University of Hawaii - Micromouse Team

What's a Micromouse?

A "micromouse" is a fully autonomous robot designed to navigate and solve an arbitrary maze. Across the nation, and even around the world, students all seek to build a better micromouse and compete with mice from other schools. The competition is a event sponsored the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

The robotic mouse itself is limited being 25 cm x 25 cm. However, there is no height limitation on the mouse. Within these parameters, we have mice of all shapes and sizes; however, I have yet to personally see a walking mouse. Generally, mice are designed with wheels as their primary form of locomotion. Some mice have four wheels, while others use only two.

These little electro-mechanic critters are placed into either a 16x16 square maze. Once in the maze, the mice are given ten minutes to find the center. The mouse that finds the center wins. If more than one mouse find the center, the mouse that makes it from the start square to the center square in the shortest amount of time is the winner. Keep in the mind that within the ten minutes, a mouse can find the center quickly and make multiple runs from the start to the center. The fastest time will be the official one. In the event that no mouse makes it to the center, the mouse that traverses the most unique squares in the maze is declared the winner.

Sounds easy? Why don't we just stick a 750 MHz Athlon processor on a custom designed miniture rocket car and let her rip? Well, first, the final mice can only cost $500. There are also other restrictions like that are outlined in the long, detailed rules. The rules prohibit such things as using any form of combustion, leaving anything behind in the maze, and climbing over walls.

As you can see, the micromouse is quite an interesting project. It embodies the idea of engineering, requiring technical "know-how", economical decisions, and innnovation! Like any good engineering project, there are many possible solutions. It is up to the engineering team to find the best solution.

What is involved in building a micromouse? Now, you're asking to get technical. Well, there is definitely no "How to Design and Build a Micromouse for Dummies." There are a few things though, that designers should know.