Summary of Challenge Tasks and Field Conditions

The National WWII Museum
2016 Robotics Challenge
“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with
their ingenuity.”
– General George S Patton
The Pacific Theater of WWII presented some very difficult challenges. The vast Pacific Ocean,
the diversity of the physical geography of the islands scattered across it, the powerful storms
that sweep it, and the tropical conditions of it’s southern end all made the campaign there trying.
The Seabees, as members of the Naval Construction Forces were called, had the motto ‘Can
Do!’ The Seabees epitomize the resourcefulness and resiliency that led our nation from Pearl
Harbor, through victory, and to the reconstruction of Japan. To meet the challenge of this year’s
competition you will need to display your own Can Do! attitude.
Can Do!
1"
The National WWII Museum
2016 Robotics Challenge
ROBOT MISSION: OBJECTIVES
Building Airstrips
As our forces advanced across the Pacific, hopping from island
to island, the first order of business was providing a place for
planes to land and take off. This allowed our military to extend
its influence beyond the territory it had taken, and move to take
the next set of islands. The islands of the Pacific present a
diversity of conditions. The fastest way to make a landing strip
was to level ground and then lay Marston matting. This metal
framework provided just enough structure and stability to keep
the ground in place and form rough airstrips.
Your robot will roll out the Marston matting to form a new airfield.
Field Condition
✓ Matting is fully rolled out = 30 points
o Matting is partly rolled out = 20 points
Mat is completely rolled
out, 30 points
Mat is partially rolled
out, 20 points
Building Bases
The islands our troops were based on were generally either
uninhabited or had structures badly damaged by the fighting
to capture the island. To quickly establish bases and
hospitals on islands the military used Quonset huts. These
buildings were prefabricated of corrugated galvanized steel.
Their materials and shape made them strong and suited to
a variety of purposes.
Your robot will deliver the Quonset hut to the island.
Field Condition
✓ Quonset hut is completely on the island = 30 points
o Quonset hut is partly on the island = 25 points
Can Do!
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The National WWII Museum
Hut is completely on
island, 30 points
2016 Robotics Challenge
Hut is partly on
island, 25 points
Hut is partly on
island, 25 points
Fighting Disease
With troops in the tropics, often in rough conditions, disease was
a big problem. Malaria in particular was a concern. The normal
treatment for malaria was quinine, but there was a shortage since
the Japanese occupied the islands where it was produced. DDT
was a recently discovered pesticide. Its use killed the insects, and
when sprayed on mosquito nets was also very effective.
Your robot will sweep the 5 ‘bugs’ from the island.
Field Condition
✓ ‘Bugs’ completely off island = 6 points for each
All bugs are off the
island, 30 points
Can Do!
Three bugs are off the
island, 18 points
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The National WWII Museum
2016 Robotics Challenge
Sonar Mapping
Sonar had been around for a while, but the electronics and
computing behind it had improved to make it much more
effective. A good sonar operator could identify the location of a
submarine in 3-dimensions, making it much easier to target and
defend against submarines.
Your robot will drop the dice on the sonar image. A team
member will record the numbers on the 3 dice and used the
values to make a 3-D plot showing the location of the enemy
submarine.
Field Condition
Drop
dice
on
sonar
screen
=
5 points each
✓
Properly
represented
coordinates
= 20 points
✓
All dice are on the
screen, 15 points
Two dice are on the
screen, 10 points
All dice are on the
screen, 15 points
Coordinates are x=1,
y=2, z=6, or any other
combination of the three
values
Crossing the Equator
Crossing the equator has been a big deal for mariners for centuries. In WWII
sailors had strange rituals for those on their first crossing. Sailors were
‘polliwogs’ until they crossed the equator, when they became ‘shellbacks.’
Your robot will take the spool and move it across the equator, placing it on the
ship there. It will also flip the spool to reveal the shellback and hide the
polliwog.
Field Condition
✓ Place spool on ship below equator = 20 points
✓ Flip spool to reveal shellback = 20 points
Can Do!
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The National WWII Museum
2016 Robotics Challenge
Spool moved to ship
below equator, not flipped,
20 points
Spool moved to ship
below equator, and
flipped, 40 points
Spool not on ship below
equator, but is flipped,
Plane Deployment
Making great planes was one accomplishment—getting
them all to the battle fronts where they were needed was
another. Storms and enemy attacks could threaten planes
transported on ships or in the air. Air travel was faster, but
more risky and used more fuel. Choosing how to move
planes was an important part of planning.
Your robot will put 5 small fighters on the aircraft carrier
and 1 bomber on the airstrip.
Field Condition
✓ Planes on aircraft carrier = 5 points each
✓ Plane on airstrip or the island where the airstrip should be = 20 points
Five planes on carrier,
25 points
Four planes on carrier,
20 points
Bomber on island, whether airstrip deployed or not,
20 points
Can Do!
5
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The National WWII Museum
2016 Robotics Challenge
Raising the Flag
Raising the US flag on a captured island was
an important symbol of victory. The flag
raising on Iwo Jima is iconic, but US victories
spread US flags to islands across the Pacific.
Your robot will take the flag and its base and
place it atop the mountain on the island.
Field Condition
✓ Flag is upright on the mountain = 40
points
o Flag is on the mountain, but not
upright = 30 points
Flag upright
on mountain,
40 points
Flag on
mountain, not
upright, 30 points
Moving the Pacific Fleet
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, much of the Pacific Fleet
was destroyed. New ships and planes needed to be built and
delivered to Pearl Harbor and then across the Pacific. Ships
moving together made logistics and defense easier, but then
an attack might take out lots of equipment at once. Planning
and execution of transport was very important to the war
effort.
Your robot will move the 4 boats from the mainland to the
island base.
Field Condition
✓Boats inside box representing harbor = 10 points each
Can Do!
6
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The National WWII Museum
2016 Robotics Challenge
Three boats inside
harbor, 30 points
Four boats inside
harbor, 40 points
Code Talking
Navajo and other Native American languages were used as codes
during WWII. They were difficult to crack because of the limited
number of people who could understand them. But this made training,
deployment, and protection of code-talkers crtitical. These codes were
used primarily for short distance radio communications within islands
and between islands and supporting ships.
Your robot will retrieve the code and return it to base, where a team
member will translate it. The translation will then be placed on the
target on the island. The code will use a simple substitution of Navajo
words for letters, and be less than 7 letters long.
Field Condition
✓ Retrieve and translate code correctly = 30 points
✓ Return translated code to target = 20 points
o Return code to ring just outside target = 15 points
o Return code to outer ring = 10 points
In target ring,
20 points
Can Do!
In middle ring,
15 points
In outer ring,
10 points
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The National WWII Museum
2016 Robotics Challenge
Weather Tracking
Weather in the wide Pacific was a constant challenge to
the war effort. In the Western Pacific, tropical storms
occur year-round. Great efforts were made to monitor
and predict the weather by placing weather stations on
islands around the Pacific, and to use radar to see
storms. They first image of a cyclone was recorded
accidentally by a radar operator. This storm, Typhoon
Cobra, killed many sailors and destroyed many planes
and ships in December of 1944. A few months later a
large storm damaged newly made hospitals and bases
on captured Okinawa.
Your robot will turn the radar receiver from due East to
due West
Field Condition
✓ Receiver is pointing due West = 40 points
o Receiver is pointing between West and North = 30 points
o Receiver is pointing due North = 30 points
o Receiver is pointing between North and East = 20 points
between East
and North,
20 points
between West
and North,
30 points
Due West,
40 points
Reconstructing Japan
One of the reasons that the peace between the nations involved in WWII lasted so long after the
war is that the Allies committed great resources to rebuilding and recovery of the war-torn
regions. This included Japan, where a strong US presence continued for decades. This decision
led to a strong recovery of the world economy and the economy of the US in the decades after
the war.
Your robot will place the tower block on top of the smaller block. The smaller part of the building
was built in 1933, and housed the offices of MacArthur during reconstruction of Japan. The taller
part of the building was added decades later after recovery.
Can Do!
8
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The National WWII Museum
2016 Robotics Challenge
Field Condition
✓ Blocks stacked completely = 40 points
o Taller block partly on lower block, partly on mat = 30 points
touching only other block,
40 points
touching both mat and other
block, 30 points
TOUCH PENALTIES: Sharks
Sharks were a fear and real danger for sailors and flight crews. Men overboard or awaiting
rescue were on the watch for sharks.
Field Condition
✓ For each touch of the robot outside of base the referee will add one shark
✓ 1-4 sharks = -5 points per shark
✓ 5-8 sharks = -8 points per shark
Can Do!
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