The maze is a standard size, set by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and its construction and dimensions are laid down in a very precise set of rules.

The full sized maze basically consists of a large16 x 16 squared flat maze with 50mm walls. The walls are painted white to reflect infra-red while the floor is painted matt black to absorb infra-red. Wall tops are painted red.

The AIRat uses the "magnitude of reflected light" principle to measure its distance from the walls.

There are different methods of following the walls, the main two being (a) infra-red beams reflected off the sides of the walls, and (b) an infra-red beam reflected off the tops of the walls.

After a brief set up procedure at the start of the maze, the AIRat will find its way to the objective in the middle consisting of a 2 x 2 squared enclosure.

It will have investigated and rejected many blind alleys on its way to the centre, and will then find the shortest route back to the start. Over a total of five attempts it will check the efficiency of the route by investigating unexplored sections. Finally, by optimising its speed and corner-turning smoothness, it will produce its fastest possible time from the start to the centre.

The AIRat consists of a CPU board, sensors and 2 stepper motors. It has an LCD display and 3 programmable input buttons, communicating with a PC via a serial cable, over which it downloads its programs and uploads its status to the PC.

The software provided with the AIRat2 takes 2 forms:

> the mouse operation software
> the maze simulation software.

The mouse operation software is written in the "C" language and is supplied complete on a CD Rom

The maze simulation software is also written in "C" and represents a copy of the maze solving software used in the AIRat2. This software interfaces with graphics on the PC, whereas on the AIRat it interfaces with the mouse hardware (sensors, motors, LCD and switches). For this reason, examination of the maze software is the best method of learning how the maze solving function of the AIRat2 works, since it would be very difficult on the AIRat itself.

There are 2 manuals supplied with the robot:

The main AIRat manual, explaining operation of the robot and giving an explanation of the software, and
The JS8051-A20CPU board manual, giving specifications and operation of the board itself.

Programs written in "C" are written and complied on the PC and then downloaded to the JS8051-A2 board on the AIRat2, using the serial cables provided with the robot.

<< The AIRat2 with the CPU board removed, showing the layout of the main board and, at the front, the 14-way connector for the sensor board.

The JS8051-A20CPU board with LCD display in place >>

<< The JS8051-A20CPU board without the LCD display

The base of AIRat2, showing the 2 ball castors, L_Front and R_Front sensors>>