Welcome to Micromouse!
Spring 2024
Lecture: Friday 4PM ~ 6PM (PST)
Location: Cory 299

The UC Berkeley IEEE Student Branch’s Micromouse DeCal is a hands-on course aimed at undergraduates with an interest in robotics. In the class, teams of ~2 students are formed to build and program autonomous, maze-solving cars that follow the standards set in IEEE’s Micromouse competition.

The course assumes no experience and will be based around a series of labs and project milestones that cover a wide range of robotics concepts. The course will expose students to CircuitPython programming, autonomous navigation, sensors, PID, and basic electrical engineering, while preparing them for an in-class competition at the end of each semester. Teams are also provided with the opportunity to qualify for funding to attend competitions among other schools in California and neighboring states.

All necessary parts will be provided to students at no cost.

Notices

The Micromouse Discord is live: https://discord.gg/FRWvxrTChh

This semester the Decal will take place in Cory 299 on Fridays from 4-6PM, starting February 2nd. Make sure to fill out the interest form!

Note that the slides on this page are just for preview. They'll be updated before lecture and posted after.

Instructors
Harris
Harris Thai

Director

Taihong
Taihong Xie

Jesse
Jesse Lutan

Jaythan
Jaythan Dao

Timeline
Week Title Content Links
1
Week 1
What is Micromouse? • Tournament video, rules
• Course logistics, questions
Slides
2
Week 2
Lab 1: Assembly • Assemble the robot!
• Learn how to use a reflow oven
Lab Doc
Slides
3
Week 3
Lab 1: Assembly • Assemble the robot!
• Learn how to use a reflow oven
Lab Doc
Slides
5
Week 4
Buffer Week
6
10/10
Lab 2: IR Sensors • ADC readings
• Sensor calibration
Lab Doc
Slides
7
10/17
Lab 3: Encoders • Hall effect sensors
• Polling vs. interrupts
Lab Doc
Slides
8
10/24
Lab 4: Odometry and Motor Control • Linear and angular distance
• Spin those motors
Lab Doc
Slides
9
10/31
Buffer Week
10
11/7
Lab 5: Intro to PID • The 'P' in PID Lab Doc
Slides
11
11/14
Lab 6: More PID • The rest of PID
• Wall following and turning
Lab Doc
Slides
12
11/21
Buffer Week
13
11/28
Maze Solving (Optional) • Flood fill algorithm or whatever you come up with! Lab Doc (WIP)
Slides
14
12/5
RRR Week - Class Competition or Showcase (TBD)