When will the AVC 2015 rules be released? I’m very anxious to get started.
Hello!
We’re still working out all of the details so there hasn’t been a specific date when rules will be finalized. I’m sure we’ll have a blog post when we’re more sure of dates/rules. 
-Casey
The rules for the Micro/PBR category state the following:
Micro/PBR - Less than $350 total spent, or small enough to fit into box that’s 10"x6"x4"
Does that it mean it can be less than $350 but bigger than the box size (or vice versa)? Or do both requirements have to be satisfied? In other words, is the OR supposed to be an AND, or is it correct as written?
Hey there! You should have also received an email from Rob, but in case you haven’t gotten a chance to see it, his response was: “Hello, it’s ‘or’. It either needs to be cheap, or it needs to be small.” Hope this helps!
Will there be a aircraft AVC this year?
There are now quads that weigh less than 60 grams that would be safe to fly and fun to see race around a small area. Here’s one that gets GPS well enough to hover in my house. Watching 60 gram autonomous quads race would be safer than going to a basketball game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyISuSbVFIg
Larry
Hey Larry,
We’re not doing aerial this year. There have been lot of new rules put into place in general and also with our new location so close to a highway we’re not legally allowed to have aerial vehicles. Sorry about that!
-Casey
Casey
Well thanks for replying to my question. Considering how safe very small quadcopter are do you think that the people in charge of sparkfun’s AVC would be interested in looking in to have an autonomous aircraft in a very small venue next year?
Would a ground vehicle that has a small propeller to drive it be able to be used in a race for ground vehicles ?
Larry
Hello Larry,
I’m sure we’d still like to make aerial happen, so more than likely it’ll be back on the table for conversation when we start planning AVC 2016. As for the ground vehicle with a small propeller, let me check on that and get back to you.
Thanks!
-Casey
Hey Larry,
This is the information I found out: Yes, this would make it a hovercraft, non-traditional locomotion
Thanks!
-Casey
Can we use telemetry for monitoring the robot, such as battery power level via an onboard transmitter (not a transceiver). This transmitter will ONLY sends text messages in plain text so others can monitor the data (averts cheating). Your company sells two different inexpensive basic transmitter (less than $10) for the 315/433 MHz frequency. Yes, I read the rules prior to composing this question. Please advise. Thanks
- RF Link Transmitter - 434MHz
WRL-10534
- RF Link Transmitter - 315MHz
WRL-10535
Mike Simpson
Good Afternoon Sparkfun AVC 2015 Rep.,
I also have a question on GPS waypoints at your location. I live in Utah, so the day of the competiton either my robot works or it does’t at your location, I’m sure quite a few folks have already tried/tested their robots in your parking lot prior to the competition. For the folks who live outside of Colorado, this isn’t quite fair. If possible, can you add to the AVC 2015 photo of the course map GPS way-points around your new facility? Thank you.
Mike Simpson
you’re probably not going to get them… It’s just part of the competition. You should be able to test on the Friday before the competition or on Saturday before the start. It’s jut part of the deal. Be glad they are at a new location, or you’d be dealing with people having collected several years of data on the course, and you’d be even further behind. I’m in the same boat. Use google maps, it can get you very close, probably similar to walking course with a gps unit.
Good Afternoon JeeseJay356
Well, better to ask than to not try…thanks for the heads-up.
Mike