BEST robotics competitions Sonlight competed in:

2005- Mission to Hubble

In June of 2004 NASA made the remarkable announcement that it would seek proposals to send a robot to service the Hubble. Had the state of the art in robotic development reached the point where robots could do tasks designed for human hands? NASA believed it had, and the call went out to the robot experts of the world for a robot that could service the Hubble. In September of 2005, BEST Robotics Incorporated answers that call.

Could it really happen? Could a powerful telescope actually be placed in a location only dreamed about by astronomers and scientists, a location where its view of the heavens would be free of the distorting effects of Earth's own atmosphere? Not since Galileo first used his simple optics to peer into the heavens has a telescope promised to so dramatically change our view of the universe. On April 25, 1990 the dream became reality as NASA, using the space shuttle Discovery, deployed the Hubble Space Telescope. But as the first views were received the engineers and scientists knew something was wrong; its vision was blurred. A massive and exhausting analysis traced the problem to a tiny flaw in the process used to make and test the mirror at the heart of the Hubble space telescope. Even as the problem was being identified, engineers began thinking about how it could be repaired, and a plan evolved. In December of 1993 NASA flew the Space Shuttle and its crew on a mission to add ingenious instruments that would correct the flaw. It was an amazing success and Hubble was able to open the window to discoveries beyond anyone's imagination. Over the years as the Hubble continued its mission, onboard systems aged and some even failed. But the Hubble is a unique spacecraft; from the beginning it was designed such that astronauts could repair it while it orbited the earth. On three additional shuttle flights the Hubble was repaired and updated by teams of skilled astronauts.

2004- BEST Fever

Alas, poor Squeaky has been feeling under the weather. Little by little over the past 10 years, he has shown increasing symptoms of a terrible problem. After last years Transfusion Confusion, he really started to behave unusually. He constantly wants to be building and rebuilding other robots. He is always waiting until the last minute however, and many times has rebuilt robots the night before they are due to the customer. After numerous tests, the experts can conclude only one thing. Squeaky has a severe case of... Best Fever.

Six weeks of treatment can make him better but the treatment can be severe. His system must be treated to re-sequence his DNA in order to give him more energy. His DNA must be denatured, sorted and then re-sequenced. There is a large Hidden Gene in the human genome that causes aging. Capturing this will allow Squeaky to never grow old. Damage to his good DNA must be limited so doctors have decided to try a new radical procedure. Nanotech biobots will be injected into Squeaky's system to separate and isolate his cells.

This is a new technology with several shortfalls. First, the energy packs for the biobots only lasts 3 minutes; not much time to complete the mission. Also, mobility is limited. This allows the biobots to utilize more of the available energy saving DNA. Because of these limitations, BEST feels that teams working together enhance the chance of Squeaky's full recovery.

Your job is to initiate the denaturing process by activating the Denaturing Thermal Switch and then to separate the PCR Primers from the DNA deoxyribonucleotides. It is also advantageous to capture the hidden aging gene. Work together to save Squeaky so he will be at his Best for another 10 years.

2003- Transfusion Confusion

Best Robotics Inc. (BRI) has decided to branch out from its normal retrieve and rescue missions to enter the field of medical technology. To develop new medical equipment, BRI decided to take the low-risk approach of relying on established radio-controlled robotic technology. The business development plan shows that robots are more reliable than humans and require less pay than certified medical technicians. So that off-the-shelf components can be used for in-vivo medical procedures, BRI has purchased a second-hand miniaturization machine capable of shrinking a 24-inch robot down to about 24 microns.

Unfortunately, the bargain-priced miniaturization machine is based on old technology, so the miniaturization effect is limited to 3 minutes. Once miniaturized, your machine, and that of three other teams will work to move blood cells from various locations within a sterile field to a Cell Saver used for autologous blood transfusions. There are several blood vessels within the sterile field that contain various types of blood cells and a few green diseased cells. The value of the cell to the transfusion process depends on its type. Since white cells fight infections, they are more valuable than oxygenated red cells. Blue cells, which are actually oxygen-poor red cells, are less valuable than the oxygenated red cells.

Although the miniaturization process sterilizes the robots, each team has a spot decontamination unit that may be switched on to ensure complete sterilization. The spot decontamination unit must be used in the event that one of the diseased cells is accidentally ruptured. Teams must remember that one of the cardinal rules of medicine is "Above all, do no harm." Therefore, they should be careful not to damage any of the cells or disturb the vessels.

2002- Warp X

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to build a robot that will traverse the rotating black hole and rescue the game pieces from all of the previous BEST games. You have only six weeks to design, build and test your robot before sending it back in time to rescue the BEST game pieces. Through our connections, we have discovered a secret underground group based in Nevada called SDA, (Society for Displaced Aliens) who has agreed to help us. Rumor has it that this group was started by a few aliens that fled their planet before it blew up, but we have been unable to confirm these outrageous claims.

Intelligence reports from this group have disclosed a secret communications network on which we believe we can piggyback a carrier wave to send signals to a robot at any point in space-time. We should be able to link to this network within five weeks. You will be able to use this network to control your robot at any point in space-time.

We have received additional SDA intelligence describing the retro BEST game pieces. It seems that most of the game pieces are still in the 3' by 16' by 1' containment vessel storage bins used in one of the past BEST games. The bins are holding aliens and sticks of dynamite. The rings. Are suspended in the black hole. However, sending the Bumble Balls back in time recharged their batteries and they are now bouncing around randomly through space-time.

SDA reports that micro worm holes have formed at the openings of each of the front two rows of tubes of the MTCVs left over from another BEST game. These wormholes can be used to transport the smaller game pieces back to the present. The larger game pieces must be brought back through the black hole by a robot. The back rows of the MTCVs are full of noodles used in yet another BEST game. These noodles must be removed from the MTCVs. Once removed, they should find their own way back to the present time.

This year's game is one of strategy, speed and agility. It is an aweSUM total of 10 years of BEST! Games are played with four teams per round. Scoring can be high if you can figure out how to achieve all of the objectives.