Version: 26 January 2017

General Guidelines
1. A school team should consist of 9 students and 1 teacher.
2. Each school can send a maximum of 3 teams.
3. All rules and regulations are subject to change without prior notice.

Competitions Category & Age Groups

Category Date of Birth
Primary School 1 Jan 2005 – 31 Dec 2010
Secondary School 1 Jan 2000 – 31 Dec 2004

General Rules
1. Regulations on materials used:
(a) The controller, motors and sensors used to assemble robots must be from LEGO®
MINDSTORMS™ EV3 Education Set.
(b) Only LEGO branded elements may be used to construct the remaining parts of
the robot.
(c) Teams should prepare and bring all the equipment, software and portable
computers they need during the tournament.
(d) Teams should bring enough spare parts. Even in the case of any accidents or
equipment malfunction, the council (and/or organizing committee) is not
responsible for their maintenance or replacement.
(e) Teams may assemble the robot beforehand (pre-built).
(f) Teams are allowed to pre-program the robot or store the program in the laptop
before the competition.
(g) The control software must be LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3 software.
(h) See table below for eligible controller, sensors and motor:

PID Product Picture Product Name

45500 EV3 Intelligent Brick

45502 EV3 Large Motor

45503 EV3 Medium Motor

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44504 EV3 Ultrasonic Sensor

44506 EV3 Colour Sensor

44507 EV3 Touch Sensor

45505 EV3 Gyro Sensor

2. Regulations concerning the robot:

(a) The maximum dimensions of the robot before it starts the mission should not be
exceeding the base area and with a maximum height of 250mm. After the robot
starts, the dimension of the robot are not restricted.
(b) Teams are allowed to use only one controller (EV3).
(c) Teams are allowed up to THREE individual motors only in any particular match.
However, type and numbers of sensors are not restricted.
(d) A robot must be autonomous and finish the “missions” by itself. Any radio
communication, remote control and wired control systems are not allowed while
the robot is running.
(e) The Bluetooth and Wi-Fi function must be switched off at all times. That means
that the full program needs to run on the controller.
3. Regulations on the competition event:
(a) The competition consists of 2 rounds.
(b) Testing time for Round 1 is 60 minutes and testing time for Round 2 is 30 minutes.
(c) Each team will be given 2 minutes per testing in Round 1. And for Round 2 each
team will only be given 1 minute per testing.
(d) The robot will have 2 minutes to complete the challenge. Time begins when the
judge gives the signal to start. The robot must be placed in the base area so the
projection of the robot on the game mat is completely within the base area.
(e) If there is any uncertainty during the task, the judge makes the final decision. They
will bias their decision to the worst outcome available for the context of the
situation.
(f) Your attempt and time will end if:
i. Challenge time (2 minutes) has ended.
ii. The robot has completely left the game table.
iii. Violation of the rules and regulations within.
iv. The mission is completed.
v. The teams acquired points for the Initiate Launch mission.
(g) The score calculation is done by the judges at the conclusion of each round. The
team must verify and sign the score sheet after the round, if they have no fair
complaints.
(h) The ranking of team is decided by their best score of a round. If competing teams
acquire the same points, the ranking will be decided by consistency of
performance by examining which team achieved the next highest score during

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previous rounds. If teams still remain tied, the ranking will be determined by the
time recorded of their best rounds.
4. Regulations on the playing field:
(a) All models and playing fields are according to the standard provided by the
tournament on the competition day.
(b) The competition table is larger than the playing field by design. However, the
playing field will be align centered vertically and horizontally. The competition table
size is 1220mm x 2440mm.
(c) There will be NO BORDERS around the playing field.
(d) As you build and program, keep in mind that our organizers make every effort to
ensure that all fields are correct and identical, but you should always expect some
variability, such as:
i. Flaws on the fields.
ii. Variety in lighting conditions, from hour to hour, and/ or table to table.
iii. Judge’s shadow on the field.
iv. Judges will walk around the field during judging.
v. Texture/ bumps under the mat.
vi. Waviness in the mat itself – at many tournaments, it is possible for the mats
to be rolled out in time to lose their waviness. Location and severity of
waviness varies. It is very important to consider this while designing.
vii. Two important building techniques you can use to limit the effects of variability
are:
o Avoid using steering systems that involve something sliding on the mat or
border walls.
o Cover your light sensor from surrounding lights.

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The Rules of Space Challenge

There are 9 golden rules to Space Challenge. Make sure you know them all before you start,
so you can plan your mission well:

1. Complete as many mission as you can.

2. You may decide in which order you want to try the missions. BUT the Initiate Launch
mission must be the last mission. Doing this mission will ends the challenge.
3. You can try each mission more than once
4. Your robot must always start a mission from the base area.
5. The robot must leave the base area before carrying out a mission.
6. A successful return robot occurs when any part of the robot crosses over any part of
the base area line.
7. Touching your robot while it is outside the base area is NOT allowed.
8. If you touch the robot while it is completely outside the base area and its holding an
object, the object must be reset to its original position and penalty will be given.
9. There will be an additional space wall as shown below. The space wall should remain
at its initial placement and must not be damaged or moved. A penalty will be given if
the wall is damaged or moved.
10. Additional surprise rules might be announced before the testing time round 1
begin.

The Space Challenge Scoring

1. Score will only be calculated at the end of the challenge or when time stops.
2. Maximum score = 100 points.
3. Penalties are only subtracted if it results in a non-negative score.
4. If teams acquire the same score, ranking is decided by the second best score. If the
score is still tied, ranking is decided by time recorded for the highest score.
5. If a scoring condition is produced as a result of touching the robot, benefitting missions
are marked scoreless.

No. Particulars Points Each Total

1. Launch the Satellite into Orbit. 10 points max
2. Return the Rock Samples. 5 points per rock 15 points max
3. Free the MSL Robot. 20 points max
4. Activate Communications. 10 points max
5. Secure Your Power Supply. 20 points max
6. Assemble Your Crew. 15 points max
7. Initiate Launch. 10 points max
8. Penalty. -5 points per touch -35 points max

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The Space Challenge Missions

1. Launch the Satellite into Orbit.

Initial Position
Satellite in the Base Area.

Scoring Condition

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2. Return the Rock Samples.

Initial Position Scoring Condition

3. Free the MSL Robot.

Initial Position

Scoring Condition

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4. Activate Communications.

Initial Position

Scoring Condition

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5. Secure Your Power Supply.

Initial Position Scoring Condition

6. Assemble Your Crew.

Initial Position (Random before each round and fix for all teams)

OR

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7. Initiate Launch.

Initial Position

Scoring Condition

Resulting by hitting launch button.

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