My Sumo Page

How To Build a Sumo Robot

The main goal of this page is to document my steps in constructing, testing and competing in a Sumo Robot Wrestling Contest.

I thought the best way is to break the entire project down into modules and then provide links so you can visit whichever area you like. Not all of the links will be complete just yet.

The Programming Flow Chart

Since I teach a class on flowcharting with Visio, it seemed appropriate here to show the first draft flowcharts.

Three Behaviors

I wanted to keep this simple, so I decided on three basic behaviors:

  1. Avoid the edge! This had to be the most important. A robot that goes off the edge loses, so that had to be prevented with the highest priority.
  2. ATTACK! If any of the IR sensors detect a target, the robot shifts into the attack mode.
  3. Search. If the edge is not detected, and the target is not detected, then it is time to search for the enemy. This routine does a pseudo-random search pattern to detect the other robot.

Here is what the first-draft flow charts look like:

Sumo Logic Flowchart 1 of 4

Figure 1: Sumo Main Loop

Sumo Logic Flowchart 2 of 4

Figure 2: Sumo Edge Detect Procedure

Sumo Logic Flowchart 3 of 4

Figure 3: Sumo Attack Procedure