Published on Sep 05, 2023
The objective:
Determine if a simple walking robot designed to avoid objects, can pass through mazes more quickly than obstacle courses.
Materials include: "Spider 3 Walking Avoider Robot Kit" from the Mondo-Tronics Robot (Internet) store, Phillips screwdriver, pliers, plastic screwdriver, razor blade, various obstacles (different sizes, shapes, colors and textures), cardboard, linoleum floor, duct tape, paper, pens (multiple colors), camera, and pillows.
We timed the robot through a total of four obstacle courses and three mazes.
I traced the path of the robot through each course and maze for each run. Times for successfully completed runs were averaged and compared to each other.
The average time to complete the obstacle courses was 1 min. 31 sec. The average time to complete the mazes was 6 min. 47 sec.
We proved our hypothesis. On average, the robot went through the obstacle courses faster than the mazes. The major reason for this result is the difference between a maze and an obstacle course.
A maze is a twisted path that requires intelligence to get through quickly. An obstacle course is an open path with objects in the way of the robot. This experiment proved that the robot can detect and avoid objects, but the robot cannot "think" it's way through a maze.
This project tested a robot, designed to avoid objects, to see if it could get through mazes or obstacle courses faster.
