In December 2011, NASA will launch its latest Mars rover- Curiosity and plans to land and operate it on the surface of Mars within 8.5 months. The project is a long-term effort of robotic exploration of the red planet. This rover will assess whether Mars ever was, or is still today, an environment able to support microbial life. The robot consists of state of the art technologies for landing, instrumentation and manoeuvring. Curiosity is also five times as massive, and can carry more than ten times the mass of scientific instruments than its predecessors- Spirit and Opportunity.

With the work effort of more than 2000 NASA personnel over the past 8 years and an investment of $2.3 Billion makes the Curiosity rover nothing but the Perfect Machine to travel the Martian surface.

Watch the trailer to the Curiosity Rover: http://1.usa.gov/p1NF3a

Engineer 2011 gives you the opportunity to create an all terrain bot that can overcome rough terrains, survive sandstorms, collect sand and rock samples, knock over obstacles and much more. Do you have it in you to make the Perfect Machine?

• The students must carry valid student ID cards of their college which they will be required to produce at the time of registration.
• A team may comprise a maximum of six participants.
• Readymade kits are NOT allowed. Judges decision in this regard will be final and binding.
• The team is not permitted to compete with more than one bot.
• Teams will not be allowed to modify their bots during their trial.

QUALIFICATION STAGE

• The bot begins its journey at the Gale Crater (Start Point).
• The goal of this round is to survey the terrain before collecting scientific data. Initially this requires the bot to traverse a bumpy terrain of rocks and craters.
• This is followed by surpassing an unchartered territory.
• Subsequently, the machine has to overcome an inclined uneven terrain returning back to the Gale Crater.
• The time taken by each bot will be used to determine the finalists.
•  Bots unable to complete this task will be eliminated from the event.

FINALS

• As one of the main objectives of the Curiosity rover is study Mars for “habitability,” this stage requires the bot to collect scientific data in the form of sand and rocks. The tasks to be accomplished are listed below:

  
  TASK 1: Collect Sand (min. 100gm) and bring it back to the Gale Crater (Start Point).
  TASK 2: While surviving the unchartered territory, knock down(push out of the arena) remains of 2 old Failed Mars Landers(Starred  Objects on the figure), the maximum weight of the landers will be 1 kg each.
  TASK 3: Collect Rocks (min. 200gm) and bring back to Gale Crater (Start Point). The minimum and maximum volume of the rocks will be 1 mm³ and 3 cm³ respectively.

  The above three tasks can be done in any order and multiple tasks can be performed simultaneously.

  NOTES:

  Each task can be performed only ONCE. 

  The shape/size of the Starred Objects will be disclosed on the day of the event.

  The sand and rocks brought back to the Gale crater will have to be placed in separate piles.

  
  

• The score given to each team at the end of their trial is as follows:

Score = e^(30Σn/t) + 200((Σn)!) 

where t = Time taken to complete the task in minutes.

 n is the number of points considered for having completed a given task. The value for n per task is as follows:

 n =  1 point for task 1.

4 points for task 2 (2 points for each of the landers knocked down).

1 point for task 3.

• NOTE: The unchartered territory(marked as "Area of Suspense" in the figure) can have any one or more of the following:

  o Reciprocating Platform with about 1 – 20 reciprocations per minute.
  o Rotating Platform of about 30 – 300 rpm.
  o Vibrating Platform with maximum amplitude of 5cm.
  o Sand/Gravel Pits up of dimensions 70 cm x 70 cm. Depth of the pits from the arena surface are at an average of 3cm.
  o Corrugations with a maximum radius of 10cm and pitch 20 cm
  o Rollers with a maximum diameter of 6 cm.
  o Hitting Mechanisms.

• The maximum time allotted for a trial is 5 minutes.
• Judges decision is final and binding.

BOT SPECIFICATIONS

• The initial bot dimensions should not exceed 50 x 50 x 50 cm³ excluding the control device dimensions. This dimension excludes the pneumatic or hydraulic pumps, if used.
• The weight of the bot should not exceed 15 kgs.
• The bot can be controlled wirelessly or with wires.
• Readymade wireless remote control units may be used.
• In case wired control is used, the wire(s) must remain slack throughout the event. If the wires are visibly taut, the team would be immediately disqualified.
• Single phase external 230V AC power will be supplied. Maximum voltage between any two points on the bot must not exceed 24 V DC or 24 V AC.
• Maximum power consumption should not exceed 200W.

MOBILITY

 All robots must have easily visible and controlled mobility in order to compete. 

• Any machine component should not be detached (intentionally) during any point of the event.
• Methods of Mobility include:
• Rolling (wheels, tracks or the whole robot)
• Walking (linear actuated legs with no rolling or cam operated motion).
• Shuffling(rotational cam operated legs)
• Jumping and hopping is not allowed
• Flying (airfoil using, helium balloons, ornithopters, hovercrafts etc.) is not allowed.

ARENA SPECIFICATIONS

• The arena will be a wooden board of area 3m x 3m
• The arena will be symmetric across the central axis as shown in the figure.
• The arena may have irregularities of +1 cm.
• The arena will be at a level of about 10 cm above the ground.
• The arena will have 15cm high walls at the boundaries.
• Walls might have openings through which the robots can be pushed off the arena.
• The wall openings will be about 60cm wide.
• The arena will have rectangular holes placed symmetrically across the arena with a maximum diagonal of 8cm. 
• The inclination of one part of the arena, as shown in the figure is about 17-20 degrees.

Isometric View of the Arena 

Side View of the Arena