INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY KSHITIJ 2010

KHARAGPUR

R.A.F.T.
INTRODUCTION
“The flood waters will recede, the famine will end, the sun will shine
tomorrow, and I will always be there to take care of you"

-Charlie Brown to Snoopy

Every year India loses thousands of lives and a large amount of

property to floods. Flood relief is a major challenge and efforts are
being made to bring automation into this. The Indian Military is
deployed in Flood Rescue, and often inflatable rafts are used for the
task.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The task is to build a manually controlled robot or a group of robots
which can navigate a raft on water and retrieve people (in our case,
cubes) from flood affected areas (platforms) and bring them to safety
(Victory zone).

FIRST ROUND
The Task
In the preliminary round, the robot has to navigate the raft to traverse
the arena in a predefined path (approx 100cm wide) which will be
marked by ropes crossing three check posts in its way.

The Arena
A predefined path will be marked in the arena using ropes and check
posts. The width of the path will be approximately 1m.

[The wavy path is just for indication, actual path may vary.]
 Arena of First Round

RULES
The robot has to be placed on the raft before the event commences.

1. A team can consist of maximum 4 members.

The raft shall start from a predefined starting zone.

2. The duration of the first round will be: 4 minutes.

3. A "Time Bonus" will be awarded to the team only if it reaches Victory

Zone.

4. Before the start of the run, the robot should fit inside a box of
dimensions 35cm x 35cm x 35 cm.

5. The robot has to be placed on the raft in the same orientation with
which it was placed in the dimension box. If the participant decides to
start in a different orientation that exceeds 35 x 35 x 35 cm, a penalty
of 50 points will be imposed for the first round.

6. Bumping the raft into the check-posts, ropes and the arena will cause
penalty.

7. Damaging the check posts, paths or the raft will lead to immediate
disqualification.

8. If a team wants a restart, it can do so but each restart will lead to a

penalty.

9. A team can have maximum of two restarts and two time-outs.

10. After every time-out, the robot will have to start from the last
crossed check-post.

11. During the course of the event, the robot cannot leave the RAFT
entirely and enter the water. A part of the robot can enter the water
body but a part of the main robot must stay on the raft.

12. If robot has wired control, the wires should always remain slack.

Check Posts

1. Check posts will be steel rods, which are protruding out more than
20 cm above the water surface.

2. Check posts will be placed at different points in the path.

SCORING
Crossing a check post : 40 points

Penalty for bumping into the check post : 10 points

Penalty for bumping into the arena : 5 points

Penalty for a restart : 25 points

Penalty for a timeout : 10 points

Time Bonus :

(240 - Time taken(in seconds) by the robot to traverse the arena)*0.25

pts

SECOND ROUND
The Task
In the second round, the arena will have three platforms. Two of the
platforms will have cubes placed on them. The robot has to retrieve the
cubes from these platforms and deposit them onto the third platform.

The Arena
Three platforms will be placed in the arena. An indicative arena is as
follows:
 Arena of Second Round

RULES
The robot shall start from a predefined starting zone.

Maximum time allowed for this round : 5 minutes.

Before the start of the run, the robot should fit inside a box of
dimensions 35cm x 35cm x 35 cm.

The robot has to be placed on the raft in the same orientation with
which it was placed in the dimension box. If the participant decides to
start in a different orientation that exceeds 35 x 35 x 35 cm, a penalty
of 100 points will be imposed for the second round.

Separate points will be awarded for retrieving the cubes from the cube
bearing platforms and placing the cubes on the final platform.

The cubes will be of size 4 cm X 4 cm X 4 cm.

The weight of the cubes will be lie between 40-50gms.
A maximum of two restarts and two time-outs will be allowed.

Damage to the arena in any respect will lead to disqualification.

SCORING
Penalty for a time-out : 50 points.

Penalty for a restart : 100 points.

Scoring Formula:

500 - (Number of seconds taken to complete the task) + [(number of

cubes taken to the final platform) x 100] + [(number of cubes picked up
but not taken successfully to the final zone) x 50] - [(number of time-
outs) x 50] - [(number of restarts) x 100]

THIRD ROUND
The Task
Rules for this round will be announced at the time of the event.
However, the abilities required for the robot to complete the given task
will be the same as for the first two rounds.

GENERAL RULES
The ROBOT
The robot(s) should be manually controlled and should be capable of
moving a raft on the water surface and subsequently retrieving the
cubes from platforms placed in the arena.

Before the start of the run, the robot should fit inside a box of
dimensions 35cm x 35cm x 35 cm.

The robot has to be placed on the raft in the same orientation with
which it was placed in the dimension box. If the participant decides to
start in a different orientation that exceeds 35 x 35 x 35 cm, a penalty
of 50 points will be imposed for the first round and a penalty of 100
points will be imposed for the second round. The penalty for the third
round will be disclosed at the time of the event.

The dimensions can however exceed after the event commences.

The weight of the robot should not exceed 5 kg.

Only a 220V, 50 Hz supply will be provided to the teams, at a distance

of 1 metre from the arena, it has to be stepped down to a maximum of
30V for usage. Any other power requirement has to be arranged by the
participants themselves. The potential difference between any two
points cannot exceed 30V. No 220V AC powered robot will be allowed
inside water for safety reasons.

Use of Lego kits and readymade bases is strictly prohibited and will lead
to immediate disqualification of the team.Ready made gear boxes may
be used.
In case of radio controlled robots, the ROBOTIX Team will not be
responsible for any interference. Participants have to tune in to the
suitable frequency on their own.

Wires (if any) connecting the robot to the control system should remain
slack throughout the run. Any violation, even unintentional, will lead to
disqualification. The wire connecting the robot to the dc power supply
should be at least 5m long.

The Raft

The Raft would be a wooden plank supported by PVC cylinders.

1. The dimension of the Raft is 50cm x 50cm.
2. Two grooves would be provided on two opposite sides of the raft.
The dimensions of the grooves would be approximately 40(length)
x 1(breadth) x 1.75(depth) cm. The distance between the grooves
would be 38 cm.
3. Height of the raft (without any weight on it) above water level
is 10 cm with 10% tolerance.
The Platform
The platform will be a box made of wood.
1. The dimension of the platform is 85cm x75cm though no cube
would be at a distance greater than 20 cm from the edge of the
platform.

2. The difference between the water level and the surface of the
platform will be 5-10cm.
Indicative picture of the platform:

The Platform (Isometric)

 The Platform (Top View)

Restarts and Timeouts

1. In all rounds, the participant is allowed 2 timeouts and 2 restarts.

2. Every time-out will be of maximum 1 minute and a maximum of 2
minute will be given for every restart.
3. If a time-out is taken, the timer shall be stopped. After the time
allotted for the time-out is over, the timer will be restarted and
the robot shall resume the task from the same position where it
was before the time-out was taken.
4. After every restart, the robot will have to start again from the
initial point.
5. Penalty for restarts and time-outs will be as given in the scoring
rules for preliminary and 2nd round.
6. The decision of the ROBOTIX team will be final and binding.

REGISTRATION
1. Click HERE to register for R.A.F.T.
2. Click HERE to fill the accommodation form.
3. Click HERE for the downloadable Rulebook (PDF).

CONTACTS
Suhrud Karandikar
suhrud@robotix.in
+91 – 7797326290

Parth Govil
parth@robotix.in
+91 - 9775577942