Two sophisticated robots called 'Kangabot' and 'Wombot' have represented Australia at one of the world's major robotics championships in Osaka this month.
Four University of Queensland students built the robots to compete on March 8 as the first (and only) Australian team in the 10-year-old Robocon 98 World Robotics Championships.
Although the students' entries did not reach the final round, they feel the experience gave them a measure of what was required and a chance to compare notes with leading robotics teams from many countries. Based on the quality of its entry, the University of Queensland team has been invited back to compete in next year's event.
The competition, sponsored by Japanese broadcasting network NHK, opened to non-Japanese teams only last year, and this year attracted 24 international teams.
An NHK film crew visited the University's St Lucia campus in February to film the Mechanical Engineering Department team's preparations for the championships.
University of Queensland team members are known as the Insomniacs because they had little sleep while completing and testing the robots during an intense four weeks preparation for the event. They are: Michael Lucas (leader), Louise Hearder (driver), Greg Campbell and Susan Anderson (support crew).
An unofficial fifth team member PhD student Andrew McGee, who is currently working at CalTech in California, wrote some robotic software, communicating via the Internet with team members to test components and calibrations.
Kangabot and Wombot had separate tasks to complete.
'The larger robot had to pick up cardboard boxes and stack them in a defined way, with opponents stacking alternating boxes,' Mr Lucas said.
'The team whose robot stacks the highest box is the winner, so obviously opponents try to stack the box beneath in a precarious way so yours will fall. .
'The smaller robot operates in a playing area filled with white and red balloons. It has to recognise both colours and only burst the red balloons.'
Associate Professor David Radcliffe, a member of the Institution of Engineers' national committee for engineering design, asked Mr Lucas late last year if he would like to form a team when competition organisers sent a challenge to Australia.
Mr Lucas and Ms Hearder are both veterans of the past two Australian sumo robotic contest, their entry winning second place in both Brisbane competitions. In this competition, robots push and shove each other in a tactical way until one is forced out of the competition ring.
The four students are studying in diverse areas - Mr Lucas is undertaking a PhD in mechatronics and Mr Campbell's PhD is in a biomedical area, modelling the dynamics of the heart.
Driver Ms Hearder is completing a master of engineering science, specialising in robotics/mechatronics, while mechanical engineering PhD student Susan Anderson late last year was awarded the Amelia Earhart Fellowship for her research into air flow turbulence - for the second time. She was one of only 35 fellowship winners from around the world in the 1997 round.
Dr Radcliffe said the University of Queensland had strengths in the robotics field, which represented an intersection between traditional mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science.
The Mechanical Engineering Department worked closely with the Co-operative Research Centre for Mining Technology and Equipment, which was developing automated mining equipment.
He said University of Queensland staff included the current world robotic mouse champion, Dr Gordon Wyeth of the Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Department, who last month retained his title at the International Micromouse Championship in Los Angeles. Dr Wyeth attended one of the final practice sessions by the Mechanical Engineering Department student team before they left for Japan, offering some tips.
Dr Radcliffe said the competition benefited the students. As most postgraduates tended to work alone on advanced projects, it gave them a valuable opportunity to work in a team on a common problem, developing skills which they could take into other projects.
The Mechanical Engineering Department supported the team, including assistance in machining and fabrication of robots by technicians in the department's workshops. The University's Faculty of Engineering also contributed $1000 to support the group's entry.
For further information, contact Mr Lucas, telephone 07 3365 3593 email: lucas@mech.uq.edu.au or Dr Radcliffe, telephone 3365 3579 email: radcliff@mech.uq.edu.au
