Dear Professor Rodd

I have heard that the IEE is looking for ways to save money and

that the senior part of the micromouse competition is under threat

of being discontinued or receiving reduced support. I would like to

offer some of the facts that I am aware of that might assist you in

your deliberations.

This event has been running for many years in the UK, Japan,

Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and the USA

amongst others. In the UK mazes have been made by Universities

at Loughborough, Salford, Westminster, the University of East

London and probably many others. This represents a substantial

investment as the mazes cost about 2000 pounds each to build as

the tolerances are quite tight.

The contest shows that Engineering can be fun, that university

students can have fun while learning about algorithm design,

sensor interfacing, motor speed and position control,

microcontroller design, teamwork etc.

So many good students look to study easier subjects or subjects

that might lead to better paid careers. Tangibly demonstrating that

Engineering has positive aspects to school children, teachers and

future university students is I believe invaluable. This competition

is not only fun, it encapsulates the essence of many industrial

products and development projects.

I took our maze to ROBOTIX (formerly the Robot Olympics) in

Glasgow where the contest was the centre of attraction on both

exhibition days. Over 30 TV camera crews filmed the competitions.

The thousands of visitors and viewers were treated to a very

positive image of Engineering.

I took our maze to TOMORROW'S WORLD LIVE AT THE NEC

where it was the main feature of the TV programme. This was the

only occasion that I can remember that the IEE was mentioned on

this programme. I was determined that I was going to mention the

IEE. Thus I believe it is very good publicity for the IEE at a very low

cost.

As a Student Counsellor I have difficulty "selling the IEE" to

students. To them the IEE is seen as "stuffy" with an age profile

that is predominantly 30 years above their ages. This image is

confirmed in their eyes when they attend lectures at Savoy Place

where they feel out of place. To them the only thing that is fun and

interesting in the IEE is the Micromouse Contest.

I was very saddened when I overheard a very prominent Professor

from a very prestigous UK University at an academic conference

describe the IEE to his American peer " as incorporating the worst

features of the victorian gentlemans club". I think this contest does

much to correct this image.

A recent development which we operated recently was to run the

competition simultaneously in Essex and Wales with cameras

putting the images on the internet along with the competition times

as they developed. This reduced the hotel and travelling costs for

competitors and organisers. On this basis I can see the possibility

of the competition developing well in the future.

When I did the Silvanus P Thompson lecture tour "Homo Sapiens

to Robo Sapiens: the Future of Artificial Life, Robots and Humans"

one of the aspects that generated the greatest interest was the

micromouse contest. The junior part of the contest generated

relatively little interest as eveyone thinks they can build a fast white

line follower. Solving a maze faster than any human ever could,

sounds, and is much more interesting.

I am sure many of the hundreds of secondary school children

currently involved have the ambition to progress to the senior 3D

competition. It would be a great shame not to capitalise on this by

not having anywhere for them to go.

One of my plans is to incorporate a list of references and a design

guide to our micromouse and others on the Internet. To this end I

purchased the domain names robot.org.uk and cyb.org.uk

I hope you will forgive me for troubling you but as one of the many

people who have spent many hours over many years supporting

micromouse, I have seen the enormous joy on so many faces of all

ages that the contest has created. I feel it would be to the great

detriment of the IEE if the senior part were terminated or received

reduced support.

Best Wishes

Martin Smith FIEE