One of the highlights of this week was the two-day Sumobot Tournament hosted by Mr. Minu and his high school and middle school robotics students.
Below is information provided by our host, Mr. Minu:
What is robot sumo?
Robot sumo is an activity or challenge in which two robots attempt to push each other out of a circle (in a similar fashion to the sport of sumo). The robots used in this competition are called sumobots. Sumobots come in various classes, from heavy weight robots weighing as much as an adult to femto-sumo with tiny robots the size of a sugar cube. The most common robot sumo class are sumobots made out of LEGO Mindstorms components.
Sumobot specifications
A sumobot must be made entirely out of LEGO parts, with the only exceptions being the flags or decorations. A sumobot can only have one NXT or EV3 Mindstorms controlling it. The number of motors and sensors used are only limited by how many the brick support. NXT bricks support 3 motors and EV3 bricks support 4 motors. Both type of bricks support 4 sensors. All actions must be pre-programmed. The use of any form of remote control is prohibited.
Competition
A match consists of three games of up to three minutes each. The first sumobot winning two out of the three games is the winner of the match. At the teacher’s signal, the contestants start the program on their robots. The game ends when the teacher calls the winner.
A game will be stopped and a rematch will be started under the following conditions:
- The robots are locked together in such a way that no more action appears to be possible, i.e. they have rotated in circles for 30 seconds or more.
- Both robots touch the exterior of the playing field at the same time.
- A robot breaks during the game.
- Any other conditions under which the teacher judges that no winner can be decided.
In case of a rematch, maintenance of competing robots is prohibited, and the robots must be immediately placed in the designated starting position. The only exception to this rule is if the cause of the rematch is a robot breaking. If neither of the competing robots wins, or loses, after a rematch, the teacher may reposition both robots to a specified location and restart. If that does not yield a winner, the match may continue at any location decided by the teacher, until the time limit is reached.
All decisions by the teacher are final.
There were certainly some tense moments. Excitement personified!!
We were especially proud of some of our siblings who participated in the tournament. It was obvious that he robotics students had to be… thinkers, risk-takers, inquirers, communicators, knowledgeable, principled, and reflective. What a great event to see TASOK learners exemplifying the qualities of the learner profile.
