Aquavore Competition
Object: Build a solar-pawered device that can swim from one side of a 55 gallon fish tank to the other (approximately one meter). It must fit within a 7 inch cube. A six inch high wall will be placed at the halfway point, which the compettitor must either swim under or crawl/jump/fly over to reach the finish line.
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Competitor Design Parameters: Aquavore
1.The competing device must initially fit within the boundaries of an 7 inch cube. During competition, robot devices may vary their geometry as necessary but should not deliberately leave any part of themselves behind. Competitors should attempt to finish with all that they started with, although they may add to their mass if able.
2.No batteries (rechargeable or otherwise) are be allowed on the aquavore competitor, only verifiable electrical capacitors. No other form of power source (chemical, mechanical, animal, etc.) is allowed. The competitor must extract all the energy it uses from solar cells on or in its chassis. There is no solar cell size restriction.
3.Competitors cannot have parts removed or added to them between races with the exception of replacing broken components necessary to the operation of the vehicle.
4.As the lanes of the race are not physically separated, devices are forbidden to exhibit deliberately destructive behavior (saw blades, cutters, rammers, electro-shock devices, etc.) towards the other racing competitor. All interaction between devices should be on the order of a pushing/grappling match.
5.Although devices are allowed to touch or follow internal aquarium walls and hazards, they are forbidden to intentionally damage the aquarium in any way (beyond expected norms). Any device exhibiting such behavior will be disqualified and removed from play. As well, devices are advised against climbing the 10cm walls around the tank unless it is sure it can make good its escape (special points will be awarded for worthy attempts).
6.Designers are not allowed to augment their competitor performance by the use of external light sources, lenses, mirrors, or even subtle reflections off of watches or eyeglasses. Devices must work over the 1 meter travel distance from a minimum light source of one 500 watt halogen light placed 18 inches above the water surface, to a maximum of up to three such halogens, to pure noon-time, unobstructed sunlight.
Platform Details: The Aquavore Racing Tank
The racing tank is a standard 55 gallon fish tank as is found universally in pet shops. The contents shall be standard tap water, unheated, unoxygenated, with a small amount of sea-salt added to keep down algae buildup. The tank shall be filled to within 6 inches of the top edge.
The light source for the tank will be positioned so that no shadows fall from the sides of the vertical walls. Competitors will race into the light source and must be able to optimize a light incidence from perfectly vertical (90 degrees) to a late afternoon angle (30 degrees). Light may be limited by a single clear window, but otherwise should be unhampered. Should the sun fail to shine on the day of competition, a (minimum of one) 500 watt halogen light source will be used set at 18 inches above the dead middle of the racing tank.
Half way down the lane there shall be a half-inch wide clear plexiglass wall protruding 4 inches above and 2 inches below the waterline. This wall shall run from one side of the tank to the other and will be aligned as vertically as possible.
The bottom of the tank shall be covered fairly uniformly with standard fish tank gravel or sand to a depth of 1/2 an inch.
Competitors start in a 6 inch square with their trailing edge pushed up to the inside tank wall. Six inches away, a thin vertical black starting line will be drawn on both sides of the exterior tank surface. Approximately 1 meter away from the start line (depending on the style of tank used) is the finish line which the competitor must surface on and cross completely. The finish line is 6 inches from the far wall.
Competitors can start at any height behind the start line against the wall, either on the surface or resting on the bottom of the tank.
Aquavore Competition Procedure:
As it would be difficult to rule that designers build their competitors with an on-board switch to remove any "sprint" charges still remaining in the device capacitors, it will be left on the designers honor to insure that a clean start can be managed.
Once the devices are released by the judges or designers, the race has started. To insure the devices follow the "self-starting" rule, competitors must remain immobile for at least 2 seconds following the start of the race. If one or both move within that time, a false start is called and the race is re-run. If it happens again, then that competitor's designer has the option of removing the device for modification to re-race later.
The race is run until the backmost vertical edge of a competitor crosses the front edge of the finish line at the end of the 1 meter lane at the water surface, until a designer concedes, or until a full 3 minutes has elapsed.
During the run, competitors are allowed to touch or cross the surrounding tank walls as necessary but should not damage or climb the walls. Any competitor that stalls or binds against a wall shall be left untouched until the progress of the other competitor is determined. As soon as the other competitor has caught up without binding, that competitor shall be declared the winner of that heat. In the case of a dual stall, the competitor the farthest down the lane way shall be considered the winner of that heat.
If clear, unobstructed sunlight is available or the halogen light option is used, the times of the individual runs will be kept track of. All running times shall be registered and recorded.