2011 Communications Museum Electronic Device Construction Competition

Supplementary Rules

1. Material

Production materials are not limited, but ready-made devices are not allowed.

2. Specifications

Any production that violates this rule will be disqualified for the competition. For more details, please refer to Rule 7.

Dimensions and Weight Restrictions:

• The construction should be composed of three parts: device, wire for control and controller.
• The device should be within the size of 22cm x 24cm x 30cm.
• The wire that connects the device and the controller should be at least 4m long.

Restrictions on source of power: The device should be driven by battery. The quantity used is limited to a maximum of eight AA batteries.

3. Operation of Device

Junior Secondary: The device should be able to move along a rope and carry object(s) (The rope is set at a horizontal level without slope and obstacles. See Figure 1.)

Senior Secondary: The device should be able to move along a rope and carry object(s) (The rope is slanted and contains obstacles. See Figure 2.)

4. Flow and Method of Competition (Applying to both Junior Secondary and Senior Secondary participants)

• The sequence of competition for each team will be drawn prior to the competition.
• Before commencement of the competition, the operator and other team members should stand by at the "stand-by area" (see Figure 1 or 2).
• Each team should assign one operator to use the controller to operate all movements of the "device", but his is not allowed to touch the "device" during the operation. Other team member(s) will load the ping-pong ball(s) onto the "device", but they are not allowed to operate it. Team(s) that violate(s) this rule will be disqualified. If the team has only one person, he or she will also be responsible for loading the balls.
• Before commencement of the competition, each team will have preparation time of 1 minute. During the preparation time, they can test and adjust their device as needed.
• When the preparation time is over, all testing and adjustment work should be stopped. The team should follow the instruction by the staff and place their "device" at the "green zone" (Figure 1 or 2).
• The "wire for control" will be fixed by the staff to the "fixing point of wire" (Figure 1 or 2). During the competition, the operator and other team members must stay inside the "stand-by area". Otherwise, the team will be considered as violation of rules.
• The staff will provide 10 ping-pong balls to each team and then cue them to start the competition. During the competition, the team members except the operator will load one ping-pong ball onto the "device" every time. After they have raised their hands to signify that they have loaded the ball, the operator can start to operate the "device" for the delivery. During the delivery process, any action(s) by team members that may facilitate the operation and movement of the "device" will be considered as violation of rules.
• Complete delivery process: [Team members except operator to load ping-pong balls onto the "device" >> Operator to operate the device for delivery >> "Device" to pass through the "Minimum travelling distance" and to enter the "red zone" totally >> Operator to off-load the ping-pong ball from the device to the "ping-pong ball collection basket" >> "Device" to pass through the "Minimum travelling distance" and return to the "green zone" totally]. This process is considered to be one complete round of delivery.
• Within the "Minimum travelling distance", the "device" cannot touch the floor. Otherwise, it will be considered as violation of rules.
• The whole "device" should be in good condition to succeed in each complete delivery within the competition time. During the competition, if malfunction, the part(s) of the device or the ping-pong ball drops, the team member(s) should raise up their hand(s) to notify the staff. Then they can take down the "device" for repair or re-adjustment and, the timer will NOT stop counting the time during the repair and re-adjustment of the device. After the repair, they can continue with their competition by placing the "device" at the "green zone" and go through the delivery process again. Otherwise, the respective score will not be counted.
• During the competition, any actions of touching the "device" or pulling of the "wire for control" without prior notification to the staff will be considered as disqualified.
• The competition time for each team is 10 minutes. All actions must stop when the competition time is over.
• If all provided ping-pong balls are delivered in less than 10 minutes, the actual delivery time and the number of balls delivered will both be counted for scoring.

5. Calculation of Scores

One score will be gained if the device finishes one complete round of delivery and successfully off-loads the ping-pong ball into the "ping-pong ball collection basket" (no score will be counted if the ball drops onto the ground and bounces back into the "ping-pong ball collection basket"). No score will be counted if the team fails to complete any of the aforesaid requirements.

6. Winning of Competition

The team(s) with the highest score will win the competition. If the scores are the same, the winner will be determined based on the actual delivery time.

7. Violation of Rules and Disqualification

Violation of rules: For actions violating the rules, the team has to place the "device" at the "green zone" and go through the delivery process again.

Disqualification: For actions causing disqualification, the team's competition will be terminated at once and the related scores will be cancelled.

8. Others

All participants should pay attention to electrical safety. Please bring your own tools and no tools will be provided by the Organizer.

All participants are welcome to use the testing ground in the Museum during opening hours before the competition.

9. Appendix

Figure 1: Competition ground for Junior Secondary teams (The figure is not drawn in proportion.)

Figure 2: Competition ground for Senior Secondary teams (The figure is not drawn in proportion.)

• Size of ping-pong ball collection basket: A4-sized box of 22cm x 24cm x 30cm
• Number & size of obstacles: Five cylindrical objects of 22mm (diameter) x 20mm (length) will be fixed within the "minimum travelling distance" at regular intervals.