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During Festival of the Masters, GFLUG held it’s first annual LEGO Powered Boat
Race. What is that, you may ask?
To give you a little background, the theme that GFLUG members were to build MOCs
according to was “Transportation: Past, Present & Beyond!” The challenge was
then thrown out for GFLUG members to construct a floating vehicle from LEGO that
will be able to maneuver across a pool using LEGO-only power.
We had two types of races, winners of each (will) received engraved bricks &
LEGO as prizes. The first race -- a simple race -- was to cross the pool
length-wise, first one to touch the far side wins. The second race was to
maneuver around obstacles, but due to poor planning & bad lighting conditions,
the boats simply had to traverse three sides of the pool in a horse-shoe shape,
first one to reach the far side won. And since the first two races were so much
fun, we ended up holding a third “simple race”.
Here’s a picture of the winning boat (made by Robin Werner) of the first two
heaps:
(photo by Todd
Thuma)
Don’t have a photo of the winner of the third race, sorry. However, I’ll do a
follow-up post of pictures of GFLUG boats MOCs from the event when I receive
them. And we’ve taken some video of the races -- but keep in mind, it was dark
-- however, if we dig up some good footage, I’ll do a follow post.
So, in the mean time, I wanted to throw out the rules that we came up with.
This was our proof-of-concept race & had lots of fun! Our group is already
talking about having a 2nd race at our next major event -- MegaCon in February.
Everyone is welcome to adopt the rules & enhance them as the see fit, but please
post pictures from the race & thoughts about your experiences.
Our thoughts:
- Always remember try out your boat in water before the event.
- Don’t over engineer the problem, sometime simpler is faster.
- We came up with a few other (alternative) heaps listed below.
- Water-proof your electronics! Can’t stress this enough.
THE OBJECTIVE:
The object of the races is for competitors to construct a floating vehicle from
LEGO that will be able to maneuver across a pool using LEGO-only power.
TYPES OF HEAPS:
- The Simple Heap: The first race will be for you to maneuver your boat from one side of the pool to the far side of the pool (length-wise); the first boat to reach the far side wins. Great for everyone that just has a floating haul & a boat motor.
- The Advance Heap: The second race will be for those boats that can do a “pool lap” (ie. go from pool side A to pool side B, then back to pool side A). Similar to the America’s cup, your boat will sail around buoys or maneuver around obstacles in the pool.
- The Tug-of-War Heap: Two boats tethered together by a string, start out heading in opposite directions. Boat A must pull boat B past a stationary marker (pool lap lines make a good point of reference).
- Boat Sumo Heap: Two boat start in the middle of the pool. Boat A must push boat B into a pool wall.
RULES:
- The boat must be made from LEGO elements and must only use LEGO for power. No glue, melting or modification of LEGO is allowed.
- Tape is allowed to help keep your watercraft air-tight as possible. As well as plastic/zip-lock bags/foam to help keep your electronics dry. Non-LEGO items should not provide additional power. And non-LEGO items should not contribute more than 5% buoyancy to the overall water craft (the rule here is to help keep it dry, not make it perform better).
- PaB LEGO cups are allowed (for floatation) as a construction element in your boat.
- For “advance” boat heaps, “battle boat” rules apply -- you may use any LEGO construction to try and throw other boats off course or sink them. Be creative!
- Organizers of the boat race are not responsible for any water damage or loss. Contestants enter the competition entirely at their own risk. If you are using a NXT/RCX in your boat construction, remember to keep the brick air-tight in case it sinks!
- These rules are subject to improvement, further clarification, & change. If you have suggestions or improvements on how to make these races better, please provide feedback!
Enjoy,
--Mike.
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In lugnet.announce, Michael Huffman wrote:
> The challenge was then thrown out for GFLUG members to construct
> a floating vehicle from LEGO that will be able to maneuver across
> a pool using LEGO-only power.
Cool. Although since the festival takes place at Downtown Disney, I think you
really should have had a race across the entire lake. Serenity could handle it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ7gQdt7Cu8
And I've got the 2.0 version (using two blue hulls... and mounting a camera that
can view above or below water) all built (around here, unfortunately, the water
is starting to freeze).
> * Always remember try out your boat in water before the event.
Further note: the center of mass is an important concept, as is the center of
boyancy... and they're not the same thing :).
> * Water-proof your electronics! Can't stress this enough.
Or, since I'm not sure there's a true all-LEGO way of doing this... make *darn*
sure it won't sink. One potentially helpful almost-within-your-rules suggestion?
Fill the boat hulls with styrofoam. It really doesn't change the "LEGO" aspect
of it, but it does assure that if the hull starts taking on water, it can't take
on very much, so the system still floats even if swamped.
> * The Advance Heap: The second race will be for those boats that can do a
> "pool lap" (ie. go from pool side A to pool side B, then back to pool side
> A). Similar to the America's cup, your boat will sail around buoys or
> maneuver around obstacles in the pool.
Two suggestions here: try it autonomously (a lot of fun... and *boy* do you have
to trust your programming), and try sailboats.
Do you have any video?
--
Brian Davis
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In lugnet.boats, Brian Davis wrote:
> In lugnet.announce, Michael Huffman wrote:
>
> > The challenge was then thrown out for GFLUG members to construct
> > a floating vehicle from LEGO that will be able to maneuver across
> > a pool using LEGO-only power.
>
> Cool. Although since the festival takes place at Downtown Disney, I think
> you really should have had a race across the entire lake. Serenity could
> handle it:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ7gQdt7Cu8
>
> And I've got the 2.0 version (using two blue hulls... and mounting a camera
> that can view above or below water) all built (around here, unfortunately,
> the water is starting to freeze).
Very nice; I like your design! Since it was our first challenge, we figured we
still needed someone in the pool, just in case something went wrong... We had
one boat capsized, one boat take on too much water, & a few circle out of
control.
> > * Always remember try out your boat in water before the event.
>
> Further note: the center of mass is an important concept, as is the center of
> boyancy... and they're not the same thing :).
Yes, that came up in follow-up discussions. :)
> > * Water-proof your electronics! Can't stress this enough.
>
> Or, since I'm not sure there's a true all-LEGO way of doing this... make
> *darn* sure it won't sink. One potentially helpful almost-within-your-rules
> suggestion? Fill the boat hulls with styrofoam. It really doesn't change
> the "LEGO" aspect of it, but it does assure that if the hull starts taking
> on water, it can't take on very much, so the system still floats even if
> swamped.
I think it'd be allowed... within reason. The initial problem was this part
would take on water:
http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=50821c01
Since the top half didn't snap on well to the bottom half, it would take on
water quickly. So we allowed for tape. But I could see filling it with a type
of foam or by adding styrofoam would be a great benefit from keeping it from
sinking... so it doesn't break the spirit of keeping it dry (afloat) instead of
improving performance.
> > * The Advance Heap: The second race will be for those boats that can do a
> > "pool lap" (ie. go from pool side A to pool side B, then back to pool side
> > A). Similar to the America's cup, your boat will sail around buoys or
> > maneuver around obstacles in the pool.
>
> Two suggestions here: try it autonomously (a lot of fun... and *boy* do you
> have to trust your programming), and try sailboats.
Great ideas! We talked about sailboats afterwards, but we didn't think it would
work without portable fans. :) But I could see it working with a few shop fans
by the pool side... otherwise the race would take forever (very little breeze
the night of the event).
> Do you have any video?
Yes, maybe. Since it was at night, we'll have to see how well the video comes
out. I didn't take the video; I've asked if we could get a small segment of the
race up on YouTube if it looks good. I'll let you know.
--Mike.
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In lugnet.robotics, Michael Huffman wrote:
> Very nice; I like your design!
Thanks - like you said, simple sometimes tends to be a good approach, and while
I only had the red hulls there wasn't a lot of mass budget to "overbuild".
> we figured we still needed someone in the pool, just in
> case something went wrong...
That I *completely* understand. I just haven't had the luxury of a warm pool to
play in, so it's test in the bathtub, and then really hope it works "in the
wild". It's... nerve-wracking.
> > One potentially helpful almost-within-your-rules suggestion? Fill
> > the boat hulls with styrofoam.
>
> I think it'd be allowed... within reason.
I actually used a hot-wire cutter to shape pieces of foam insulation to
custom-fit the hulls. Easier solutions would probably have worked... but with a
$250 NXT in the mix, I decided to give myself the best insurance I could.
> We talked about sailboats afterwards, but we didn't think it would
> work without portable fans.
Very good point. I was thinking about it because my solution is currently
limited to the batteries contained in the stock LEGO boat motors, which isn't
much (I want to move up to longer trips). I really need to move up to a
different propulsion system, as much as I like the "stealth" approach that
Serenity has currently.
> I didn't take the video; I've asked if we could get a small
> segment of the race up on YouTube if it looks good. I'll let
> you know.
I look forward to that or any pictures of the various boats. This seems to be
an... undertapped area.
--
Brian Davis
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> I look forward to that or any pictures of the various boats. This seems to
> be
> an... undertapped area.
>
> --
> Brian Davis
I'll patiently wait for the modified class... *evil grin*
-Rob
www.brickmodder.net
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In lugnet.robotics, Rob Hendrix wrote:
> I'll patiently wait for the modified class... *evil grin*
Fair enough... you mean one where you can use modified bricks for water-tight
enclosures? I really would love to move into the even riskier option of true
submarines...
Or do you mean the modified *combat* class, that allows (nay, encourages!)
tipping, trapping, fouling, and swamping the opponents? <grin>...
--
Brian Davis
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"Brian Davis" <brdavis@iusb.edu> wrote in message
news:KAC4K5.8yI@lugnet.com...
> In lugnet.robotics, Rob Hendrix wrote:
>
> > I'll patiently wait for the modified class... *evil grin*
>
> Fair enough... you mean one where you can use modified bricks for
> water-tight
> enclosures? I really would love to move into the even riskier option of
> true
> submarines...
>
> Or do you mean the modified *combat* class, that allows (nay, encourages!)
> tipping, trapping, fouling, and swamping the opponents? <grin>...
>
> --
> Brian Davis
I was thinking... "More Power!! ungh ungh ugnh"
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In lugnet.robotics, Rob Hendrix wrote:
>
> "Brian Davis" <brdavis@iusb.edu> wrote in message
> news:KAC4K5.8yI@lugnet.com...
> > In lugnet.robotics, Rob Hendrix wrote:
> >
> > > I'll patiently wait for the modified class... *evil grin*
> >
> > Fair enough... you mean one where you can use modified bricks for
> > water-tight
> > enclosures? I really would love to move into the even riskier option of
> > true
> > submarines...
> >
> > Or do you mean the modified *combat* class, that allows (nay, encourages!)
> > tipping, trapping, fouling, and swamping the opponents? <grin>...
> >
> > --
> > Brian Davis
>
> I was thinking... "More Power!! ungh ungh ugnh"
Speaking of which... I didn't have time to build it, but I was thinking about
attaching this:
http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemPic.asp?S=8675-1
to my boat; modifying the tires to be some type of paddle-wheel type of
construction. :) Alas, I had other building I needed to get done for our
event, that I didn't have enough time to see if I could get it to float or not.
--Mike.
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In lugnet.announce, Michael Huffman wrote:
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Here’s a picture of the winning boat (made by Robin Werner) of the first two
heaps:
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More pictures from the event (many thanks to Shelley for providing them!):
--Mike.
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