Full Throttle: Earth Bound

Accommodation registrations have started. To register for accommodation, click here.

The tentative track details have been put up. Click here to see the track details.

What do monster trucks, dirt bikes, F1 Cars and drag racers have the one thing common to attribute their speed to. It's the power of an IC engine that makes these mean machines do their dirty work. So go ahead and prove your mettle on a track filled with jumps, bumps, dirt, mud and all the madness of out back racing in the fourth edition of the Full Throttle as Techfest 2009 brings you Full Throttle: Earth Bound.

1. Problem Statement

Make a wireless remote controlled machine, powered ONLY by an IC Engine that can complete a dirt track in least possible time.

Prizes worth INR 48,000 to be won.

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Registration for Full Throttle: Earth Bound has started. Click here to register.

To view the discussions on this competition,Click here

For further queries contact:

Vaibhav Desai

Manager, Xcelerate
Techfest 2009
+91 98336 65246
vaibhav[at]techfest[dot]org

2.1 Track Specifications

The tentative track for Full Throttle: Earth Bound is as shown below:

Figure 1
The track will be an off road track. Most parts of the track will be made up of mud, however at a few places wood and jute mat will be used.
The total length of the track (the outer perimeter) would be around 110 m.

Figure 2
The track will consist of 3 types of bumps. First one will be 30 cm high. The horizontal distance for this bump for the rise of 30 cm is 1.25 m. The second types of bumps are 15 cm high. They will have horizontal distance of 45 cm for the climb. The last category of jumps will be 3 cm high. They will have a horizontal distance of 6 cm for the climb.
The width of the track will be around 2 m for most of the part. However at the start/finish line it will be around 3 m while at the stretch and the bridge it will reduce to around 1.2 m.
The detailed dimension and the picture of track at various angles are shown below:

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7
The track has a ramp and bridge at an end of a stretch. This ramp will be 50 cm high after the ramp will be a curved helix which will have inner diameter of about 2.27 m and outer diameter of 3.45 m. In the semi circle of the helix your car will gain height from 50 cm to 1 m. There will be a 3.2 m long bridge after the helix ends. See the figure below and the dimensions above to get clear idea of this patch of track.

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10
A control stand will be provided in the middle of the track for the driver to position himself to control his vehicle during the run. The height of the stand will be around 1.5 m. See the figures above to get an idea of the control stand. The controlling of machine has to be done from this site only.
The track shown above is a tentative track. There might be few small changes in the track in near future. The changes if any will be duly addressed to you in mail and by posting it on the Techfest Forum.
Despite organizers efforts to keep the track quality intact, the track is subjected to undergo wear and tear as machines run over it. The machine is expected to be able to perform on such a weakened track.
Two machines will race on a single lane track at a time.
A lap of the track is defined to be completed when the machine comes back to the start-finish line.

View the Machine Specifications »

3.1 Dimension and Fabrication

The machine should fit in a box of dimensions 700 mm X 500 mm X 500 mm at every given point of time in the race. The external device used to control the machine is not included in the size constraint.
The machine has to be controlled by a wireless remote control mechanism throughout the competition.
The machine must not be made from Lego parts, or any ready-made assembly kits other than the parts mentioned below. Readily available chassis layouts are not allowed. Any machine found to have a ready made chassis will be disqualified.
Remote control systems from toys might be used. Remote control systems available in the market may also be used.
The machine may be roughly classified into structural and functional parts:
Functional parts - Gears, differential gear shift, engine with clutch, pulley and pulley belt,braking mechanism, springs, shock absorbers, motors and servos (non propulsion purposes only), batteries, wheels, wheel hub are allowed to be used as available in the market.
Structural parts - Chassis, body and body cover, steering mechanism and suspension (excluding suspension spring and shock absorber) have to be built by the participants themselves. JUDGING for the same will be strict and the participant will be IMMEDIATELY DISQUALIFIED if any of the above structural components is found to be ready made.

NOTE:

Wheel hub: any part rigidly attached to wheel hub, i.e. has no degree of freedom with respect to the wheel hub (example: stud ball screwed in wheel hub) would be called a part of wheel hub. Hence it can be readily bought from the market (refer Figure 11.)

Figure 11
Steering mechanism: any part rigidly attached to the steering rod, i.e. has no degree of freedom with respect to the steering rod (example: heim joint http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heim_joint ) will be called a part of steering rod. Hence it has to be fabricated by the participants (refer Figure 12 and Figure 13).

Figure 12

Figure 13
Suspension mechanism: any part rigidly attached to the suspension arms, i.e. has no degree of freedom with respect to the suspension arms (example: heim joint http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heim_joint) will be called part of suspension arms. Hence it has to be fabricated by the participants (refer Figure 14).

Figure 14
If there are parts used in the concerned joint which are neither rigidly connected with suspension or the hub, steering system or hub; they can be used ready made from the market.
These pictures shown are only as examples. However the essence of the rule (the rigid connection clause) should be applied to whatever design is followed by the participants

3.2 Propulsion and Steering

The machine must use only mechanical power generated by an internal combustion (IC) engine for propulsion. Only one IC engine should be used in the machine. Use of any other sources such as chemicals, compressed gas, rockets etc is not allowed.
The use of IC Engines for propulsion is essential. Any machine which uses DC Motors for propulsion will be disqualified. However DC motors and servos can be used for steering mechanisms or any other mechanism apart from propulsion.
The machine must have an onboard power supply to provide power to any mechanism requiring electric power.
The maximum allowed capacity of IC engine to be used is 3.5 cc.(i.e. Participants can also use 2.5 cc,3 cc or any other IC engine lower in power).
The electric voltage anywhere in the machine should not be more than 12V at any point of time.
Start Control Mechanism: There shall be a countdown preceding the start of the race. No participant is allowed to touch the machine during the countdown period. This implies that teams have to devise a starting mechanism which controls the start of the machine. However, this starting mechanism must be removable and must not interfere with the race. If found to be doing so, the team will be prohibited from using it.
The start control mechanism must NOT provide any thrust to the machine in the direction of motion along the track.
The size of the start control mechanism is not included in the size of the machine.
Providing a clutch mechanism between the engine and the wheel would prove useful, as it would discard the necessity of a start control mechanism; and also prevent the engine from dying out at any stage of the race.
Participants are advised to use a proper cooling mechanism to prevent overheating of the engine.
The participants are advised to use proper air filters as dirt might cause serious problems to the engine.
For better grip, participants are advised to use large radius grooved wheels. Ready made wheels from the market are allowed.
The machine will be inspected and if found to be dangerous the team will be disqualified. This decision rests solely with the judges and the organizers.

3.3 Controls

The machine has to be necessarily controlled by a wireless remote control system. The participants have to bring 2 remote controls of distinct frequencies or a dual-frequency remote control, which can be switched to either frequency just before the start of the run. This is done to avoid frequency interference with competing machines.

View the Rules »

4.1 Competition Rules

There will be a qualifying session with each team getting 2 laps out of which the faster lap will be considered. Note that these laps will have to be taken successively.
The top teams from the qualifying rounds will make it to the second round.
The pattern after the qualifying round will be a one-on-one race with the winner over 3 continuous laps to make it to the next round.
The participants must place their machines at the start finish line before start of the race.
If any of the machines starts off before the green light is set, the counter would be restarted and the machines will get a second chance. However, if any machine starts off before the green light for a second time, it will be disqualified. No re-match will be held for the second time.
The track will have check points at regular intervals. If a machine tumbles, or halts, or goes off the arena at any point on the track, one of the participants is allowed to lift it up and place it at the nearest checkpoint behind that point. There will be a time penalty every time the machine requires to be lifted.
Team members are not permitted to touch either their machines or those of their opponents once the race begins (unless there is need to lift the machine as stated in 4.1.6). The penalty for doing so is disqualification.
The machines are not allowed to leave any loose parts on any part of the arena. Any machine disintegrating during the race will be disqualified.
Teams are not allowed to purposefully damage the machine of the opponent's team. If found doing so on track (while racing), the concerned team will lead to disqualification. Execution of this rule will be subjective and relies completely on judges' discretion.

4.2 Video and Abstract Submission

Participants have to submit a portfolio of their machine, consisting of a written abstract and a video of the working model before the competition. This portfolio will be used to shortlist teams for the competition. Only short listed teams will be eligible to participate in FTEB at Techfest 2009. For teams requiring accommodation, the last date of submitting the portfolio is 20th December 2008. For teams not requiring accommodation, the date is 31st December 2008.

Written Abstract

The written abstract should be prepared on the following lines:

The steering mechanism, suspension mechanism and the chassis layout should be explained in detail, along with proper diagrams. These have to be built by participants themselves (excluding shock absorbers and springs in suspension mechanism), ready made kits are not allowed. Picture(s) showing all the three should be attached.
Photographs of empty chassis have to be attached. The chassis has to be built by the participants themselves. If participants have already proceeded building their chassis, they are requested to take photographs of their machine in current state. These photographs are required for verifying that the machine has been indigenously built. Please refer 3.1.5 for more information.
Description of any unusual/ advantageous mechanism used.
The specifications of ALL the components used, including engine, suspension springs, remote controller etc have to be mentioned.
This abstract can be attached as a PDF file to the video and a CD can be prepared; or the abstract can be submitted on paper. The CD and the papers have to be couriered in a single envelope to the postal address of Techfest:
Techfest 2009
Students' Gymkhana
IIT Bombay, Powai
Mumbai - 400076.
You can email the portfolio minus the video, and send the video by a CD. This will make sure at least the abstract part of your portfolio reaches us before the deadline.
An email will be sent to the team leader confirming the reception of the entry.
Each team is allowed to make one submission only. In case of multiple submissions, the first submission will only be used for judging purposes.
Techfest 2009 is not responsible for any postal/courier delays, so participants are encouraged to send their entries well in advance to ensure receipt before the last date.

Video Abstract

The video should be an unedited clip, atleast 1 minute long, showing the machine running atleast 10-15 meters and performing a U turn
The clip should be preferably in AVI format. If any other unusual format is used, please attach appropriate video plug-ins to ensure that the organizers can run the video properly.
It is not necessary to explain the mechanisms in video.

All the portfolios will be used strictly for the elimination purposes. The elimination procedure will be objective and the evaluation of every participant will be published on the website. Techfest takes the responsibility that no information will be made available to any third party. The portfolio of your machine will be helpful everywhere in future as an evidence of your hard-work, along with determining your position for the competition. So please pay adequate attention to it.

The portfolio is meant to assess the efforts put in by participants. Thus even if you are not able to meet the requirements asked in the portfolio, please send us the portfolios based on the current state of your machine before the deadline. That means even if your machine is incomplete, please send the portfolios anyway, instead of not sending them or requesting permissions for sending them late.

4.3 General Rules

The teams may obtain a time slot for practice before every round of the game. The number of practice slots will be limited and the slots will be given on a first come first served basis. The teams will get to use the track only during the time of their practice slot. Any requests for using the track at any other time will not be entertained.
Any team that is not ready at the time specified will be eliminated from the competition automatically.
There will also be an evaluation of the machines for other prizes such as most innovative design, best fabrication etc at a time and date specified in the schedule which will be put up at a later stage. Any team that does not turn up at the specified time will not be considered for these prizes.
The teams must adhere to the spirit of healthy competition. The teams must not damage the opponent's machine in any way. Judges reserve the right to disqualify any team indulged in misbehavior.
The name of your machine must be prominently displayed on the machine.
Judges decision shall be treated as final and binding on all.
The organizers reserve the rights to change any or all of the above rules as they deem fit. Change in rules, if any will be highlighted on the website and notified to the registered participants.

4.4 Team Specifications

A team may consist of a maximum of 5 members. Students from different educational institutes can form a team.

4.5 Eligibility

All students with a valid identity card of their respective educational institutes are eligible to participate in Full Throttle: Earth Bound at Techfest 2009.

4.6 Certificate Policy

Certificate of Excellence will be given to all the winners.
Certificates of Participation will be given to all the teams that will participate in the event, but not to the teams which get disqualified due to disobeying any of the competition rules.

4.7 Registration

Registration for Full Throttle: Earth Bound has started. Click here to register.

4.8 Accommodation

Due to the limited accommodation facilities, teams will be short listed for accommodation based on the following abstract provided by the team. Please note that even if your abstract does not get short listed, you are still eligible to participate in the competition.
All participants who want accommodation at IIT Bombay during Techfest should fill the abstract form and rename the .doc file as "<Team_no>.doc" and email the form to fteb[at]techfest[dot]org. The abstract should reach us latest by 2359 hrs on 15th December 2008. No more requests for accommodation will be entertained thereafter.
Click here to download the abstract format.
Accommodation registrations have started. To register for accommodation, click here.

4.9 Important dates

Last date for registration for participant who don't require accommodation at IIT Bombay is 25th December, 2008. Participants need not send the abstract if they don't want the accommodation.
Last date for submitting the abstract for participants who require accommodation at IIT Bombay is 15th December, 2008.
Last date of registrations for the participants who wish to avail accommodation at IIT Bombay is 15th December, 2008.

View the Resources »

5.1 Resources

Full Throttle: Earth Bound tutorials:

Download the tutorial on Engine
Download the tutorial on Chassis
Download the tutorial on Steering
Download the tutorial on Suspension
Download the tutorial on Controls

Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the pdf. To download Acrobat Reader, click here.