So, I’ve got around to updating the rules and setup of the proposed line-following robot competition. Site is at https://wiki.makehackvoid.com/workshops:mhvvc
It should be at a fairly solid stage now, in regards to the rules and judging.
Comments appreciated 
Looks great Stephen, thanks!
Paul and myself have made some final tweaks to the page. I’m happy with the details now.
It would be great is people could start promoting this
awesome work Stephen
I can’t wait till the 22nd of Nov
Quick question, will there be GPS data of the track available on the day or just before the day?
Also the 1m rule, that might make things interesting for bots who loose the line, having to find it quickly, without going too far astray.
@mbainrot - the competition is designed to not require GPS, in order to reduce the complexity for beginners.
Given that most GPS modules are accurate to 2-5m, this would not be accurate enough to follow a thin line on the ground.
Hey Stephen
Fair enough, I was thinking more to stop my robot getting drunk and going
the wrong way lol or worse trying to go for a swim (I know that’s what the
estop is for, just carrying the avc joke of the dam 
)
Ahh yes, the dam 
Given the small confines of the MHV carpark, I’m not sure a GPS would be useful…
Those ramps that are mentioned, how big is “small”?
Also uneven gradiant, is that like potholes in the carpark or is it something else?
And sharp corners I am assuming right/left angles?
Also as for the remote kill switch, is it ok if I use an xbee? it has the added bonus for me that it gives me telemetry so I can monitor what the robot is up to. To aleviate any concerns about dodgyness, iirc xbees run in mesh so any instructions sent will be seen by all except the transmitting xbee, and configuration can be viewed and flashed by officials too (like disable the GPIOs)
Good questions!
Any radio system (like an Xbee) would be ideal
Awesome
The ramps for me will be challenging but life aint fun if it ain’t challenging.
Is object/obsticle avoidance recommended/required?
Power supplies are “whatever” as long as it’s self contained?, doesn’t cause the nuclear energy board to break out in a sweat (so no fusion/fission nuclear reactors ) and of course doesn’t breath fire at people?
Also with the ramps, are they going to be the kind where you have to find them? or will the white line lead you to the leap of faith?
Given we’re following a line I take it people will be either running one at a time? or rally style? (one after another, fastest first, slowest last)
Many thanks again for organising awesome I can’t wait
hmm …
The line will be continuous through the course (including the ramps) - once you put the robot at the starting point, it can follow it to the end, assuming it doesn’t loose the line! Then you’ll need to find it again
There will be no obstacles in the way.
If you enter a working fusion powered robot, you win by sheer awesomeness
As long as the robot doesn’t present a danger to any person at the event, it’s fine.
Competitors will be going one at a time. However, if there’s lots of entrants we may run them staggered (ie. start one robot whilst the other is 1/2 way through)
Entries for the MHVVC are now open!
You can enter at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1yle3vHFZd2ygqhpTyX8NtQe_nvULx5dQSoGu_LorlDI/viewform?usp=send_form
Please share this around the Canberra community so we can get as many people in this as possible
At this point in time we have all of 1 person who has registered their interest in the competition 
I’ll keep an eye on the number of entries over the next couple of weeks. If we don’t get a decent number of people entering, I’ll scale down the competition to something simpler and more casual.
I’ve updated the competition details:
https://wiki.makehackvoid.com/workshops:mhvvc
The competition has been greatly simplified. It will now be run on tables with black tape denoting the course. This will give use the option to run it either indoors or outdoors.
EDIT:
I’ve made a few changes to the rules to make them backwards-compatible for anyone who is already building their vehicle.
There is now an indoors and outdoors division, for smaller and larger vehicles respectively.
You will find some photos of today’s fun at https://www.flickr.com/photos/dburkey/
Cheers.