Design

• Twin motor buggy with steering

• Build a remote for the kids – with three long cables, and a DPAD like controller

• Left/Right buttons are on resistors

• Tap forward to move forward

• When moving forward – tap reverse once to stop, again to reverse

• When reversing, tap forward to stop, again to go forward

Steering – one motor will power down to turn the robot around in the other direction.

Basic Rules

• You must work as a team
• The left motor must be on A
• The right on B
• The vehicle must mount the RCX
• Ports 1,2,3 must be kept free for the remote to plug in

Build Time

You will have 2 hours to complete the mission. Time extensions are allowed if I see you to be struggling – but there is a 2 point bonus for keeping within time, and 5 point bonus if you complete the building in less than one hour.

After building – all non-used pieces must be returned and put away – remember – the better they are stored- the easier they will be to find next time. I will be doing a big piece sort at around 1am on Sunday – members are welcome to join me, and can gain 2 additional points for doing so, as well as improving their chances in challenges by being more aware of what pieces are available and where they are stored.

Teamwork

The team may allocate a captain. Individual points will be awarded for teamwork and co-operation – those seen not to be participating will not receive points.

Course Navigation

Team points will be awarded for navigating through a course in the set time limit. You will be allowed three runs. We will take the best run and use that for the time. A different navigator may be chosen by the team for each run. The course will have a number of obstacles- including ramps, a few turns and a narrow space with bollards. There will be a 20 second penalty for any bollards knocked over.

Course Time Scoring

Weight

This will be done using the kitchen scales. The remote connections will be removed for this, and the weight of the RCX and 2 motors deducted for scoring.

RCX + 2 motors –262g

You will get 1 extra point for every 25g’s below 100.

Drop Test

The RCX and Motors will be removed for the drop test – take this into account during building. Above 3 drops – 3 points One team point for each drop past that. We will stop at 7.

CAD

At the end of the session, after the tests – you may as a team start to put the model into the computer (and over the following week). This will earn each participating in putting it in 5 points, and you will be able to put your model on the internet!

Piece count

This will be taken after you input the model into the cad package – if you choose not to, then you will not be able to earn points in this category.

Course Design

Will use a nice long straight on the corridor. Place 3 bollards. 1 DVD case flat on the floor, 2 DVD cases either side of another propping them, 2 DVD cases either side of a Lego storage case.