Robots are already part of our past, present and future. Although mass media is barely covering this, same, or even less, does regarding the sports played by them.
Robot Sumo is such an example.
Played by two autonomous robots instead of humans, Sumo wrestling becomes exciting and attractive for a wide range of people, both players and audience.
In the Japanese original rule from 1990, the battle took place on a black Dohyo of 154cm in diameter, having a white margin which indicates the border. (e.g. Fig 2)
The sumobots were limited to a 20cm x 20cm base square area, no height limit, and maximum 3kg in weight.
The game is based on honor and gentlemanhood, so the competitors cannot intentionally harm the ring or their opponent.
Basics (Audience relevant)
The match starts at the judge's command and continues until a contestant wins the round. The sumobots have to apply various strategies for finding and then pushing their opponent out of the ring. First to leave the Dohyo’s area looses the round.
Robot Sumo is divided into classes, the most popular (and their limits) being:
Each class has its specific Dohyo:
Usually the winner is decided out of maximum 3 rounds. The sumobots being autonomous, each round lasts around 6-10 seconds.
Mega Sumobots travel with around 6 m/s.
Enthusiasts relevant
Creating a battle-ready Mega Sumo robot requires time and money, just as everything else. If you do not want to access your holiday funds, a search for sponsors is the alternative. Once the budget is decided, the robot can take shape.
According to Japanese ideology, the most important component of a robot is its blade, despite the European concept of building the robot starting from its strong motors.
The Oracle, our sumobot, tries to combine these two, by integrating the strongest Maxon motors available on the market and a custom made steel blade.
The typical sumo robot has a 45 degrees angled blade, ideally in the form of an ascending part of the Gaussian curve. This aims to reach under the opponent and lift its tires from the Dohyo, thus making it powerless. (Fig 3)
The focus being innovation, we have come up with an unseen design for the front of the robot. (Pic 4)
The key feature of this approach is to take advantage of physics by deflecting the opponent’s sensors. Being as stealth as possible, allows us to use the brute force, of the Maxon motors, to push the enemy out of the ring.
When inventing a winning robot, it should not have any standard components. Everything has to puzzle up and create the robot’s personality.
Magnets ensure that the sumobot stays firmly pressed against the Dohyo, increasing the friction and pushing power. Magnetic force can reach values up to 200 kg; can you imagine the force needed to push such a robot out of the ring?
By tempering the motors’ specifications, the gear sets the power of the robot. Finding the perfect gears’ ratio implies complex calculations and taking into account tires’ diameter, motors’ rotational speed and power, batteries, and magnets. Tires’ diameter directly influences the torque. Motors’ speed is directly influenced by the voltage receive from the batteries, so providing an overvoltage to them is one of the most commonly used trick in the business. Knowing that power is indirectly proportional to speed, gears’ ratio can be decided.
The personalized chassis has to be made of materials that are tough enough to support the shock of the impacts taken from the opponents, but light enough to keep everything under the limit of 3 kg. This constraint impacts the use of modern materials and technologies such as 3D printing, carbon fiber, and other metal alloys.
From here on, all that is left, for figuring out, is how to make the robot smart by use of sensors. Their range and response time are the key aspects when choosing them. The sensors have to be positioned in such a way that the robot will be able to see as far and wide as possible.
All the electronic and mechanical parts must be brought together, by using microcontrollers. In the logics inside, the team creates the last part of the robot’s personality: search, attack and defense strategies.
After putting all the pieces in place, testing brings to perfection. This includes strategies and hardware.
Everything must work together for the full Mega Sumo experience.
Watch your legs and keep your eyes wide open!
https://www.facebook.com/MatrixRobots
Team members: Sofia Hopartean, Alexandra Hreniuc, Vlad Tamas, Octav Florescu, Alexandru Bondor