So here’s the deal:
-Make a miniature go kart based on power wheels worth less than $500
-Compete for crowd favorite and win race points
-???
-Profit!
The rules are pretty straight forward:
- Hackerspace teams must contain a minimum of three members (1 driver, 1 mechanic, and 1 volunteer)
- $500 is the value of the racing vehicle on the track, not support equipment! Batteries are 1/2 their market value and safety equipment is not considered towards this amount
- Vehicles must start from, or end as a power wheels
- 12-36 volts RMS maximum input to motors and you may have a total peak power consumption 1440 watts. This is regulated through a supplied fuse
- 62” long by 36” wide. Seat height may not be lower than the axle height. Overall height is restricted to 72” including the height of the driver while in the seated position.
but the most important rule of all:
7.2.3 | The “I Ain’t Even Mad” Clause
Feel like breaking a rule? We at the PPPRS take rule breaking very seriously, and we don’t like people who half-ass things. If you are going to break one of our rules, we encourage you to go full ass, above and beyond the call of duty. We don’t want cheap and sneaky exploits. We want clever hacks that will make great stories. Want to make a 6-wheel power wheel? Awesome. DRS inspired Must-Go-Faster button? Sweet, can’t wait to see it. So if you feel like taking things too seriously, we want you to build something so blissfully impressive, so Adrian Neweyesque clever, or downright SpeedyCop crazy that your rule infraction gets an “I’m not even mad, actually I’m impressed” reaction from our judges.
IE cleverness of this magnitude is rewarded:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp7mCMLozo4
When do we need it finished?
October 4-5 at the Atlanta mini maker faire!
Budget:
So, if it’s less than $500 why ask for $750?
-we will have extra batteries
-we will have support equipment
-we will probably have extra wheels and spare parts
-we will definitely break things or screw them up (it’s called learning)
my guess is that this is fairly conservative and likely won’t be enough to make the final product, but if that becomes the case we will either chip in more or pass a bill for additional funding, it will be more than enough to get the kart moving however ;).
So, here’s a video from MIT’s Charles Guan’s chibi-miku van in detroit:
http://youtu.be/30sbwd5p6HI?list=PLktL9WnT95aVeBpjym2SAn_CHTE0ftLLj
Vote yes, let me know on tuesday if you want to be a part of making something awesome, and start those ideas!
-Jim Shealy
