DARC News This Week
Week of September 28-October 2
MEETINGS THIS WEEK
MONDAY, SEPT 28 6:30 Team
TUESDAY, SEPT 29 6:30 Team
THURSDAY, OCT 1 6:30 Team
SATURDAY,OCT 3 10:00 Team
REGULAR MEETING SCHEDULE
Come Have Dinner at the DARC Diner!
Pic of the 2015 BEST Field from Kick-Off
Meeting Notes
Engineering
Creative Design
Programming and CAD
Alumni Visit!
Pay Dirt 2015 Game Description
The BEST Inc. Mining Division has purchased a mine that contains several valuable resources in record-shattering concentrations - but there’s a problem: The mine is far too dangerous for humans. Consequently, the mine was decommissioned years ago and has since fallen into disrepair. Initial evaluations of the mine have revealed five lucrative materials at various depths beneath the surface: Coal, Iron, Aluminum, Copper, and Lithium.
BEST has released a request for proposal (RFP) to prototype a robotic system that can repair the mine and retrieve the valuable commodities below. Since the winning company will be awarded the contract of running the mine, BEST will be evaluating the companies themselves as well as the prototypes they create. Their project documentation (notebook), sales presentation (oral presentation), company exhibit (booth), as well as their company culture and business ethics (spirit and sportsmanship) will be considered.
Much like the real mining industry, success in the design competition will be determined by net profit and you will be in direct competition with your opponents. Also, the market values of the commodities will change over time, so you may have to adjust your priorities mid-contest. Good luck!
2.0 Objectives
Design and build a prototype robot to repair and operate an underground mine during a three minute match. A robot can score points by doing two things:
(a) Repairing the mine
(b) Extracting materials from the mine
2.1 Repairs
There are two repairs that can be completed. These include:
(a) Fixing the Filtration System
(b) Fixing the Broken Pipes
2.2 Mineable Materials
These are materials that can be extracted from the mine:
(a) Aggregate (limestone)
(b) Coal (coal)
(c) Magnetite (iron ore)
(d) Bauxite (aluminum ore)
(e) Chalcopyrite (copper ore)
(f) Spodumene (lithium crystals)
(g) Core samples
Items (b) through (f) are considered Commodities, and will be affected by the Market Shift.
3.0 Game Field Description
The field is made up of four quadrants called Shafts (red, green, yellow, blue) arranged in a square that is approximately 24’x24’. The Shafts are arranged radially, and are divided into four levels: the "Ground Level" and three "Sublevels."
Each team has their own Shaft, three Levels of which are off-limits to the other teams. Sublevel 3 is a part of all four Shafts, and all teams are allowed to access it. There are Tunnels between each of the Levels within a Shaft . The drivers and spotters will be outside the field in their respective areas.
3.1 Ground Level Details
Each Ground Level is located in the corner of the game field. The Ground Level is approximately 5’x8’ and contains the following components:
3.1 a) Robot Starting Box
The Robot Starting Box is a 2’x2’x2’ area marked on the ground by the outside edge of a tape border. Robots must be completely Contained in the RSB at the beginning of a match.
3.1 b) Commodity Scoring Bins
Five wooden bins are located next to each Robot Starting Box. Commodities must be Supported by their respective bin at the end of the match to count as scored.
Real world mining is an industry where a small fluctuation in the value of the commodities being mined has a huge impact. Mining requires a sizeable investment and in order to ensure that the return is profitable, companies have to pay extremely close attention to long-term market projections. If there is an overabundance of a certain commodity, the value will drop. Likewise, if a certain commodity is in short supply, it becomes more valuable.
The point value of each Commodity will start at the value specified in this document (e.g. coal is worth 5 points each), and will remain the same throughout all Seeding and Wildcard matches. It should be noted that Aggregate and Core Samples are not considered Commodities, and will not be affected by the Market Shift. The point value of the Commodities will be adjusted at the beginning of semi-finals, and the beginning of finals. The finals market shift is based on the semi-final matches only. These new values will be rounded to the nearest 1/100th of a point. The new values and the teams which are advancing to Semifinals and Finals will be announced at the same time. Teams that want more time to strategize for the semifinals or finals are encouraged to compute their own estimates of the Market Shift, or plan multiple contingencies.
The Market Shifts will be computed for each Commodity. "Over-mined" Commodities will drop in value proportionally to how much they were Over-mined. "Under-mined" Commodities will rise in value proportionally to how much they were Under-mined.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ROBOTICS CLUBS
LAST YEAR
DARC Symbiosis Video (Tennessee Valley BEST Competition)
DARC at TVB Competition 2014
2015 Tennessee Valley BEST Competition
Saturday, Oct 31, 2015, 09:00 AM
Calhoun Community College, U.S. 31, Tanner, AL, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.
2015 South's BEST Robotics Competition
Saturday, Dec 5, 2015, 08:00 AM
Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States
RSVPs are enabled for this event.