FAQs

[GoldDigger]

The purpose of this thread is to hopefully allow anyone to ask any sort of questions/clarifications about the rules on the design, construction and operation of the electric vehicle.

My question is.. What are the restrictions on the types of electrical components that we can use? I remember from last year that teams were not allowed to include any sensors that would would sense the environment or something. I may have misinterpreted this rules, but just wanted to clarify if that is right (i.e. no ultrasonic sensors).

Follow up: Are we allowed to use these types of sensors for our EV this year?

[Bazinga+]

The purpose of this thread is to hopefully allow anyone to ask any sort of questions/clarifications about the rules on the design, construction and operation of the electric vehicle.

My question is.. What are the restrictions on the types of electrical components that we can use? I remember from last year that teams were not allowed to include any sensors that would would sense the environment or something. I may have misinterpreted this rules, but just wanted to clarify if that is right (i.e. no ultrasonic sensors).

Follow up: Are we allowed to use these types of sensors for our EV this year?

Just to be clear, Scioly is not a place for clarifications but rather for unofficial discussions. If you want an official answer you must ask this question on soinc.org under FAQs or clarifications. That being said, anything that is not disallowed is typically allowed unless its not in the spirit of the competition/rules. Sensors are clearly not allowed by the rule that states that 'no external sensors may be used'. This means that all the sensors must not use external input, so you are still allowed to use counting devices to track how many times the wheels have spun, such as encoders. So as long as the sensor does not sense anything not contained within the vehicle you are good to go.
But again, I really advise you to ask clarification questions on the official Soinc site, and urge people to go there first before coming to this thread for discussion.

[GoldDigger]

Whoops! My bad.. Sorry about that. Thank you for the answer tho lol

[VansBuilders]

During setup, do they allow one team member to go to the other end and check alignment of the vehicle OR both members should only be on the launching side?
Please clarify ASAP. We have regionals in 5 days.
Thanks.

[4Head]

During setup, do they allow one team member to go to the other end and check alignment of the vehicle OR both members should only be on the launching side?
Please clarify ASAP. We have regionals in 5 days.
Thanks.

you're allowed to go anywhere on the track to set up your vehicle as long as you don't roll your vehicle on the track. You can place markers for alignment, sweep the floor, and anything else that doesn't violate the rules.