Electric Vehicle C

[binary010101]

has any one started testing their new designs, as on now the one i have built has done good with an avg score of around 198.3(198.8 w/ bonus) has any one gotten one to be any better than that.
my real question is people that are use microprocessors and chips is it worth to use one I mean is it that much better to use components just for a couple tenths of a point 198/200 is good just want to know if i went to a microprocessor if people have gotten better scores.

Car? What car?

[packer-backer91]

has any one started testing their new designs, as on now the one i have built has done good with an avg score of around 198.3(198.8 w/ bonus) has any one gotten one to be any better than that.
my real question is people that are use microprocessors and chips is it worth to use one I mean is it that much better to use components just for a couple tenths of a point 198/200 is good just want to know if i went to a microprocessor if people have gotten better scores.

Car? What car?

what do you mean i dont know what you are saying?

[binary010101]

Don't have one yet

[lee_kim]

If the final rules actually include a bonus for not using electronics, does anybody understand why they would do this? I always thought that working with microprocessors was one of the main purposes of the electric vehicle event. If the only difference between electric vehicle and wheeled vehicle is the electric motor vs. a rubber band or fishing pole, then it would seem that electric vehicle just become a simpler version of wheeled vehicle. There were wheeled vehicles 2 years ago that could stop within less than 1 mm of the finish line and predict the travel time more accurately than most judges could measure, it would be a shame to let those competitors simply repower those vehicles with electric motors and run them again.

[sean9keenan]

At nationals however they give you the time as well. I would say that I agree with you, but the argument is that microprocessors might give teams an unfair advantage (one that I disagree with), in order to compensate for this teams that do not use electronics receive a bonus, which may make a lot of sense at regionals and states, however at nationals it's a whole other ball game.

[Flavorflav]

Since the bonus is a fraction of the difference between your score and 200, it is largely irrelevant to the best teams.

[captbilly]

I have worked on wheeled vehicle and now on electric vehicle and I have to agree with a previous poster that if the only difference between electric vehicle and wheeled vehicle is that electric vehicle uses an electric motor for power, then electric vehicle just becomes a simpler version of wheeled vehicle. I understand that there is a perception that somehow using microprocessors is expensive, but that is simply not true. What is true is that one can spend lots of money on SO or little money, and it is usuaslly easier to compete if you have more money to spend. If you want to go out and hire someone to write code for your PIC processor than it could get real expensive (and real easy), but if you write the code yourself with the free software available from Microchip technology, using free sample processors and a $30 programmer, then it takes more time but cost practically nothing.

Why not have an event, call it electronic vehicle, that requires a PIC processor programmed with Microchips free version of C. Maybe even specify which processor the competitor must use, to level the playing field (although all of them are available for free in small quantities). The total cost of required hardware would be the cost of a proto board and a simple programmer, probably less than $50 total. I would bet that Microchip would be willing to supply a simple protoboard/ programmer at a very low price (maybe even free), just to get a bunch of people trained in how to program their processors.

On the other hand if SO wants to encourage mechanical design then they should probably just go back to the rules for wheeled vehicle, it's a great event. Giving a bonus for not using a processor gives the impression that somehow working with microprocessors is easier than mechanical design.

[andrewwski]

I disagree wholeheartedly. The thing I love about EV is the flexibility and creativity it allows. There's a lot of different ways to attack it, and each has its pros and cons. If they had specific requirements like that, everybody would end up with essentially the same thing.

I loved this event last year because no two designs that I saw were close to the same.

[Flavorflav]

I agree with andrewwski. I think that whenever possible rules should specify goals, not tactics, and let the teams figure out how best to get there. I still support the bonus, though, because it doesn't have a very big impact on the best teams while helping the middle-of-the-pack kid who is doing it himself compete with the kid whose dad bought him a Basic Stamp kit.

[gh]

... if you write the code yourself with the free software available from Microchip technology, using free sample processors and a $30 programmer, then it takes more time but cost practically nothing.

Well, somebody has been listening to me. :D

If you're concerned that people don't know how to get started with more advanced tools, why not contribute your knowledge to the community? When you have the time, you could write a little page on how to get started on PICs dirt cheap and implement them in scioly events (<plug>preferably in our wiki</plug>). I think it's better to keep the event the way it is this year: allow a lot of freedom, and let the students work it out themselves. With online communities like this, low-end teams can get an idea of what to do while higher-end teams develop new techniques and designs.

It worked very well for Storm the Castle, didn't it? People could get into it easily by looking at other designs online and building simple, but the top teams were coming up with their own designs and raising the bar for what's competitve every year.