Most robots pick a fixed search pattern. That is, the robot will advance to room A, search for candle, if not found go to room B, etc. until the candle is found, then advance to within 12 inches and extinguish it. To win, you need to solve these strategic problems. If this is your first contest, you can concentrate on the basic goal of putting out the flame as quickly as possible. Whatever your level, the biggest challenge is building a robot that can negotiate the maze without crashing.
Fewer robots have problems detecting the candle or extinguishing it, but it does happen.
Seeing a robot move smoothly from room to room then fail to locate the candle is heartbreaking. Come back next week to KrisTech Robot Magazine for more robot design tips.