy the walls of the maze.

7. The use of Lego kits or any other readymade kits in making the Micromouse is allowed. Any single
part used other than Lego shall lead to disqualification of the machine as it would be not considered a
mouse completely out of Lego kits.

3. Competition Rules

1. Each contesting Micromouse is allocated a total of 10 minutes of access to the maze after the 1
minute sensor adjustment time. The maze-time clock will commence after the expiry of the 1
minute time limit even if the handler is still making adjustments to the sensors.

2. Any time used to adjust a mouse between runs is included in the 10 minutes. Each run (from the start
cell to the center zone) in which a mouse successfully reaches the destination square is given a run
time. Each run shall be made from the starting square. The operator may abort a run at any time. If an
operator touches the Micromouse during a run, it is deemed aborted, and the mouse must be removed
from the maze. If a mouse has already crossed the finish line, it may be removed at any time without
affecting the run time of that run. If a mouse is placed back in the maze for another run, a Touch
Penalty will be added. First prize goes to the mouse with the shortest official time which is calculated
as:

Official Time = Run Time + Touch Penalty

N = Number of touches prior to the best run.

3. NOTE, again, that the 10-minute timer continues even between runs. Mice that do not enter the center
square will be ranked by the maximum number of cells they consecutively transverse without being
touched & the discretion of the Judges. All mice that enter the center square within their 10 minute
allotment are ranked higher than those who do not enter the center square.

4. The starting procedure of the mouse shall be simple and must not offer a choice of strategies to the
handler. For example, a decision to make a fast run to the centre as time runs out must be made by the
Micromouse itself. The starting procedure shall be submitted to the judges when the mouse is
registered on the day of the contest.

5. If a mouse 'gets into trouble' the handlers can ask the judge for permission to abandon the run and
restart the mouse at the beginning (Touch penalty shall be added in this case). A mouse may not be re-
started merely because it has taken a wrong turn - the judges' decision is final.

6. After the maze is disclosed, the operator shall not feed ANY information on the maze into the
Micromouse. Ant team doing so will be disqualified.

7. Do not make any assumptions about the amount of sunlight, incandescent light, or fluorescent light
that may be present at the contest site.

8. If no successful run has been made, the judge will make a qualitative assessment of the Micromouse’s
performance, based on distance achieved, 'purposefulness' versus random behavior and quality of
control.

9. The run timer will start when front edge of the mouse crosses the start line and stops when the front
edge of the mouse crosses the finish line. The start line is at the boundary between the starting unit
square and the next unit square. The finish line is at the entrance to the destination square.

10.Every time the mouse leaves the start square, a new run begins. If the mouse has not entered the
destination square, the previous run is aborted. For example, if a mouse re-enters the start square
(before entering the destination square) on a run, that run is aborted, and a new run will be deemed
begun, with a new time that starts when the starting square is exited.

11.The mouse may, after reaching the destination square, continue to navigate the maze, for as long as
their total maze time allows.

12.If a mouse continues to navigate the maze after reaching the destination square, the time taken will
not count toward any run. Of course, the 10-minute timer continues to run. When the mouse next
leaves the start square, a new run will start. Thus, for better "Run time", a mouse may make several
runs without being touched by the operator. It should make its own way back to the beginning to do
so.

13.The judges reserve the right to ask the operator for an explanation of the Micromouse. The judges
also reserve the right to stop a run, declare disqualification, or give instructions as appropriate (e.g., if
the structure of the maze is jeopardized by continuing operation of the mouse).

14.A contestantmay not feed information on the maze to the Micromouse. Therefore, changing ROMs
or downloading programs is NOT allowed once the maze is revealed. However, contestants are
 allowed to:

1. Replace batteries between runs

15.The contestants should be prepared with the circuit diagrams, algorithms and code listings to
convince the judges that any alteration they do in the total 11 minute span does not add topological
information about the maze to the mouse.

4. General Rules

1. Any team that is not ready at the time specified will be scratched from the competition automatically.
2. The machine will be checked for its safety before the race and will be discarded if found unsafe for
other participants and spectators.
3. Judges decision shall be treated as final and binding on all.
4. The organizers reserve the rights to change any or all of the above rules as they deem fit.
Change in rules, if any will be highlighted on the website.

5. Elimination Details

• To qualify for the main competition your mouse should be able to navigate the given maze, this
should be demonstrated by the ability of the Micromouse to cover at least 5cells and make at least two
turns. The total time given will be 5 minutes. All the Micromice have to clear the elimination round to
participate in the competition. Other than this, the performance in the elimination round is of no
significance to the contest.
This criterion is applicable for International as well as National participants.

6. Team Specifications

• A team may consist of a maximum of 4 members.