At noon today, the 12th Annual Carnegie Mellon Mobot Races took place on the sidewalk that runs down the Mall next to Wean Hall. On a track denoted by white paint and large gates, autonomous mobots ("MObile roBOTS") follow the race path through the gates in an effort to make it to the finish line at the bottom of the steep sidewalk. There are numerous "decision points" at which the mobot must decide which white pathway to follow. The mobots are given four minutes to make it to the finish line.

Robotics faculty member Ben Brown acted as the announcer of this year's Mobot Slalom, and SCS staff member Greg Armstrong led the crowd in cheers for each of the mobots.

There were 11 mobots in total at this year's race: six in the undergraduate class, three in the exhibition class, and two in the open class (for those affiliated with the University but not current students). Some in the undergraduate class were unable to race, and others couldn't make it past Gate 0. Mobots were allowed two runs to get their best times. Although no mobot successfully made it through all of the gates and the finish line, there were still some standout performances.

SCS first-years Daniel Dewey and Joey Gannon's mobot Pajamas actually reached the finish line on its second run, although Pajamas missed gates after number 13. The mobot's official time was 3:55 to Gate 12. Dewey and Gannon's mobot utilized visible light sensors and a "wicket sensor" on top to detect how many gates had been passed through. The pair began work in the fall of 2005, and testing the robot as early as in October.

"I think this is an example of how people with not terribly much electronics experience… can do this competition," said Dewey. He said the race could be for anyone, as long as he or she was willing to sort through "all the bad ideas" that come up.

John Palmisano, a recent Carnegie Mellon alumnus, brought his fourth iteration of his Pikachu mobot to the Slalom. It used photo-resisters and green LEDs beneath a basic black garbage bag to detect where the white line of the racetrack was.

"It's very simple, so nothing can go wrong," Palmisano explained.

The Pikachu mobot made it to Gate 9 in 2:51.29 before it missed a gate after going down the second hill.

Two non-competitive robots – Little Dog and Breadstick – were particular favorites of the crowd. Little Dog, a $40,000 four-legged robot, was programmed by SCS and CIT senior Michael Dille to run the mobot course without use of visual sensors. Armstrong led the crowd in "run dog, run!" cheers as Little Dog slowly made its way through Gate 1. Breadstick was the "halftime show" submission from Carnegie Mellon's Biorobotics Lab. The snake-like robot slithered and rolled to Gate 1 before it started to tumble down the first hill.

To qualify for prizes, mobots must make it through at least the second gate. This year, Dewey and Gannon will receive $500 each for their mobot's first place finish in the undergraduate category and Palmisano will receive $250 for his mobot's first place finish in the open category. The Douglass family will split a $100 prize for the Judges' Choice for their mobot, The Young Ones. Funds for the prizes were given by Mobot Slalom sponsors Harris Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and Morgan Stanley.

For more information about mobots, visit the Mobot Slalom website.

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