Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!sgiblab!spool.mu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!uunet!psinntp!gdstech!wlim
From: wlim@gdstech.grumman.com (Willie Lim)
Subject: The 1994 AAAI Robot Building Laboratory (RBL-94)
Message-ID: <1993Dec3.223218.4988@gdstech.grumman.com>
Organization: Grumman Corporation, Bethpage, New York, USA.
Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1993 22:32:18 GMT
Lines: 115

					
			 CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

	    The 1994 AAAI Robot Building Laboratory (RBL-94)


Introduction

   If you missed  the fun and  excitement of participating in the  Robot
Building Event of  AAAI-93, here is  your chance  to  participate in its
formal successor: the 1994 AAAI Robot Building Laboratory (RBL-94) to be
held in conjunction with AAAI-94 in Seattle, Washington.

   Never built a robot before?  No problem!  RBL-94 will provide you the
opportunity   to build one    using  a variety   of sensors,  motors,  a
micro-controller board, and toy  parts. By programming it yourself using
C or Lisp, you will endow your robot with its own personality and smarts
to compete against others in a series of contests.

   So you have  been working  in AI  or developing  theories for robots?
Ever  wonder how fast  you can build  a working robot  to test out  your
ideas? RBL-94 is your answer. It is a facility  for rapid prototyping of
small  robots.   These  robots may  lack  the industrial strength  robot
precision and repeatability.  They may  also lack the reasoning power of
larger robots.  However  they make up  for it  by being cheaper, easier,
and  faster  to build.  They are  also  good  replacements  for computer
simulations and theories by forcing you  to  deal with the  real world -
imperfect     sensors, motors,   wheels,  finite  energy   sources (viz.
batteries) and yes things do wear out and break  in the real world.  See
what you can  do with your ideas with  real working robots. See how much
of your experience you can impart to your robot.

   Perhaps if you have done things a little differently  you  might have
won the AAAI-93 robot  building  event. Perhaps  you should have built a
little more aggressiveness into your  robot. May be  you should not have
used  that world  map.  Or  may   be you could  have replaced  that wall
following  behavior with something  neater.   Well  here is your  second
chance.  Participate in RBL-94 and build it right; build to win.

   Can  your robot  outwit the others?  You may discover  novel and neat
ways to do things.  Think of  the excitement, the possibilities, the fun
you will have at RBL-94. So do not miss it, participate in RBL-94.


Structure of RBL-94

   RBL-94   is composed  of   three  major building  blocks: Jump  Start
Session,  laboratory,  and   contests.  We strongly  recommend  that all
participants attend the half-day Jump Start Session given by  members of
the organizing committee  on Sunday  morning,  July 31, 1994.  The  Jump
Start    Session will  focus exclusively   on   providing  the necessary
background and practical advice on robot building.

   RBL-94 participants  must belong to  a  team of 4  (3  is permitted).
Participants should form teams  as  quickly as possible. Those  who  are
unable  to form   their own team will   be grouped  into   teams by  the
organizing committee.

   The laboratory will  begin  immediately   following the  Jump   Start
Session.  Robot  kits  will be   distributed to teams    at  this  time.
Laboratory work  continues (round the clock   as  necessary), until  2pm
Thursday, August 4, 1994, when the final contest starts.

   Each team competes in a series of contests.  These contests will take
place daily with the final contest to be held the afternoon of Thursday,
August 7, 1994.

   Each contest  is  designed to require  teams to build more   and more
capabilities  into their robot.   The  contest-paced robot evolution  is
designed to  help teams effectively  manage their development time.   It
ensures early feedback, gives teams a chance to  catch up, maximizes the
number of robots  ready  for the final   (most  difficult and  exciting)
contest, and improves  participant satisfaction. The  final contest will
include   random elements (e.g.,   obstacles, doors,  etc),  designed to
encourage robust   robot solutions  and cooperative  and/or  adversarial
robot interaction. Detailed contest formats  and  rules will be provided
at a later date.


Preliminary Schedule

    The following is the preliminary schedule for RBL-94. The organizing
committee reserves the right to revise it.


      Sunday, July 31      9:00 - 12:30   RBL-94 Jump Start Session
      Sunday, July 31	     13:00	  RBL-94 starts
      Monday, August 1	     18:00	  First contest
      Tuesday, August 2	     18:00	  Second contest
      Wednesday, August 3    18:00	  Third contest
      Thursday, August 4     14:00	  Final contest



Organizing Committee


William Lim (Chair)       Grumman Corporation
                          Phone: (516) 575-4909 (voice), (516) 346-3670 (fax)
                          Email: wlim@grumman.com

Jeffrey S. Graham         Woodbridge, Virginia
                          Phone: (703) 221-3677 (voice)
                          Email: j85@delphi.com

Henry Hexmoor             SUNY at Buffalo
                          Phone: (716) 645-3197 (voice), (716) 645-3464 (fax)
                          Email: hexmoor@cs.buffalo.edu

Gerhard K. Kraetzschmar   Bavarian Research Center for
                          Knowledge-Based Systems (FORWISS)
                          Phone: +49-9131-691-193(voice), +49-9131-691-185(fax)
                          Email: gkk@forwiss.uni-erlangen.de


