American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Student Design Contest

Mine Madness

Recommended Guidelines for Conducting the Contest

Personnel Required:

A four-person Judging Panel including:

• One Chief Judge which will also be a Vehicle Inspector.
• One Timer keeper.
• One Recorder (will act as a backup time keeper too)
  
• One Visual Inspector.
• An Impound Official to keep the devices secure after assembly, and to release them to the teams when their contest time comes up. He/she will not qualify devices.  This judge will be able to complete a one of the tasks above once the competition starts.
  

Equipment and Materials:

• Four 2x4's as boundaries. See rules.
• Three obstacles as per contest rules.  See rules.
• Six mines of varies sizes.  See rules.
• Two digital stop watches.
• Two metric measuring tapes.
• Carpet.
  

Preparation:

The Regional Vice President should appoint the Judging Panel and Chief Judge prior to February 1, 2004, and report their names and email addresses to the Student Design Contest Committee Chair. Timer(s), Impound Official, and a recorder should be appointed prior to the RSC.

Complete copies of the rules, contest procedures, and the categorical "Questions and Answers" need to be copied and provided to all judges.  At least one reference copy should also be provided for use at the contest, should none of the judges bring rules copies with them.

All personnel involved with the contest need to study the problem statement and the "Question & Answers" very carefully.  Anything unclear or confusing should be discussed by the Judging Panel before the contest.  We recommend you sort by category and print the Q and A.

An impound area for the devices must be designated and must be supervised by the Impound Official.  An "on-deck" area should be provided near the contest area for the next team to occupy with their device prior to competing.
 

Suggested Procedure Prior to the Contest:

The first thing a team must do is check in with the Recorder to register the device and to pass a sizing inspection.
After the device has been checked in teams will have approximately one-half hour to assemble their device and prepare it for display and inspection.

At the end of the assembly time the judges will open the peer review period.  During this time teams should review all of the competing devices, determining both their principles of operation and noting any items which may not fit within the rules.  Possible rules violations should be reported to any member of the judging team.  There must always be at least one team member attending each competing device to explain its operation to others.  At no time may contestants touch another team's device.  After the peer review period is concluded the judges will no longer accept any questions by a contestant about any other team's device.

Once the peer review period has been completed the judges will review all of the devices, clearing them for competition and ruling on any questions raised.

At the discretion of the Chief Judge, the peer review period and the inspection period may be run concurrently, so long as the opportunity is provided for teams to raise any questions on all devices.  This approach helps the contest run more smoothly.  

When the Chief Judge (or designated representative) has cleared the device for competition the team will move the device to an impound area, or follow instructions from the judges on the disposition of the device prior to their assigned competition time.

During the one-half hour setup and practice time the team may test and/or modify its system in any way it wants, consistent with space limitations set by the contest organizers.

The running order for the teams should be selected randomly (e.g., by having the teams pick numbers from a hat at the time they check in their device for inspection).

The judges should have a pre-contest meeting with the contestants to discuss the contest rules and procedures and to answer any questions.

Note: the Chief Judge must be the only point of contact for any and all questions before or during the contest.   The Chief Judge may discuss questions with the judging panel before answering them. This will minimize the possibility of different teams getting different answers to the same questions.
 

Procedure During the Test:

To start the contest one team will be asked to remove its device from the impound area and report to the starting box, and a second team will be asked to retrieve its device and bring it to an "on-deck area" near the starting location.  Thereafter each team will report to the on-deck area with their device when called, and be ready to move quickly to the starting box when the preceding team is finished.

Before the trial the entire device must be completely within the starting volume (except for any control umbilical cable and controller or antenna).  Following a signal from the Chief Judge, teams will be called to set up their device and will have one minute to place their device into the starting volume.  Should the team require additional time, a penalty of 50 points per second will be assessed with a maximum penalty of 9000 points.  If the team is unable to set up their device within the additional 3 minutes (for a total of 4 minutes of set up time), then the team forfeits its opportunity for that round.

To begin the trial, the device exits the starting volume.  A 3 minute countdown begins as soon as any portion of the device exits the starting volume.  Mines will be picked up and placed into the receiving area. Be sure to note any dropped mines. At the end of a trial, the team scores the point value associated with each mine that is completely inside the simulated receiving area and resting on the surface of the simulated minefield.  Teams that accomplish their mission and have placed all 6 simulated mines into the receiving area before the three minutes countdown has expired can score additional points by returning their device completely within the starting cube.  If this is accomplished, then the team earns a bonus of 25 points per second until the 3 minute countdown has expired.

After the first trial is completed, the team will have 1 minute to return the device to the starting volume and prepare for the second trial. Should the team require additional time, a penalty of 50 points per second will be assessed to a maximum penalty of 9000 points.  If the team is unable to set up their device within the additional 3 minutes (for a total for 4 minutes), then the team forfeits its opportunity for scoring in that round and that run is disqualified.  Repairs and adjustments to the device are allowed during this preparation period.    If the team wishes to replace any of the batteries in their system, they must do so in the allotted time.

The team's total score is the sum of the scores from each of the two trials. The highest score amongst all of the competitors wins.  In the event of a tie,  additional trials will be conducted.  The points for the various mines can be found on the Design Problem Description.

Determining a Winner:

 
For regional contest information, contact your ASME Regional Office

STUDENT CENTER