Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2015 - (Page 47)

knossos games by Tim Boester BattleBots Upon arriving at your first robot battle tournament, your pride in your little robot, Bill, has turned to fear that it is about to be destroyed by the competition. The armada of heavily fortified and weapons-laden battlebots you are about to face is extreme. However, even though your robot is vastly outmatched by most of the robots in the competition, it is the lightest (since it has few offensive weapons or defensive capabilities). This is important, since if you can simply outrun the other robot for the duration of each match, the attribute that breaks the draw is weight. Three of the other robots are definitely slower than yours (Fireball, Necromancer, and Thunder), and you should be able to stay ahead of them. But all of the others are quick and maneuverable, and you'll almost certainly be crushed if paired with one of them. Given the expected outcomes of matchups based on the robots' various capabilities, is there any way in which the tournament can be seeded for your underdog robot to win? Solution for Knossos Games 22.5: Tim Boester is an educational psychologist who studies how people learn math. He has more puzzles available at www.knossosgames.com. www.cty.jhu.edu/imagine imagine 47

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2015

Circuit Training Electrical Engineering at CTY
Turning Brainwaves into Action Meet ARTIE, the robot activated by thoughts
Robotics in the Real World How robots are helping us explore space, overcome disability, and so much more
My First FIRST The climbing robot that taught me to aim high
Adventures in Botball
So Much Fun, It’s Inhuman Destroying the competition in combat robotics
Born to Build The making of an engineer
The Engineering Summer Academy at Penn Three weeks that launched my future
Music in the Woods Six weeks at Tanglewood
Big Picture
In My Own Words Daniel H. Wilson, author of Robopocalypse and Robogenesis
Selected Opportunities and Resources
Off the Shelf Review of Obert Sky’s Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options Interview with NASA robotics engineer Jaakko Karras
One Step Ahead Be fearless
Planning Ahead for College Express lessons in financial aid
Students Review Dartmouth College
Creative Minds Imagine Poetry contest winners
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2015