    |
The Micromouse
Not all robots are meant to be large. In fact, some of the most impressive robots are often rather small. The Micromouse team comprised of Electrical, Computer, and Mechanical Engineers: Steven Langan, Olayemi Adeyinka, Tom Paulman, and Victor Tafro, set out design a robot capable of navigating a maze like a mouse. The Institute of Electrical Electronics Engineers (IEEE) every year holds a Region 1 Student Conference Micromouse Competition.
In previous years teams from The College of New Jersey have always performed well in the competition. Over the past five years TCNJ has taken home one 3rd Place, one 2nd place, and three 1st place awards. This year’s team has improved the designs of previous years and has high hopes of success when they compete. A micromouse is a self-contained autonomous robot capable of navigating a 16 foot by 16 foot maze. The robot cannot be powered through any means of combustion and once set in the maze cannot be touched or directed again by human hands until the fifteen minute time limit has expired. It is placed in one of the four corners of the maze and must find its way to the center without climbing, jumping over, or damaging the walls of the maze. The micromouse must then navigate its way back to its original starting point by the shortest route and repeat the process as many times as is possible within fifteen minutes.
Designing and fabricating a micromouse is a rigorous and difficult process that requires a lot of different engineering fields. Not only must the motor and drive systems be created but everything from the chassis to the device’s wheels must be made to fit within the small maze. Sensors have to be designed and placed on the micromouse, and perhaps most importantly software must be programmed to allow all the systems to work together to identify and maneuver around obstacles within the maze. The team hopes that future designs will improve upon their current micromouse. They would like to see a future robot that would immediately reverse when it hit a wall instead of turning 180 degrees in order to maneuver away. Overall the team has put a lot work and dedication into this project and it seems to have definitely paid off.
