It would be interesting to see the contestants create their version of a MARS ROV (remote operating vehicle) to collect and retrieve an object. A good example would be one or several ostrich eggs would be placed on an obstacle course where the ROVs would have to negotiate a ditch, rocky/hilly terrain, and/or shallow mud/water. If the goal is involves only one egg, then the team that is first to collect and retrieve the egg back to the finish line wins. If the goal involves several eggs, then the team that collects and retrieves the most eggs (with each egg being assigned a certain point value)wins the contest.

-- ben mitchell (ben@ce.net), March 23, 2001

Answers

mmm sounds like someone having trouble gathering eggs...... ??

-- Mitch (reeser@xit.net), March 23, 2001.

Interesting concept, but: To keep it from becoming too much like a simple R/C robot game, how about requiring the machines to all be hard wired? They'd have to drag a shielded multi-wire cable everywhere they went. That might spice things up a bit!

-- Chip Haynes (ehaynes@co.pinellas.fl.us), March 27, 2001.