Micro mouse or Maze Bot is a type of robot that solves a maze autonomously using refined search algorithms in the shortest time possible.


1. General robot aspects

1.1. The Micromouse must be autonomous. Start stop modules are permitted.
1.2. The Micromouse must not leave any part of its body behind while navigating the maze.
1.3. The Micromouse must not jump over, fly over, climb, scratch, cut, burn, mark, damage, or destroy the walls of the maze.
1.4. The Micromouse must not be larger in length and width than 16 centimetres. The dimensions of a Micromouse that changes its geometry during a run must not be greater than 16 cm × 16 cm. There are no restrictions on the height of a Micromouse.
1.5. The Micromouse’s body must activate the time measuring gate system light beam with a diameter of 3 mm at a height of 3 cm.
1.6. Any violation of these rules will constitute immediate disqualification.

2. Rules for the maze

2. 1. The maze is composed of 18 cm × 18 cm unit squares and comprises up to 16 × 16 unit squares. The walls of the maze are 5 cm high and 1.2 cm thick (assume 5 % tolerance for mazes). The distance from wall to wall within a square is 16.8 cm. The outside wall encloses the entire maze.
2.2. The sides of the maze walls are white, the tops of the walls are red, and the floor is black, finished with matte color.
2.3. Warning: Do not assume the walls are consistently white, or that the tops of the walls are consistently red, or that the floor is consistently black. Fading may occur; parts from different mazes may be used. Do not assume the floor provides a given amount of friction.
2.4. The start of the maze is located at one of the four corners. The start square is bounded on three sides by walls. The start line is located between the first and second squares. The destination goal is the four 18 cm × 18 cm cell in the centre of the maze. The finish line is at the entrance to the destination square.
2.5. Multiple paths to the destination square are allowed and are expected. The destination square has only one entrance and it will be positioned so that a wall following mouse will not be able to find it.




3. Rules for the competition

3.1. Each Micromouse participant is allocated a total of 5 minutes to access the final maze. Any time used to adjust a mouse between runs is included in the 5 minutes. Each run (from the start cell to the centre zone) in which a mouse successfully reaches the destination square is given a run time. The minimum run time is the mouse’s official time. First prize goes to the mouse with the shortest official time. Second prize to the next shortest, and so on. Mice that do not enter the centre square will be ranked by the maximum number of cells they consecutively transverse without being touched.
3.2. Each run must be made from the starting square. The operator may abort a run at any time. If an operator touches the Micromouse during a run, it is deemed aborted, and the mouse must be removed from the maze. If a mouse has already crossed the finish line, it may be removed at any time without affecting the run time of that run.
3.3. After the maze is disclosed, the operator must not feed information of the maze into the Micromouse.
3.4. The contestants are allowed to:
• change switch positions;
• adjust sensors;
• make repairs in case the Micromouse breaks down.
3.5. The run timer will start when the front edge of the mouse crosses the start line and stops when the front edge of the mouse crosses the finish line.