University News Last updated 31 July 2009
It is hoped the ‘big cheeses' in the world of mini robots will be racing to Birmingham again following the success of June's UK Micromouse 2009 Cheese Trophy competition.
Organised by Birmingham City University's Faculty of Technology Innovation and Development (TID), the event aims to inspire young people to consider careers in software and electronics, especially as these sectors continue to experience skills shortages. Five schools attended June's event and it's hoped that more will attend the next competition which the University plans to host at the end of November. The event will feature competitions for maze-solvers, wall-followers, line-followers, mini-sumo and dragracers.
Micromouse organiser, Dr Tony Wilcox said: "We've still to confirm the venue for the November event, but we're very excited at the prospect of hosting another competition. It's important to get young people interested in software and electronics as there are skills shortages in these areas. The mini-robots featured at Micromouse provide a great way for young people to get ‘hands-on' experience and explore these technologies, which is the most effective way to spark new interest in these areas."
Micromouse championships have been held annually in the UK for nearly 30 years, with similar events also taking place in the USA and across East Asia; Birmingham City University has been hosting the UK Micromouse since 2004. The top ‘maze-solver' challenge sees autonomous mini-robot ‘mice', racing unaided to the centre of a specially constructed maze. Challengers utilise sensors, motors and software to enable their robots to negotiate the maze, map its surroundings and work out the optimum route to the centre over a series of timed runs.
UK Micromouse features a wide range of categories for senior and junior competitors, as well as competitions for school teams. Robot competitors range from simple starter robots, capable of sensing and following a route marked with a line, to the highly-sophisticated maze-solving robot mice. Other events include the drag race, which is a fun challenge to test the speed and acceleration of the robots and a robotic mini-sumo challenge, where contenders must first find their opponent, before pushing them out of the ring. Next month the new UK champion Peter Harrison, from South Staffordshire College, has been invited to Taiwan to compete in the5 Taiwan Micromouse championships, along with Ng Beng Kiat (Singapore) and David Otten (USA) amongst others. Peter and Tony Wilcox co-founded the Midlands Micromouse and Robotics Club (MMRC), which currently has monthly meetings at Birmingham City University's campus at Millennium Point, Birmingham.