Engineers Place in Robotic Mouse Competition
Engineers Place in Robotic Mouse Competition
May 3, 2006
Every year, Rowan University electrical and computer engineering students set forth not to build a better mousetrap but a better mouse.
That's the goal of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) annual micromouse competition. Students design and build a small electronic mouse that must navigate from the edge of a maze to the center. The mouse that does it in the shortest amount of time wins.
Rowan's team of sophomore engineers (Ryan Fillman, 20, of Washington Township; Metin Ahiskali, 19, of Randolph; Will Collani, 22, of Hazlet; and Andrew Hak, 20, of Merchantville) worked three months outside of class to complete their entry. The mice are not remote controlled, but instead "self contained," similar to the Mars rover. The battery-powered mice must make decisions, using optical sensors and microprocessors, when they run into an obstacle like a wall.
"So much time is spent in design and construction of the mouse that seeing the finished product making decisions and solving the maze is an amazing feeling," said Fillman.
The competition teaches students more than just hardware and software design. "Micromouse teaches strategy and teamwork since they must work together," said electrical and computer engineering associate professor Dr. Shreekanth Mandayam.
This April, the Rowan Team took second place at the IEEE Region 2 Micromouse Competition held at Drexel University. Fillman already is planning Rowan's next micromouse. "For next year's competition, we are starting early and will be running two robots through the maze," he said.
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That's the goal of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) annual micromouse competition. Students design and build a small electronic mouse that must navigate from the edge of a maze to the center. The mouse that does it in the shortest amount of time wins.
Rowan's team of sophomore engineers (Ryan Fillman, 20, of Washington Township; Metin Ahiskali, 19, of Randolph; Will Collani, 22, of Hazlet; and Andrew Hak, 20, of Merchantville) worked three months outside of class to complete their entry. The mice are not remote controlled, but instead "self contained," similar to the Mars rover. The battery-powered mice must make decisions, using optical sensors and microprocessors, when they run into an obstacle like a wall.
"So much time is spent in design and construction of the mouse that seeing the finished product making decisions and solving the maze is an amazing feeling," said Fillman.
The competition teaches students more than just hardware and software design. "Micromouse teaches strategy and teamwork since they must work together," said electrical and computer engineering associate professor Dr. Shreekanth Mandayam.
This April, the Rowan Team took second place at the IEEE Region 2 Micromouse Competition held at Drexel University. Fillman already is planning Rowan's next micromouse. "For next year's competition, we are starting early and will be running two robots through the maze," he said.
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