On August 21, 2021, 
Dallas Personal Robotics Group (DPRG) will conduct a RoboColumbus-plus competition. RoboColumbus-plus is an outdoor autonomous rover contest with layered objectives. The contest’s layering provides opportunities for roboticists of different skill levels to compete. Prizes are rewarded to the contestants that place in the top positions. Additionally, all contestants that score at least 1 point (see rules) will receive a custom RoboColumbus coffee mug. Special mugs are rewarded to contestants that achieve “Perfect Score” (9 pts) or “Perfect Score with 3-waypoint Challenge”. The contests are open to the public. Anyone can compete and all are welcome to watch.
Where:
The competition’s local location will be held in the Farmersville, TX area, which is North East of Dallas. To protect the privacy of the landowner allowing the competition to be held, competitors and others planning to attend should request the location information from secretary(at)dprg(dot)org. They will be emailed the location details before the competition.
It is possible to join the competition using a remote location. DPRG has made many friends this last year during the pandemic from its weekly Google Meet session on Tuesday that do not live in the Dallas area. To allow these friends and other potential friends to join in the outdoor rover competition a set of guidelines has been created that explains how to join the competition using a remote location. The guidelines to setup a remote location for the RoboColumbus-Plus competition is located here robocolumbusplus_REMOTE-20210604. Make sure to read both the rules and the guidelines.
Google Meet:
Remote competitors will need to virtually join the competition’s Google Meet during the competition using https://meet.google.com/hey-jxuo-esf or join by phone at +1 405-586-5598 PIN: 682 931 334 #. This can be accomplished using a smart phone and a cellular connection. This allows for remote locations and the Dallas location to share the excitement of the competition together.
Schedule:
9:00 Judges will layout course and provide contestants the cone GPS coordinates. A pit area for contestants will be setup with limited power. A small practice area outside of the contest’s boundaries will be setup for contestants to test their robots.
10:30 Contestants have their robots checked for weight, size, and safety switch compliance. Robots will be able to make test runs in the practice area. No robots are allowed on the competition course. Contestants who have RTK-GPS base stations can set them up at this time. Contestants that are not participating in the “3-waypoint Challenge” will be allowed to walk the course to note conditions and take waypoints.
11:45 Lunch and socializing break. Food and drinks will be provided by DPRG at the local location.
12:30 Start of competition.
3:30-5:00 End of competition.
Rules:
Rules may be found at robocolumbusplus-v20210423.
Registration:
- Free for all contestants.
- Pre-registration – Remote contestants must pre-register by emailing their name, their robot’s name (not required), and intention to compete to pre-reg (at) dprg (dot) org.
- Out of town contestants running in the local location may contact a DPRG officer (see General Info – dprg.org} for assistance in hotel selection, robot shipping, or other needs.
Pre-registering helps the events run more smoothly and makes sure you are aware of any important news about the events.