Introduction
Introduction
Original
Bilby A robot ‘Bilby’ is a small cable controlled robot that is programmed to find it own way along a path formed by 18cm white wooden squares, placed on a flat black surface. The Bilby is controlled by a personal computer via the printer port. The objective of the competition is to race the robots against the clock to the end of the path. Click on the image for an animation. (416k)
The path is constructed of a series on white squares laid edge to edge in any rectangular configuration.
The Bilby is constructed from a pair of stepper motors directly driving two wheels, with skids (front and rear) for balance. Infra-Red reflective sensors are used to sense the edges of the white path against a black surface. The Bilby is controlled via a lead from the parallel port of a personal computer. A circuit board on the Bilby provides the simple interface necessary for the stepper motor drive and sensor input.
For a more detailed description of the project you may like to read the Bilby White Paper as presented at the Australian Conference on Robotics and Automation, Brisbane March 1999.
Development of the competition
From its inception in 1995 the Robot Bilby Competition has gained a strong following amongst Darling Downs secondary school science and technology teachers as a practical, educational and enjoyable activity. The competition is recommended for year 10, 11 or 12 students.
The Bilby competition was designed by Engineers at the USQ specifically for secondary school students, and in 1997 was selected by the Department of Industry, Science and Tourism as one of only five initiatives to earn a grant through the Science and Technology Awareness Program.
1997 also saw the introduction of the ‘Home Grown’ division into the competition. Somewhat more prestigious than the ‘Kit’ division, it is designed to encourage students to construct their own robots. This division attracted some of the brightest students but unfortunately there have been no entrants for the last few years.
A 'Maze' division was also introduced at one stage but this problem never received the attention and entrants it should have. Perhaps one of the future 'problems' for the smarter Bilby may involve a form a maze at some time.
Darling Downs
Schools in the Darling Downs region who do not already have a Robot Bilby can be supplied with a kit robot (on loan at no cost) to get them started. No specialist knowledge is required by the students but the supervising teacher should have some experience with computers. The Starter Kit provides all of the components required to get the robot mobile, including sensors and useful information in the form of programs and documentation. In addition to this information the USQ sometimes runs a Robot Workshop in conjunction with the Robot Bilby Competition.
