2007 RULES of MICROCLIPPER
(It is the same as last year's rule)
The Microclipper Contest is a contest in which robots compete by discovering empty
cylindrical cans in an unfamiliar maze by themselves and turning as many of them as
possible upside down within a certain time period. Robots entered in this contest are
called "microclippers."
1. Rules for the Microclipper
1-1. A microclipper shall be selfcontained. A microclipper shall not use an energy
source employing a combustion process.
1-2. A microclipper shall not have any hardware or software added, deleted, replaced or
modified by the operator during the contest. It is however permissible to make minor
repairs or adjustments and to replace the batteries with those with exactly the same
specifications.
1-3. No part of the microclipper should be left in the maze.
1-4. A microclipper must run on the floor surface in the maze. It must not jump over or climb up
the cylinders or the walls of the maze.
1-5. A microclipper must not deform or destroy the maze and the cylinders.
2. Rules for the Maze.
2-1. The sides of the maze walls shall be white, and the top of the walls shall be red.
The floor shall be black. The track of the maze shall be made of wood finished with
non-gloss black paint.
2-2. The maze shall be composed of multiples of an 18 cm x 18 cm unit square. The maze
shall comprise 16 x 16 unit squares. The walls constituting the maze shall be 5 cm high
and 1.2 cm thick. (See Fig.1)
2-3. The starting point is located in one of the four corners of the maze. A microclipper shall
start in a clockwise direction.
2-4. Small square zones, each 1.2 cm x 1.2 cm, at the four corners of each unit square
are called lattice points. The maze is so constituted that there is at least one wall at
a lattice point. (See Fig.1)
3. Rules for the Cylinders
3-1. Cylinders shall be placed almost at the center of each of the several unit squares
in the maze.
3-2. Empty steel cans for commercially available juice and other products shall be used
as the cylinders.
3-3. A cylinder is 104 mm in length, 53mm in diameter, and 38g in weight (errors in
height and diameter are within plus or minus 0.5mm or less, and those in weight are
within plus or minus 3g or less).
3-4. The top surface of a cylinder shall be painted white, the sides yellow, and the
base blue.
4. Rules for the contest
4-1. Each contesting microclipper shall be subject to a time limit of 10 minutes.
Within this time limit, the microclipper may try up to 5 runs.
4-2. The objective of the game is to manipulate the microclipper so that it turns cylinders upside
down as it moves through the maze. The number of cylinders turned upside down at the end
of the game shall be recorded as the result of the game.
4-3. If there is more than one microclipper that has turned all cylinders upside down
within the given period of time, ranking shall be determined on the basis of the time
that has elapsed until the microclipper returns to the starting point from its last run
and stops.
4-4. The configuration of the maze and the position of the cylinders shall not be made
public until the start of the contest.
4-5. After the layout of the maze is disclosed, the operator must not feed any
information on the maze and the position of the cylinders into the microclipper.
4-6. Measurement of the time given to a microclipper shall start with the start call of
the tournament committee chairperson.
4-7. The run time will be over when the microclipper fails to make a move for two seconds or
more or when the microclipper is deemed to have stopped its run.
4-8. The operator is not allowed to come into contact with the microclipper in motion unless
he/she is directed by the tournament committee chairperson to do so, or approved to
discontinue its run. The tournament committee chairperson may approve the operator’s
request to discontinue a run in the event of an apparent malfunction in the microclipper’s
action. Request for the discontinuation of a run on grounds other than the above will be
rejected.
4-9. The cylinder shall be placed at designated locations in the maze before the start
of the contest. The operator must not touch the cylinders while the microclipper is running.
4-10. In the event of restarting the microclipper, the contestant may, subject to approval by the
tournament committee chairperson, remove from the maze those cylinders that have come
into contact with the microclipper.
4-11. The illumination, temperature and humidity of the room in which the maze is
located shall be those of an ambient environment. Requests to adjust the illumination
shall no be accepted.
4-12. The tournament committee chairperson reserves the right to ask, as he deems it
appropriate, the operator for an explanation of his microclipper. The tournament
committee chairperson also reserves the right to stop a run, declare disqualification, or
give instructions as he deems appropriate.
[Appendices]
(1) The contestant is not permitted to load programs or to replace ROM during the
contest. It is also prohibited to give instructions regarding execution of a program
by connecting a microclipper to a development unit or console box, independent of the
main unit, during a competition.
(2) Dimensions of Microclipper
There shall be no limitations placed on the dimensions of a microclipper. Its lower
structure, however, is limited by the size of the maze.
(3) Structure of Maze
The precision with which the maze is made is that commonly used for similar structures,
and there may be an element of error in the dimensions. As the maze is designed to be
flexible, the design may produce gaps or difference in level of approximately 1 mm
between sections of the walls or the floor. There are also nonuniform color,
discoloring and smear.
(4) If a cylinder leans against the wall or column of the maze, it shall be
considered to have fallen down.
(5) Separate regulations concerning the presentation of awards shall be established
for each contest.