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Q&A

Technical Questions​

Q: How do I start making a micromouse of my own?

A: Here are the resources that we have to offer:

  • Youtube Playlist of our Lectures
  • 22-23 Public Drive
    • Contains our lectures, assignments, Rat PCB files, part lists, etc.
  • Outreach Curriculum: teaches you how to make a mouse from the ground up (TO BE POSTED SOON)

Competition Questions​

The All American Micromouse Competition (AAMC) is a micromouse competition held by IEEE at UCLA. Here is the link to AAMC 23’s rules; you can expect AAMC ‘24 to have similar competition rules. We will release the official rules for AAMC ‘24 by December.

Q: Who can participate in AAMC?

A:

By the official competition rules, AAMC is open to undergraduate and graduate college and university students. Participants can compete as individuals or in teams of up to 5. If this does not apply to you or your team, please reach out to us so we can discuss the circumstances and try to get you participating in AAMC!

Q: Can I participate even if I’m in high school?

A:

Depending on interest, we may allow high school students to participate at AAMC in 2024. Please fill out this form if you are a high schooler and are interested in participating!

Starting your own Micromouse Program​

Q: How is the UCLA Micromouse Program run?

**A: **

The micromouse curriculum is split up into 2 main tracks: the main curriculum for first time participants and the returners program for returning members.

The main curriculum is split up into two main sections (over our 3 school quarters). We have numerous lectures and assignments which are divided up to teach students about the various parts of the mouse. The main topics covered are: power, motors & encoders, and sensors. We also provide lectures on controls and maze solving algorithms.

We first provide students with a “rat” PCB designed by the Leads and all the components necessary for that design. Over the course of our first quarter, as we give lectures and send out the assignments, the students will incrementally solder on the components and write the code to control the rat. By the end of the quarter, they will have a working robot with which they can compete in our fall rat competition with a smaller maze.

The following quarter (after winter break), students create their own PCB design and create their own Bill of Materials for necessary parts, all of which they send to us. After several rounds of design reviews with the leads, we will mass order and receive all the parts by the third quarter, which is when they can assemble their mice and finalize their code in time for the AAMC (All America Micromouse Competition) competition in May. (For details about AAMC, look at the section titled “Competition Questions'').

Q: How much time should I expect to spend on making a micromouse, if it’s my first time?

A:

If it’s your first time and you’re working in a small team, expect to spend several hours a week (anywhere from 2-5 hours weekly) for about a year. A lot of this time will be spent on prototyping and iterating on your design until you get one that you’re satisfied with. Something that you can do to speed up the process is specializing! You can have team members start working on what they are good at! For example, you can have some people work on the micromouse’s maze solving algorithm while others are still making the PCB.

Q: What experience do I need to have in order to start making my own mouse?

A:

You should have at least basic programming knowledge to start. Any additional knowledge in circuits, soldering, controls, and pcb design will be extremely helpful, but is not required. You can learn any hardware knowledge and skills through the resources provided above.

Financial Questions​

Q: How much does it cost to make a mouse from scratch?

**A: **

One complete iteration with all the required parts will cost anywhere from $100 to $150. However, future iterations will cost less as components such as motors, encoders, and batteries can be reused. Furthermore, if you go with a non-SMD microcontroller, you can reuse that as well, shaving off most of the cost.

Q: Where do I buy the micromouse maze? How much does it cost?

**A: **

The micromouse maze is composed of: a wooden base with evenly drilled holes in a grid like format, posts with four slots to insert walls, and the walls themselves. The maze has a 2x2 central goal area with one access point. The standard size of the maze is 16x16. For initial testing of the mouse, we recommend making cardboard walls/mazes or also 3D printing. Information about the specifics of each maze can be found on this website.

General Advice​

We recommend that when first starting out a micromouse program or team, it should be a collaborative group effort to try to create a working mouse instead of a program where leads teach students. After the first year and having built a working mouse, it’s possible to start teaching what you learn in your own curriculum to students in the following years.