Good on you Gordon for your kind gesture.

Us adults would get our butts kicked by the students. I guarantee it.!

I always wanted to get the group involved in Robocup Junior, but alas
life got the better of the founding committee members commitment to the
group (me included).

I would recommend that you follow Gordon's advice and seriously look at
Robocup Junior.

My son is now 6 and I have unfortunately yet to show him my robots due
to many reasons. So I will have to get back into it next year. And when
I do it will be for Robocup Junior.

Thanks
Aaron

Gordon Wyeth wrote:

> Hi Guys
>
> This SIG used to run regular competitions - other members may recall
> also. If you're interested in a competition that would suit hobby
> roboticists then RoboCup Junior is worth a look. Yes, I know it's
> meant for kids. Nevertheless I would love to see how the adults stack
> up next to the kids. Maybe we could organise a kids v. adults
> SuperBowl at next year's competition?
>
> For those who haven't heard about RoboCup Junior have a look at:
>
> http://www.robocupqld.net.au/ <http://www.robocupqld.net.au/>
>
> Of the RoboCup Junior challenges I'd recommend Soccer or possibly
> Premier Rescue. Note that while many schools use LEGO to do these
> projects, you can use whatever you like. The best of the Soccer robots
> are all custom built.
>
> UQ could probably help out the SIG with loans of balls / tables / mats
> for the contest if you are interested in going down this path.
>
> Cheers
>
> Gordon Wyeth
> Director, Robotics Laboratory
> University of Queensland 4072 AUSTRALIA
> Phone: +61 7 3365 3770 Fax: +61 7 3365 4999
> wyeth@... http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~wyeth
> <http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/%7Ewyeth>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* robot_sig@yahoogroups.com [mailto:robot_sig@yahoogroups.com]
> *On Behalf Of *Quinn
> *Sent:* Tuesday, 29 August 2006 12:46 PM
> *To:* robot_sig@yahoogroups.com
> *Subject:* RE: {Disarmed} Re: {Definitely Spam?} {Disarmed}
> [robot_sig] Quinn's Project
>
> Yea I agree hold some competitions, get the ball rolling with some
> activity.
>
> *From:* robot_sig@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:robot_sig@yahoogroups.com] *On Behalf Of *Marcin
> *Sent:* Tuesday, August 29, 2006 12:07 PM
> *To:* robot_sig@yahoogroups.com
> *Subject:* {Disarmed} Re: {Definitely Spam?} {Disarmed}
> [robot_sig] Quinn's Project
>
> I fully agree with Linus' two main points: 1) start small, 2) have a
> specific goal.
>
> Would there be any interest in competitions like what they do in the
> States - at the high-end they have things like robo-magellan and the
> trinity college fire-fighting content, then at the middle-ground
> things comps like mini-sumo.
>
> Organised comps give motivation, goals and foster both co-operation
> and a healthy level of competition which I think hobby robotics
> needs. (This is the connection to the topic at hand)
>
> Just wanted to float it and see what folks thought.
>
> Cheers,
> Marcin
>
> --- In robot_sig@yahoogroups.com
> <mailto:robot_sig%40yahoogroups.com>, "Quinn" <quinn@...
> <mailto:quinn@...>> wrote:
> >
> > Ok maybe it's a bit to much to start with, but I am wanting to do
> something,
> > I am sick of sitting around doing nothing.
> >
> >
> >
> > From: robot_sig@yahoogroups.com
> <mailto:robot_sig%40yahoogroups.com>
> [mailto:robot_sig@yahoogroups.com
> <mailto:robot_sig%40yahoogroups.com>]
> On Behalf
> > Of Linus Dillon
> > Sent: Sunday, August 27, 2006 9:11 AM
> > To: Robot Sig
> > Subject: {Definitely Spam?} {Disarmed} [robot_sig] Quinn's Project
> >
> >
> >
> > Hi Quinn,
> >
> >
> >
> > Thought it best to start a new thread to discuss your idea.
> >
> >
> >
> > First up (and don't take this as criticism), be careful biting off
> too much
> > initially. I know that's why I ended up dropping out from the
> group. You may
> > want to either aim for some smaller projects first, or ensure that
> whatever
> > you build can be done in smaller stages which themselves are
> interesting.
> >
> >
> >
> > Having said that, I guess the first thing to work out about the
> larger
> > project is what you are aiming for. You say it will feature either
> tracks or
> > wheels, however those two architectures are very different, so you
> will have
> > to decide that before anything else. What do you want the robot to
> DO? What
> > problem do you want it to solve? What challenge would you like to
> explore
> > with it?
> >
> >
> >
> > You will then have to start thinking about what you will build it
> from.
> > Modified existing toy? Pre-designed kit? Lego? Meccano? Plastics?
> Metal
> > section? Wood? Ask yourself what skills do you already have with
> respect to
> > building stuff? How much can/will you spend? (note, that given your
> > statement about it being 3 to 4 feet tall (AHH! metric please!
> errr... about
> > 1 metre tall) you will probably need to look at wood/metal section
> for the
> > skeleton for something that size).
> >
> >
> >
> > Obviously tracks would be easier (there are some tracked-vehicle
> kits out
> > there so you can get the basic components easily enough and them
> adjust to
> > the form you actually want), however tracked vehicles chew up a
> fair bit of
> > power and don't turn all that neatly on carpets. Bipeds are now
> finally
> > starting to take off, and you can even buy a simple one for $100
> or so and
> > then hack that if you wish (RoboSapien and RoboSapien V2), however
> if you
> > wish to build form the ground up there are also several servo-
> based kits
> > available now (although pricey), and building your own from
> scratch is no
> > longer impossible. However it will probably not be able to lift/do
> too much
> > else, and your looking at a VERY long project if you starting from
> the group
> > up.
> >
> >
> >
> > Have you considered the 'segway' style robots? I find these quite
> > interesting, and people have even built basic models from LEGO
> Mindstorms!
> > You could view them as featuring some of the same issues as biped
> (dynamic
> > balance) with much simpler mechanics, lower power consumption, and
> capable
> > of bearing larger weights. I haven't seen too much PRACTICAL use
> made of
> > them as yet however, but I know the guys who did the RoboSapiens
> are soon to
> > release a robot with arms that has this style of locomotion.
> >
> >
> >
> > You may be interested in this:
> http://www.msl.ri.cmu.edu/projects/ballbot/
> <http://www.msl.ri.cmu.edu/projects/ballbot/> -
> > probably NOT what your after, but the idea of a robot balancing on
> a ball is
> > interesting.
> >
> >
> >
> > -Linus
> >
>
>