Robotics Park is looking to feature Creature Creators!

Create a robot Critter, life-like or imaginative, that has a touch sensor(s) and a light sensor(s). Touch sensors are needed to detect and avoid walls and other critters that are in the feeding area/ pen.  Light sensors are needed to locate food.  Your Critter must be able to exhibit a ‘happy’ behavior when it finds food and a ‘sad’ behavior if it doesn’t find food.

Have fun and be creative!  For example, a dog might wag its tail to show ‘happy’ and howl to show ‘sad’. The emphasis is having both behaviors be interesting as this activity would be more demonstrative as opposed to competitive.

Diet and Rules for Feeding Frenzy

• Each Critter must fit within an area 15” x 15.”  This area includes any projections that are motorized.   There are no limitations on a Critter’s height.
• The feeding pen is 8’ x 8’ using standard 2” x 4” studs.
• Each Critter will be randomly assigned a starting place around the edges of the 8’ x 8’ feeding pen.
• Food will be CDs randomly thrown within the feeding pen.
• Critters would have 2 minutes to either (A) find food and exhibit a ‘happy’ behavior, or (B) not find food and exhibit a ‘sad’ behavior.
• A schedule of feeding times would be posted and teams must sign up their Critter.  A maximum of 6 Critters will be fed at any one time.  For however many critters are signed up there will be two less portions of food available.  Thus, there will be hungry Critters!
• It may be possible for Critters to feed more than once depending on the total number of Critters at the Park and available sign up times.
• Critters will be displayed in booths when they are not feeding.
• Additionally, teams might want to create a mini-habitat for their critter, utilizing a standard science fair backboard.   In their mini-habitat in their booth, Critters can demonstrate their  ‘happy’ and ‘sad’ behaviors to interested onlookers.
• As with other booth displays this challenge may also be accompanied by a writing or composition piece appropriate to the critter that was chosen. It could be a brochure with information about your critter, its environment and habits. It might be a creative writing piece or an advertising flyer about your creation. It could be a PowerPoint presentation that informs others about your critter or the process you went through in the creation of your robotic project. This brochure, flyer, or presentation could be part of your Robotics Park display, chould be made available to others (for reading or viewing) who are touring the park. Presentations could be running and written material could be available and handed out to those interested.

Credits:  The idea for Creature Feature Feeding Frenzy Activity germinated at: https://www.legoengineering.com/content/view/53/65/

Superlatives would be given in the following areas:

Most Imaginative Critter

Most Life-like Critter

Most ingenious  “happy” behavior

Most technically accomplished “happy” behavior

Most ingenious  “sad” behavior

Most technically accomplished “sad” behavior

Colorful and creative habitat

Most caring “owners”

“K.I.S.S.” the Critter (kept it so simple, but effective)