The UK Micromouse championships were held at the Technology innovation Centre in Birmingham on Saturday June 27th. A good number of mice ran this year, some for the first time. The morning practice was a nerve-wracking affair which looked like it would result in another win by MouseX. However, a couple of mechanical repairs, some software tweaks and an unusually fortunate maze configuration saw a new champion emerge…
By Bernard Grabowski
The 2009 National Schools and Colleges Micromouse competition took place on Saturday 27th June at the Technology Innovation Centre in Birmingham. The team from John Hampden Grammar School were once again strongly represented. They have dominated the event for several years but this time were pushed to the limit by teams from three debuting schools. Competition was intense and new event best times were recorded. The existing drag race record (2.132 seconds, set last year by the team from Singapore) was smashed several times and now stands at an incredible 1.699 sec. The track is just less than 7m in length and the mouse had to stop under control within 1m beyond the finish line. Peak acceleration must now be around 1g in this event and braking has to start at just past the halfway mark.