And In This Corner...(Of the Ring?)



	Sumo at the Exploratorium!
	SFRSA congratulates US Contestants for a noble effort in 1999!
	BASH!

	Pedigree Name - BASH Class - Autonomous Engineering Team: Bob Dain Team Bill Harrison - mechanical engineer Bob Dain - electrical and software engineer, owner and operator Bash is an Autonomous Japanese class Robot Sumo with a basic box shape. It is built out of aluminum metal and polycarbonate plastic. It has a scoop in front designed to get underneath its opponent. Motion and steering is done with two Neoprene wheels with independent control (to allow pivots). Bash uses four reflective infrared sensors to detect the white boundary stripe, and performs a simplistic detect and avoid edge behavior within the ring boundary. Development plans for Bash include wheel encoders, infrared proximity detectors, and distance sensors. These will allow the robot to detect the opponent and to detect the ring's edge from a greater distance.

	Squeegee!
	Pedigree Name - SQUEEGEE Class - Autonomous Engineering Team: Sine Robotics Sqeegee is Bill's new autonomous Japanese class Robot Sumo. It uses a scoop to get under the opponent, and IR detectors for the edge and the opponent. It uses two gear-reduced encoder DC motors to drive two neoprene wheels. There are two 12 volt lead acid gel cells and an alkaline 9 volt battery for power for the motors and the controller electronics. Steering is done by differential speed control of the wheels. Self-contained control is by a Bot Board II, designed by Marvin Green, and built by Bill. Other electronics were designed and built by Bill. The entire robot is almost entirely built of polycarbonate plastic, as a special design and built by hand by me, just for the Robot Sumo contest. A special feature is that the front scoop is riding on a carriage that can pivot to keep the edge flat on the surface. The carriage uses two little roller wheels to ride on.

	Leo
	Pedigree Name - LEO Class - Autonomous Engineering Team: Tom Dickens Tom Dickens' autonomous Robot Sumo, Leo, is almost entirely made of aluminum, and is shaped like a truncated pyramid (sides that tilt in). It's been painted blue. The sides use pivots and bump switches to detect contact of an opponent from all sides. Propulsion and steering is accomplished with two DC motors, gear reductions, and R/C foam tires. Alkaline batteries are used for the control electronics and a standard R/C 7.2 volt NiCad battery pack for motor power. It uses reflected light to detect the edge of the Sumo ring, and an IR distance measuring detector for opponent detection. The front side has a scoop for getting under the opponent.

	Broken Rib

	Pedigree Name - Broken Rib Class - Autonomous Engineering Team: Sine Robotics Design Engineers: Bill and Isa Harrison Mechanical and Electrical Engineer: Bill Harrison This is the robot, pretty much unmodified, that won the championship at the 1998 Western Canadian Robot Games (the only changes were to remove the extra weights and fashion a new scoop blade). Broken Rib is an autonomous Japanese class Robot Sumo. It's made primarily of aircraft aluminum and polycarbonate plastic. Autonomous control is by an onboard Bot Board I (by Marvin Green) and other electronics designed and built by Bill. Movement and steering are achieved with two independently controlled neoprene wheels, driven by two gear reduced encoded DC motors. Power for the motors are from three 12 volt lead acid gel cell batteries (36 volts total). An alkaline 9 volt battery is used for the control electronics. Edge and object detection is done with infrared light reflection. It has a stainless steel scoop to force its way underneath the opponent. Broken Rib's special strategy is to put more importance on speed than pushing power. With speed it is hoped that it will approach the opponents more from the sides and rear, which are usually the weakest directions for most opponents.
	Underdog

	Pedigree Name - Underdog Class - Autonomous Engineering Team: Awareness Robotics Engineer and Operator: Win Winthrop, Ph.D. A Lego Sumo Bot!
	Pushy

	Pedigree Name - Pushy Class - Autonomous Engineering Team: Sine Robotics Engineer and Operator: Bill Harrison This one is called Pushy. It has not only never won a Sumo contest, even though it's the oldest Autonomous robot sumo in our contests, but it has never even really functioned correctly (it lost two years in a row to a rock). Its main strength is that its operator is stubborn :-) , but it also sports a sleek stealth design and special sensors to detect the opponent at long distance and determine if it's losing in a push. Pushy is self-propelled! It's made primarily out of aircraft aluminum and remote control car parts and has a body shaped like a truncated pyramid. Pushy's stealth features consist of highly reflective surfaces to deflect light and sound sensors from the opponent. Pushy has a look-down IR detector in all four corners to detect the edge of the ring, as well as a similar pair on the right and left front to detect when an opponent is in front and close by. It also has a lensed IR detector to detect the opponent at long ranges, it acts like a beam interrupter. There are sensors for reverse detection (to detect if the robot is being pushed backwards), and pick up detection (to detect if the front of the robot being picked up). It's controlled by a Bot Board I, R/C car motor drivers, and electronics designed and built by Bill Harrison. Power for the two independent motor/wheels is from an R/C 7.2 volt NiCad battery pack. Wheels are made of neoprene. Power for the control electronics is from a four pack of AAA alkaline batteries. Bill plans to add wheel encoders and some sort of scoop if there is time to do so before the contest..