UCR CS122A: Embedded System Design Competition
Description
The first UCR CS122A Embedded System Design Competition was held
October 23, 1998. Students had to program an 8051 microcontroller
to control a robot arm to put as many sugar cubes into a coffee
cup in 3 minutes. The catch: the robot arm had 10 possible moves,
5 axes with 2 directions each, but students could only use two buttons
to control the arm (the robot arm had no built-in feedback so did not
know it's current position, thus requiring human assistance). The
students could set up the sugar cubes however they wanted, as long
as they weren't stacked higher than the cup. The students could use the
8051 in any way they desired to assist them in controlling the arm with
just two buttons. Such use of a processor would be helpful in the
situation, for example, of a physically disabled person with limited
motion who needed to control a robot arm to carry out household tasks.
Photos from the competition
The winners
2nd place
The final standings
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