Problem 1910. Blockland

Add a new block to these towers without letting them fall.

To add a new block just choose the x-coordinate (between -10 and 10) where to drop your block. Try your luck and help us build Blockland!

http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/trendy/images/plots/plot_1557.png?2984728272

Figure: Common/shared canvas, procedurally generated from all current solutions to this problem (visit http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/trendy/plots/1557 for a more recent version)

Description:

This is a little experiment in collaborative engineering/art/fun.

We have a common/shared canvas where we are building a tower (or perhaps something else) one block at a time, adding the contributions of everyone who passes this problem. Your job is simply to add one or more blocks to this tower, without letting it fall.

To see the current up-to-date state of the canvas and interactively choose a location for your new block you may download this Matlab code and run it in your computer.

For a slightly out-of-date version of the canvas you can also visit this Trendy plot (note this plot only updates hourly so it may not reflect the current state of the canvas, where your solution will be evaluated; copy and paste the plot's code in your computer if you want an up-to-date version of the canvas).

Details:

Blocks are square of identical size and mass (with side equal to 1).

To add a new block your function should return the x-coordinate of the left-side of the new block that you wish to add. The block will be entered from the top and it will be dropped (tetris-style) at that position until it hits the floor or another block. The new configuration will then be evaluated and if it still holds (if the tower is still stable) you will pass this problem, and the new block will be added to the common canvas.

Valid x-coordinates range from -10 to 10, and they will be rounded to the nearest three-decimals precision.

Stability of the overall configuration is determined disregarding friction (blocks are perfectly smooth).

Visit Equilibrium for a related Cody problem.