Grim Reaper

Team members: Senthil Periaswamy, Daniel Siegal, Neil Miller.

Robot strategy: Traverse map by travelling in straight segments. Springy wheels at front of robot allow the robot to compliantly follow a wall, or to compliantly align itself perpendicularly to a wall by running into it. So by performing a series of compliant motions, this robot knew its approximate location in the course with a fair degree of robustness. Transmission is dual-differential drive (one turning motor, one driving motor). Food is trapped by an actuated gate. The gate opens whenever the robot is moving forward, to allow new food to be trapped. The robot opens the gate and backs up to deposit food at home; it never carries more than three pieces of food at once. When poison is detected, the robot backs up a little and closes its gate; this always avoids the poison, but sometimes also loses a food that was already trapped.