C.R.A.W.LAB

When: Thursday, April 19
Where: Blackham Coliseum
RSVP: Dr. Joshua Vaughan

A long time ago, a meteorite landed in the Kingdom of Wakanda. The metal that formed the meteorite, Vibranium, is both much stronger and much lighter than steel. The landing of that meteorite also affected a local plant, changing it into a Heart Shaped Herb that provides special powers upon ingestion. Since that time, Vibranium has driven the technology of Wakanda, which has remained isolated from the rest of the world, hiding its power. To protect Wakanda, the job of serving as the Black Panther has been passed down through generations of its rulers. Recently, some Vibranium was stolen, and the king killed. The Black Panther must restore order and protect Wakanda. Luckily, MCHE 201 students can help.

MCHE 201 students will design and build devices that have thirty seconds to Defeat Ritual Challengers, Gather Heart Shaped Herb, Collect Kimoyo Beads, Return Vibranium to the Sacred Mound, and Put on the Black Panther Necklace The capabilities of these devices will be demonstrated on the representation of Wakanda shown in Figure 1.

The Competition

On April 19th, beginning at 4:45pm, the Black Panther contest will be held in Blackham Coliseum. There will be two events.

Design Review:

From 5 — 6pm, a panel of judges will perform a design review of each machine. The teams must describe their machines quickly and clearly to the judges that visit, who will evaluate each team on aesthetics, ingenuity, and presentation.

Black Panther Robotics Contest:

Following the design review, the robots that the students have designed and built will compete in a head-to-head competition on the representation of Wakanda shown in Figure 1. The robots have thirty seconds to Defeat Ritual Challengers, Gather Heart Shaped Herb, Collect Kimoyo Beads, Return Vibranium to the Sacred Mound, and Put on the Black Panther Necklace.

Competition Details

The student robots can earn, or lose, points based on their robot's performance in each category of the Black Panther contest. The details of each are listed below.

Defeat Ritual Challengers: In each zone, there are three Ritual Challengers (toy blocks). For each Ritual Challenger that is not completely removed from the team zone, the team will be penalized 10 points.

Gather Heart Shaped Herb: In each zone, there are five pieces of Heart Shaped Herb (small heart-shaped sponges). For each piece of Heart Shaped Herb that is gathered and placed completely in Shuri's Lab within the team's zone, the team will earn 5 points. If four or more pieces are gathered, then the team will earn 10 points for each piece.

Collect Kimoyo Beads: There are two Kimoyo Beads (foil-covered table tennis balls) located at the edges between the team zone and each of its neighbors. For each Kimoyo Bead collected completely into the team's zone, the team will earn 5 points. There is a small buffer at the edge of the team zone. If any part of a Kimoyo Bead lies in that buffer zone, it will not earn points.

Return Vibranium to the Sacred Mound: Prior to the each competition round, each team will be given three pieces of Vibranium (small LED keychains). For each piece of Vibranium delivered to the Sacred Mound, the team will earn 5 points. For each one placed into the rotating Inner Zone, the team will earn 15 points. In order to earn the points for the Inner Zone, the Vibranium must be completely contained in the Inner Zone, including in the vertical dimension. If an Vibranium is not completely contained in the Inner Zone, but is still within the Sacred Mound, Sacred Mound points will be awarded as appropriate.

Put on the Black Panther Necklace: On top of the Sacred Mound there are four Black Panther Necklaces (foil-covered table tennis balls). If one or more of these is completely collected into the team's zone, the team will earn 25 points. If it is moved to completely within the team's Start Zone, the team will earn 50 points. If multiple Necklaces are collected, the one earning the lowest point total will be counted.

For more information, see the full set of competition rules on the class website. You can also have a look at the hard work the students have put in already in the class flickr album. Pictures from past semesters are also available in a flickr collection.

A pdf of of this page is also available.

Acknowledgements

A kit of additional mechatronic components is issued to each team for use in this project. These kits were purchased via funding provided by a University of Louisiana at Lafayette Course and Curriculum Design Grant and a University of Louisiana at Lafayette STEP Award.