Mission Possible C

[terence.tan]

So even if they’re being powered off of ambient light and they’re powering another thing within your device, they don’t count as a power source? For reference, they’re kind of like mini solar cells.

They may be a power source, but that is irrelevant. Let the rules be your guide...

Are you referring to an actual solar cell or the photocells referenced in the rules for one of the tasks? Photocells are just sensors that vary their resistance based on the ambient light around them, but solar cells actually supply power.

ones that supply power

[parasaurolophus]

Hey guys, I just supervised Mission at Cornell and I wanted to give some of my thoughts.

Don't use an iPod or iPhone as your device that plays the Final Action - they have Lithium batteries. Apparently some teams got away with this at their Regional competitions in New York.....it's pretty clear per the Battery Policy that no Li batteries are allowed.

Don't use an Arduino that controls multiple actions-- if you're going to use any microcontrollers, use one for each action. It counts as an adjustable device.

Saw a few teams doing these things. Please read the FAQs and Rules Clarifications because I can tell you as an Event Supervisor that we are specifically looking out for the things mentioned in FAQs and Rules Clarifications since we know they are trouble/ambiguous areas--- they especially matter to me at an Invitational because my goal is try to get you prepared for your Regional/State competition so that you don't suddenly get Tiered 2 when it really matters how you place, just because you had an iPod in your device that you spent hours on or whatever else.

Good luck everyone, and thanks to everyone who came and competed at Cornell!

[marty3]

Don't use an iPod or iPhone as your device that plays the Final Action - they have Lithium batteries. Apparently some teams got away with this at their Regional competitions in New York.....it's pretty clear per the Battery Policy that no Li batteries are allowed.

My state actually allows iPods provided they aren't tampered with, and they are well aware of the battery policy. (I personally have mixed feelings about it, but it's out of my control.)

I think the lessons to learn here are never assume that actions allowed at previous tournaments will be allowed at the next tournament, and if you have questions, always ask your tournament directors before the tournament.

[redvelvet08]

Does anyone know if the timer can still be running after it has triggered the next action?
I'm doing a sand timer and using the weight to trigger the next action but the sand sometimes still keeps running.

Thanks!

[jinhusong]

Does anyone know if the timer can still be running after it has triggered the next action?
I'm doing a sand timer and using the weight to trigger the next action but the sand sometimes still keeps running.

Thanks!

Pretty sure it is OK.

[mpnobivucyxtz]

Just to be clear, an arduino being on for the entire duration of the run would NOT count as a 10s violation because it’s not contributing to points?

The FAQ addressing this only in the case where the electrical component does something and then continues running. But, I’m not sure whether it running from the start would be considered contributing to points.

[PM2017]

Just to be clear, an arduino being on for the entire duration of the run would NOT count as a 10s violation because it’s not contributing to points?

The FAQ addressing this only in the case where the electrical component does something and then continues running. But, I’m not sure whether it running from the start would be considered contributing to points.

Let's think of it this way: the rules say that an electrical or spring timer is any action that is powered by electricity or a spring for more than ten seconds. An Arduino simply being on until it is triggered is not an action, until it receives the trigger. Therefore, letting an Arduino stay on until the action is triggered is not against the rules.

I guess an analogy would be having a spring that is loaded until the action occurs. It would not be a violation to have the potential energy stored in the spring for most of the run, as long as the action itself takes less than 10 seconds. Similarly, having an electronic action in standby mode should not be an issue.

[ScottMaurer19]

Just to be clear, an arduino being on for the entire duration of the run would NOT count as a 10s violation because it’s not contributing to points?

The FAQ addressing this only in the case where the electrical component does something and then continues running. But, I’m not sure whether it running from the start would be considered contributing to points.

Let's think of it this way: the rules say that an electrical or spring timer is any action that is powered by electricity or a spring for more than ten seconds. An Arduino simply being on until it is triggered is not an action, until it receives the trigger. Therefore, letting an Arduino stay on until the action is triggered is not against the rules.

I guess an analogy would be having a spring that is loaded until the action occurs. It would not be a violation to have the potential energy stored in the spring for most of the run, as long as the action itself takes less than 10 seconds. Similarly, having an electronic action in standby mode should not be an issue.

That is the most coherent explanation I have heard of this all year

[ftf841]

Just to be clear, an arduino being on for the entire duration of the run would NOT count as a 10s violation because it’s not contributing to points?

The FAQ addressing this only in the case where the electrical component does something and then continues running. But, I’m not sure whether it running from the start would be considered contributing to points.

Let's think of it this way: the rules say that an electrical or spring timer is any action that is powered by electricity or a spring for more than ten seconds. An Arduino simply being on until it is triggered is not an action, until it receives the trigger. Therefore, letting an Arduino stay on until the action is triggered is not against the rules.

I guess an analogy would be having a spring that is loaded until the action occurs. It would not be a violation to have the potential energy stored in the spring for most of the run, as long as the action itself takes less than 10 seconds. Similarly, having an electronic action in standby mode should not be an issue.

Is it alright if the arduino is idling for more than 10 seconds while tracking the time elapsed, then makes a decision later based on how much time has elapsed?

[PM2017]

Just to be clear, an arduino being on for the entire duration of the run would NOT count as a 10s violation because it’s not contributing to points?

The FAQ addressing this only in the case where the electrical component does something and then continues running. But, I’m not sure whether it running from the start would be considered contributing to points.

Let's think of it this way: the rules say that an electrical or spring timer is any action that is powered by electricity or a spring for more than ten seconds. An Arduino simply being on until it is triggered is not an action, until it receives the trigger. Therefore, letting an Arduino stay on until the action is triggered is not against the rules.

I guess an analogy would be having a spring that is loaded until the action occurs. It would not be a violation to have the potential energy stored in the spring for most of the run, as long as the action itself takes less than 10 seconds. Similarly, having an electronic action in standby mode should not be an issue.

Is it alright if the arduino is idling for more than 10 seconds while tracking the time elapsed, then makes a decision later based on how much time has elapsed?

In this case, I would say that it is an electrical timer because according to my interpretation of the rules,the action is occurring between the thing that triggered the action and the output. In this case, the trigger was actually when the device started.

Think of it this way: is this action dependent on the previous one? If not, then the action is parallel. (I read this analogy somewhere, but I don't remember who wrote it, but having a ball roll about triggering each of the actions would not be allowed, due to it being a parallel action, and because each action is independent of the one immediately before and after it.)

I don't know if the message I'm getting across is the same as what I'm thinking, but I hope this helps! (I wrote this in a hurry. I might edit it so that it's more understandable if someone else hasn't already written a good explanation by the time I get back.)