My fellow mole people: greetings to you all. So the world has chugged down another Free Day, for better or worse. And as we begin our recovery (hey, it was a ton of work to coordinate that thing), we set our sites on the next big event on the SFE calendar. And what's that? You guessed it, dudes! It's AVC 2011!!!
The thrill of victory - or at least a nice solid job by Elmo.
For the uninitiated, let me explain. “AVC” is short for “Autonomous Vehicle Competition”, and this is our third time hosting this event. People come to SparkFun Command Central here in sunny Boulder, Colorado to try their luck at navigating around our building with an autonomous vehicle of their own design. You can do it by land, or you can do it by air. (I'd avoid the sea bit; the pond doesn't go all the way around the building, and I think something pretty foul resides in there). This year's event will be held on Saturday, April 23. Doors open at 8:30, races start at 9:30 sharp and we will go to around 5 when we present awards.
If you're a veteran of previous AVC's, check the rules carefully as there have been a few adjustments for this year. Last year we had a lot of people actually complete the course. And while on one hand we'll say kudos to you guys for making it, on the other we're saying that this is getting too easy, so we're going to throw in a monkey wrench or two. We're also going to open up the ground vehicle category to, dare I say, an unlimited number of entrants... OK, that one's got me a little concerned. If we get a hundred ground entrants this could get interesting, but for now we're going to say "the more, the merrier".
We just love doing this event, and we're totally stoked for this year. It's all the robotics you can cram into a 1/10th scale RC car chassis. Or, for the more adventurous, your own chassis design... or even toss something in the air! Add to that some good times with good company, good music from the house band, food vendors... I don't know, there might be minstrels, and maybe a guy walking around on stilts. OK, probably not those last two, but you really can't go wrong coming to this event. Come get your geek on!
can you use a rc helicopter or a quad copter for the uav part of the Competition
A quadrotor was used in the 2011 competition. You'll have to keep an eye out for the 2012 rules to see if you can enter a quad or heli for 2012, though.
In case there's flying machines with whizzing propellers are you going to hand out umbrellas or bats to ward them off with?
Maybe umbrellas made of chain link fence.
Can't wait! AVC bot is already in progress... but oh so far from being complete...
Can I use a 1/18th scale RC car?
I'll be there! The addition of obstacles and a hoop is awesome! Obstacle avoidance is where it's at. The airborne guys don't have to sense and react to the environment.
...If I eat nothing but Ramen Noodles for the next two months...
...I may be able to afford building an entry AND getting to Colorado and back...
Hmmm...
I was thinking the same thing, maybe some Mac&Cheese...
"And in the #4 position: 'The Intimidator' built by the sickly looking fellow staring unsettlingly at the food vendors."
You guys rock!
Literally. There's a drum set on the loading dock!
yeah. cause i'm gonna come 1493 miles to play it!!!!
I'm only going to enter if there will be minstrels there.
I'll bring bagpipes OR a UAV. 'Not enough time to do both.
What if your UAV played pipe-music?
(must be painted plaid)
THE HIGHLANDER
(We look forward to your submission)
RobertC.:
I'd love to see the Mythbusters show up with a FULL SCALE entry, in the extra heavy category. (Can you say MAC Truck?).
I would pay to see Mythbusters show up. Granted, not much since I don't have a TV show, but still, I would love it if those guys showed up. Adam, Jamie, you are formally invited :-)
I love the Myth Busters. Adam and Jamie are awesome, but show some geek loyalty... GRANT is the guy!
Yeah, Adam and Jamie would certainly provide a competitor crushing (In the literal sense) entry. And it would, no doubt, be an amusing run. But I think Grant could probably show up and smoke the coarse with his arms tied behind his back... of course, it's a Autonomous contest so that's kinda the point... lol
Maybe if people keep arguing about it they will be forced to show up and prove once and for all who is better :-)
Well then. Grant is better!!!
I second that.
Grant is the brains of the group
Psh, my money is on Jamie.
well jamie's funnier
and adam?
well he's just adam.
Wow. This must really be a geek site. Ten mentions of the Mythbusters guys and not one lusting for Kari to make an appearance!
haha nice. Nah, my wife watches the site from time to time. I mean, Kari can come if she's not busy.
lol, casual.
I thought the over-encompassing geek-lust for Ms.Byron went without saying :/
I have an idea - if you have 100 entrants have 50 go each way. The last half of the race could be really interesting...
Hoping to find my FreeDay package (thank you very much!) at home today. Got a few of the mystery sensors and a Nordic fob. I am hoping for ArduIMUs with tiny scratches; that's what you sent us all, right? ;^>
You can't do multiple planes at once, therefore if we did 50 aircraft, and there's a 5 minute limit to each, it would take over 4 hours, assuming there's not any break between them.
Why can't you do multiple planes at once? Wouldn't be much different then multiple ground vehicles.
midair collision and spectators underneath?
Midair collisions? Similar problem ground vehicles will have to face and be programmed to avoid in order to win with other vehicles present. As for spectators underneath - light weight falling parts aren't nearly as dangerous as a powered flying aircraft.
It's always a good idea to make spectators aware of the dangers present whenever model aircraft are flown, but with multiple autonomous aircraft competing at the same time they should perhaps also be advised to TAKE COVER. (lol)
By the way, I'm certainly not suggesting to have multiple aircraft compete at the same time - just saying that it would be possible and that dealing with the Midair problem would be similar to the extra problem multiple ground vehicles will also have to deal with.
souvenirs!
("I caught a wing!")
lol
Last year I turned in my application to Stanford via autonomous vehicle and was still rejected :(
That logo is sharp!
Hi, so my freeday order came in today, when the mailman gave it to me, the tape was ripped..... help
Customer Service will contact you
Where did you get the race starting line thing? And what is it?
That was designed and constructed by Tyler from our Production Department. It's fabulous-the raised platform lets us run power underneath, and it provides an easy to see starting/finishing line.
Speed bump??
I hope my UAV zeppelin will be done by then and working... If not, oh well, I'll just come for the fun and maybe if anyone needs help debugging their system.
Is it a lead zeppelin?
I, for one, hope that it's RoHS compliant. A LED Zeppelin on the other hand, would be awesome.
Matt:
Make a zeppelin complete the course and then immediately burst into flames a'la Hindenburg.
Simultaneous victory for both AVC and Antimov.
If they allowed it for Antimov, that would be sweet.
Only you Hily... Well played. +1
sigh. har har har ;-)
Would it be possible to just send the AutoV via fedex and let someone put it on the track for you?
I'm pretty sure that it has to get there by itself ! (ie. no help from FedEx :P
I don't think your vehicle has to get to Sparkfun HQ from where you built it by itself. I'm sure most people would put it in a car and drive it there.
What if it autonomously Fedexed itself to SFE headquarters, where it somehow got itself out of the box and into the competition?
"(I'd avoid the sea bit; the pond doesn't go all the way around the building, and I think something pretty foul resides in there)."
See what he did there?
no. explain.
it is a "foul" as in you will receive a penalty if you use a water based vehicle and go the pond route
DUH!! silly me
Also, Foul can mean birds. It's a pond so birds could be in there. :)
Ahh... the elusive triple entendre.
Foul != Birds.<br />
Fowl == Birds.
Puns don't always imply correct spelling
I think I detect a pun. Well done Pete.
sounds awesome. too bad I live 1493 miles away.
Just program your autonomous vehicle to find it's way to HQ and enter itself in the competition. Problem solved.
Wow, although you're probably joking, that'd be quite the challenge... maybe a solar-powered (or solar-recharging) vehicle that would use GPS to find its way to the competition...
What type of vehicle? Here's a few ideas:
*helicopter/quadcopter/______copter
*wheeled vehicle (avoid authorities? :))
*amphibious vehicle (if you live overseas)
*hot air balloon
*blimp
*jet-powered aircraft (for style points)
Here's something else to consider... how would it fill out the paperwork? Inkjet printer cartridge?
Sorry for taking up so much space, formatting was being annoying.
Or a rocket! ;)
hmmm. sounds expensive for a 15 year old
Haha! I had the same thought...
hehe to bad I live OVER 9000!!! miles away.
Too bad I live 4721 miles away.. I should make an amphibian!
Gee. how far out are you