SOSI 2016: AMA (Ask Me Anything at the Summer Institute)

[SOPomo]

Nope, I see that too in the wording. EV isn't covered in detail until tomorrow morning and it's a C event so I'll be in B but I'll try to follow-up just the same.

[dcrxcode]

EV: It says there's a bonus line at the halfway point of the track.

The way I understand this, the bonus line is horizontal (as it is placed at the halfway point of the track).

But

The bonus this year is subtracting "0.2 x Distance between cans in cm (to nearest 0.1cm).

This is the part that doesn't make sense to me if the bonus line is horizontal. If you place the cans 100 cm apart, then the bonus would subtract 0.2*100=20 points. But if you put the cans 20 cm apart, then the bonus would only subtract 0.2*20=4 point. Putting the cans 20 cm apart is much harder as the vehicle would have to travel a curved path to get in between the cans. I'm wondering if this is a misprint, or, like windu34 thinks, the bonus line is actually vertical. But how would this be at the halfway point of the track?

Also, what happens if you hit one of the cans?

Edit: ChocolateLove already pointed this out.

[windu34]

So I was doing a few theorhetical calculations on the bonus for EV and I think there may be a sign error or something. Based on the bonus subtracting "0.2 times the distance inbetween the cans to the nearest 0.1 cm" and assuming low score still wins, wouldn't just placing the can as FAR as possible away from the can that is 1 meter from the center line guarantee the bonus to be the greatest and therefore your score to be the lowest? This seems not to be offering an actual challenge as teams will just place the can on the edge of the track every time. Maybe I did my calculations incorrectly but here's my thought process:

Run score = Run time (RT) + Distance Score (DS) - Bonus Score (BS) + Penalties

Low score wins right?

So with an increase in the BS, the overall run score decreases. For the BS to increase, the only variable in the BS is the distance and since we are working with multiplication here (my math teacher would be proud of me for this one) increasing the distance between the cans...

You see where I'm headed again. So can anyone please point out where I'm wrong?

I'm not sure if I know exactly what you are sayong, but ill give my thoughts.
As the can gets closer to the start line, the vehicle will have to make a sharper turn (to go in between the cans) thus forcing you to go slower. So as the BS increases, your RT score increases as well. Maybe we are supposed to find a middle ground?
I see what you are saying about the sign change. Maybe its (distance in meters) * .2 for the BS? I don't think they are measuring the distance in mm and multiplying that by 0.2.
I'm not quite clear about the photogate positioning in respect to all of this. Is the closest you can place the can the start line or the 0.5m start time mark?

EDIT
I didn't see the "distance in cm to the nearest mm"
Hmm

[ChocolateLove]

Dcrxcode,

First are you Mr. Araya? If so, hey dude! It's Chris! EV will be covered tomorrow in detail, according to SOPomo. So the bonus will be discussed. As for hitting the can, I'm basing this off of the old scrambler bonus (gotta hunt them down in my mental vault), i assume you get a failed run and but probably are permitted to a second run.

[windu34]

EV: It says there's a bonus line at the halfway point of the track.

The way I understand this, the bonus line is horizontal (as it is placed at the halfway point of the track).

But

The bonus this year is subtracting "0.2 x Distance between cans in cm (to nearest 0.1cm).

This is the part that doesn't make sense to me if the bonus line is horizontal. If you place the cans 100 cm apart, then the bonus would subtract 0.2*100=20 points. But if you put the cans 20 cm apart, then the bonus would only subtract 0.2*20=4 point. Putting the cans 20 cm apart is much harder as the vehicle would have to travel a curved path to get in between the cans. I'm wondering if this is a misprint, or, like windu34 thinks, the bonus line is actually vertical. But how would this be at the halfway point of the track?

Also, what happens if you hit one of the cans?

Edit: ChocolateLove already pointed this out.

Oh shoot I didn't even think of the can orientation. If it is horizontal, than we are missing something as you have pointed out.
Based on the info at hand, vertical makes the most sense in regards to scoring

[ChocolateLove]

EV: It says there's a bonus line at the halfway point of the track.

The way I understand this, the bonus line is horizontal (as it is placed at the halfway point of the track).

But

The bonus this year is subtracting "0.2 x Distance between cans in cm (to nearest 0.1cm).

This is the part that doesn't make sense to me if the bonus line is horizontal. If you place the cans 100 cm apart, then the bonus would subtract 0.2*100=20 points. But if you put the cans 20 cm apart, then the bonus would only subtract 0.2*20=4 point. Putting the cans 20 cm apart is much harder as the vehicle would have to travel a curved path to get in between the cans. I'm wondering if this is a misprint, or, like windu34 thinks, the bonus line is actually vertical. But how would this be at the halfway point of the track?

Also, what happens if you hit one of the cans?

Edit: ChocolateLove already pointed this out.

Oh shoot I didn't even think of the can orientation. If it is horizontal, than we are missing something as you have pointed out.
Based on the info at hand, vertical makes the most sense in regards to scoring

True, Sorry for not being clear in my description of the track. The way I'm envisioning the track is the same setup as old-school scrambler with the bonus. That seems the MOST logical to me. I'd be curious to see how the vertical feature would work though.

[windu34]

True, Sorry for not being clear in my description of the track. The way I'm envisioning the track is the same setup as old-school scrambler with the bonus. That seems the MOST logical to me. I'd be curious to see how the vertical feature would work though.

I agree that horizontal like the old scrambler setup seems most logical, but based on the scoring for the bonus, it doesn't seem to be the case.

[ChocolateLove]

True, Sorry for not being clear in my description of the track. The way I'm envisioning the track is the same setup as old-school scrambler with the bonus. That seems the MOST logical to me. I'd be curious to see how the vertical feature would work though.

I agree that horizontal like the old scrambler setup seems most logical, but based on the scoring for the bonus, it doesn't seem to be the case.

As per your suggestion, I think we should move the ev convo to the EV 2017 forum. We are starting to take over this forum

Edit: (I forgot to actually respond - how rude of me) This bonus is completely based on how the rules determines these cans to be set up. So as it stands we are merely waiting...

[SOPomo]

True, Sorry for not being clear in my description of the track. The way I'm envisioning the track is the same setup as old-school scrambler with the bonus. That seems the MOST logical to me. I'd be curious to see how the vertical feature would work though.

I agree that horizontal like the old scrambler setup seems most logical, but based on the scoring for the bonus, it doesn't seem to be the case.

As per your suggestion, I think we should move the ev convo to the EV 2017 forum. We are starting to take over this forum

Edit: (I forgot to actually respond - how rude of me) This bonus is completely based on how the rules determines these cans to be set up. So as it stands we are merely waiting...

Yup, won't really be answered until tomorrow. Patience, EV folk

[SOPomo]

Back on track...

So the one can is placed 1m forward or backwards from the centerline (towards or away from the vehicle start)? Is the can placed by the competitor before or after the stationary can? Are there limitations to how far the can can be placed? Are brushless motors still allowed? Battery restrictions?

So the only objects are pennies. 5 stacks of 10 so 50 pennies all together correct? What is the rule on passive vs active end effectors?

EV: One can is placed 1-m right and the other is placed by the competitors if/when they want to do the bonus. But like I said, that needs to be clarified (at least how I read the rules) tomorrow, so hold on for that.

Robot arm: yeah, pennies. The part about optionally detachable passive end effectors is crossed out from old rules (6.g.vii).

Were there any changes to the contaminants sheet for Hydrogeology? (Forgot to ask this in my first post)

Here is 2015's for reference: https://goo.gl/45260B

I don't see a hydrogeology contaminant sheet in the rules so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯