Jul 19, 2010

The 1st Robot Survival Game took place in Akihabara, Tokyo (July 19, 2010)

The 1st Robot Survival Game took place at ASOBITCITY in Akihabara, Tokyo on July 19th, 2010. Variety of robot, not only multi-legged robot such as 4-legged, 5-legged, 6-legged with wheels but also mobiles such as tank with 4-wheels or caterpillars joined the game.


The organizer who were Tanaka-san (Dainihon-giken) and Bishii-san (Asakusa-giken) announced on Dec 4th, 2009 that they began to make multi-legged robots for robot survival game with toy gun and sensor for detecting the impact, which were controlled using image monitor such as Mech Warfare in U.S.A. The movement of making multi-legged robot in Japan began from this announce.

Trials were held twice for getting information of the robot survival game such as gun-shoot range of height and radio control and camera system without confusion. The 1st trail took place at the office of Dainihon-giken in Mitaka City, Tokyo on April 10th and the 2nd one at ASOBITCITY in Akihabara and at Kanto Trainning Meeting in Minami-senju, Tokyo on June 13th, 2010.

Main regulations of the robot survival game are as follows;
1) Mobile bodies are not only multi-legged robot or biped robot but also mobile with wheel or caterpillar.
2) Weapons are toy-gun under 0.1 J and/or the other shooting system.
3) Equipped stopping mechanism of the body by gun-hit sensor using a solar battery covered with tinfoil (6 x 6 x 6 cm cubed or 5 x 6 x 7 cm).
4) Robot control has to be done with the image on PC from the camera attached on the robot.
5) Participants have to handle toy-gun carefully and put protector on eyes.

There are 18 enrollments for this robot survival game. Eight robots (including mobile bodies with wheels or caterpillars) with full equipments for the regulation joined the 1st Robot Survival Game. The other members were in the course of making equipments for the survival game such as gun-shooting and gun-hit sensor systems.

Multi-legged robot is stable to walk compared with biped robot and even low powered servo motor can move the body. It is not so hard for biped robot builders to make a new multi-legged robot. Biped robot builders also have a lot of idle controller, servos, arms and parts.

However, it is not so easy even for robot builders to make these robot survival game systems. Participant has to make his mobile body, gun-shooting system, gun-hit sensor and camera system. It is also necessary for correct gun-shooting to make a laser beam aiming system. Koizumi-san, a member of the robot survival game, designed the electric circuit for gun-shooting system and gun-hit sensor system. As the circuits are not sold on the market except for electric parts, member has to make these electric circuits by himself.

Eight robots were divided into two teams. Each team reader was Igaa-san and gons-san respectively.
Members of Igaa team are as follows;
`Vanga`, 6-legged with wheels robot was custom-built by Igaa. It could move very fast using wheel system.

`Yabusame`, 4-legged robot was custom-built by Mota.

`Arnold Stallone`, 4-legged turtle robot with KCB-3WL, which was a new board for remote controlling robot system from KONDO by watching image around the robot on PC, with double guns system was custom-built by Noborizaka.

`Danga`, mobile with caterpillar such as tank was custom-built by Igaa.

Members of gons team are as follows;  
`Denryu’ with 4 wheel body was custom-built by gons.

` BLACK TIGER L45`, 5-legged robot was custom-built by IKETOMU. As it was based biped robot body and using high power servo motor KRS-4013HV, the mobility was high compared with other multi-legged ones.

`Goryu`, mobile was custom-built by Koizumi.

`Osaru-2.5gou`, mobile with caterpillars attached a rubber band frotress was custum-built by Osaru.



Setting up camera control system behind the field

Tanaka-san planed field layout to use long shooting range valuable, field was divided into 4 parts as A to D. In the A & D parts, high and big obstacles were set for not to recognize each other till the moment they saw each other as street fighting. In the B &D parts, low and small obstacles for barricade were set, where they can see each other but they have to move for shooting.

Tanaka-san also planned games as follows;

[Combat Shooting]
Practice game for trainning of shoot skill. In the C & D field, player moves to the No.1 shooting place from the starting point and shoot the target. After shooting down the target, player moves to next place and shoot the target. Winner is the shortest time player for shooting down 3 targets. The target is a cut 1 L milk paper pack. Player has to go through a wire gate or to push down a flag for getting to the shooting place.

[Sparring]
Practice game for team member. Sparring takes place in the A(D) field or B(D) field. Sparring takes place between a expert and a beginner for 3 minutes. The Expert cannot shoot and just run away around the beginner shooting.

[Handicapped game]
Practice game for team leader vs other team members for 3 minutes in the C & D field. During the first 2 minutes and 30 seconds, team leader cannot shoot and run away, other team members shoot leader. During the rest 30 seconds, the leader can shoot other team members and other members cannot shoot. All robots put on the diagonal (line) at the starting time to prevent from ending the game in a short time.

[Team game]
Each team has A & B or C & D fields as territory. Robots can put in the A & D field at the beginning of the game. Game time is 5 minutes.

1. Destroy the enemy completely
Each team fights to destroy the enemy completely within 5 minutes. The winner team is having larger number of survival robot after 5 minutes.

2. Flag fight
Each team fights to shoot down flag in the enemy territory as the combat shooting. The winner is the team shot down the enemy flag within 5 minutes or the team which has larger number of survival robot after 5 minute in the case of each flag does not shoot down within 5 minutes.

[Fight a duel]
Just 2 robots fight in the field. Using of field and fighting time is free.

Before above survival games took place, hit sensor ajustment of all robots for same sensitivity was carried out.



Survival game between 2 teams was carried out. The 1st game was carried out without camera system. The 2nd game was carried out using camera image on PC.


[Sparring]
Practice game for team member. Sparring takes place in the A(D) field or B(D) field. Sparring takes place between a expert, Vanga and a beginner, Yabusame for 3 minutes. The Expert cannot shoot and just run away around the beginner shooting.



[Handicapped game]
Practice game for team leader vs other team members for 3 minutes in the C & D field. During the first 2 minutes and 30 seconds, team leader cannot shoot and run away, other team members shoot leader. During the rest 30 seconds, the leader can shoot other team members and other members cannot shoot. All robots put on the diagonal (line) at the starting time to prevent from ending the game in a short time.




[Team game:1.Destroy the enemy completely]
Each team has A & B or C & D fields as territory. Robots can put in the A & D field at the beginning of the game. Game time is 3 minutes. Each team fights to destroy the enemy completely within 3 minutes. The winner team is having larger number of survival robot after 3 minutes.




[Team game:2. Flag fight]
Each team has A & B or C & D fields as territory. Robots can put in the A & D field at the beginning of the game. Game time is 3 minutes. Each team fights to shoot down flag in the enemy territory as the combat shooting. The winner is the team shot down the enemy flag ithin 3 minutes or the team which has larger number of survival robot after 3 minute in the case of each flag does not shoot down within 3 minutes.


The details were also described in Tanaka-san's Blog (in Japanese).

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Jul 13, 2010

Turtle model robot, a New KONDO 4-Legged Robot, will be put on the market ( July 12, 2010)

KONDO KAGAKU CO. LTD. announced that KONDO ANIMAL Turtle model robot 01, a new 4-legged robot will be put on the market on July 16, 2010. The turtle robot is the first one of the KONDO ANIMAL ROBOT Series.

KONDO is the leading company of biped hobby robot and is known to a maker of KHR-series robot as KHR-1, KHR-2HV and KHR-3HV. The new robot is a new category robot, multi-legged robot.

ROBOSPOT (KONDO KAGAKU CO., LTD) held an information exchange meeting about multi-legged robot on Jan 23rd, 2010. Some robot builders joined the meeting and exchanged the opinion. The 1st Multi-Legged Robot Contest sponsored by KONDO KAGAKU CO.,LTD took place on June 5th during the 6th KHR Anniversary. KONDO is also interested in the multi-legged robot.

Multi-legged robot has been being miner robot compared with biped robot in Japan. Just G-DOG , a kit of 4 legs robot, was on the market from HIP JAPAN in July 2008. Recently, robot builders who has been making custom-built biped robot are interested in making multi-legged robot. The 1st Robot survival game of multi-legged robot will take place on July 19th, 2010 at Asobitcity in Akihabara, Tokyo.

Multi-legged robot is stable to walk compared with biped robot and even low powered servo motor can move the body. Therefor multi-legged robot is suitable such a survival game of robot because it can load some equipments such as toy gun, camera etc.

Specifications are as follows:
Servo: KRS-4024SHV ICS Red Version x9
Control board: RCB-3HV Ver.1.1A
Flame: turtle model
Backpack set typeA
Battery:ROBO power cell HV C-type 10.8V-300mAh Ni-MH
Battery carger:AC100V
Parts: screws, cables, plastic parts
CD-ROM: manual, software, sample motions etc.
Price: 39,900 Yen (including tax)

Demonstration of the turtle robot 01 at RT Office



Demonstration of the turtle robot 01 by Craft House



Video of the original model of turtle robot, using KRS-2552HV



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Jul 4, 2010

The 8th Wandahoo Robot Carnival will take place and be shown on USTREAM, July 11th, 2010 (July 4, 2010)

The 8th Wandahoo Robot Carnival will be held at Electric Power Historical Museum in Yokohama on July 11th, 2010. The competition will be shown on `Ustream Wandahoo Robot Carnival`from 10:30 am to 5:00 pm (JST).

The 8th Wandahoo videos are keeping in the Ustrean Wandahoo Robot Carnival Channel.

Program is as follows;
10:30 Opening ceremony
10:35 Introduction of participating robots
11:05 Dash 2000
12:30 Bottle Traction
13:50 Dice Shot
15:10 Cubs
15:55 Robot Fight
16:25 Closing ceremony

Wandahoo Robot Carnival is sponsored by Ishikawa-san and supported by the members of Kanto ROBOT Practice(Kanto-gumi Robot Training Meeting). Ishikawa-san and his stuffs are busy preparing USTREAM Live system of the Carnival now. Entry of the 8th Carnival has finished on July 27th and 40 robots entried.

The Carnival is robot competition consisted with various four type games such as Dash 2000 (competition of 2 robots, 2 m U-turn course foot race; each robot gets points depended on the order of record time and winner also gets points), Bottle Traction (pushing or pulling a basket with 500 or 1000 ml bottles for 2 m within 1 minute; points are multiplication of number of bottles and distance carried), Dice Shot (dice soccer of 2 robots; each robot gets points depended on the spots of dice shot for 2 minutes and winner also gets points) and Cubs (team game of 3 robots each, carrying cubs to own territory for 2 minutes; winner team members get points) and Robot Fight with the best 4 robots. Therefore, this Carnival is called `Robot Olympic`.

Each robot gets points from each game. In the case of team game, winner team member robots gets points. Four robots gotten many points can join the final tournament of Robot Fight. The rest robots have Ramble Fights. Those games were planned by Ishikawa-san.

The winner gets the right to join the ROBO-ONE Tournament and robot elected by participants gets the right to join the JSRC (Japan Standard Class Robot Community) Championship. It is necessary for winner that the robot has a high activity with performance and also good luck.


The 1st Carnival took place on July 16, 2006 and then the Carnival held twice in January and July every year. From 2010, the Carnival takes place in July once a year. Animader-san painted each event poster. As for the poster gallery, click here. The theme song of Carnival also can be downloaded here.

The series of Wandahoo Robot Carnival Result & Reports are as follows;
 
The 1st Wandahoo Robot Carnival at Bunkyo Civic Center on July 16, 2006
The 2nd Wandahoo Robot Carnival at Bunkyo Civic Center on Jan 17, 2007
The 3rd Wandahoo Robot Carnival at Bunkyo Civic Center on July 15, 2007
The 4th Wandahoo Robot Carnival at Bunkyo Civic Center on Jan 13, 2008
The 5th Wandahoo Robot Carnival at Bunkyo Civic Center on July 20, 2008
The 6th Wandahoo Robot Carnival at Institute of Industry Promotion Kawasaki on Jan 11, 2009 :Report
The 7th Wandahoo Robot Carnival at Telecom Center on July 19, 2009 :Report

Additional petch carnival also took place twice as follows:
"Wandahoo Robot Carnival Petit" in Soka Fusasara Festival on Nov 2, 2008 :Report
"Wandahoo Robot Carnival Petit 2" in the 6th MONO CREATOR FESTIVAL 2009 Spring on Apr 29, 2009 :Report

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