The goal is for the mobile robot to explore the maze, locate the candle, and extinguish the candle in the minimum time. The layout and dimensions of the maze and rooms are fully known to all contestants prior to the contest. Bonuses are earned for returning to the start position after extinguishing the candle, allowing obstacles to be placed in the rooms, or operating the robot with Squiggle ball roaming the maze. The rules are based on the Trinity College Home Fire-Fighting Robot Contest which is an international robot competition to be held at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut on April 22, 2001. Please visit the Trinity College Robot Competition site by clicking here .
Participants can use any building materials and computer technology.
Lego Mindstorm robots are welcome. The contest is open to the public as participants and spectators at no charge. There are no age limits for the participants. At this time, several teams of Penn State Abington students enrolled in a freshman engineering design course and an honors robotics class are registered to compete on March 31. Teams from Philadelphia area colleges, high schools, middle schools, and grade schools, as well as teams from New Jersey, New York, and Maryland have been participating in the Penn State robot contests.