Questions about the ASME Student Design Competition 2014.

[SugarBombs]

This years ASME Student Design Competition is building a UAV to navigate a simple obstacle course and drop a 1 gram payload into a target zone.

My question is, is anyone able to decipher their scoring criteria?

The problem statement, guidelines, and rules: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3XJ3oFgFSSAQzMwTFh4UUxpMFU/edit?usp=sharing&pli=1
(The ASME official link is down and their FAQ page has yet to work.)

Tasks to be accomplished.
1. Navigate through the gates in the fastest time.
2. Teams will be scored on the maximum cargo carried.
3. Bonus: Release a simulated 1-gm water bladder. (Note: Use a bag of sand.)
4. Bonus: Does the canister hit the intended fire? Target is 1-m in diameter.
5. Hitting or touching the gates will incur a penalty.
6. Provide photographic visual evidence of the construction of your vehicle.
7. Signed Ethical Statement that you constructed the vehicle.
8. One page Design Calculations.

Run Score = Max(300 s – Trial Time, 0)
+ (Number of gates successfully negotiated)x200
+ (Number of grams carried) x50
+(release of bladder)x20
+(bladder hits target)x100
+(Lighter than air)x100
-(number of gates hit)x20
-(unacceptable design calculations)x100

My interpretation is that they want us to create a craft that is "lighter than air", meaning a craft with positive buoyancy when the power is turned off. (likely using a helium balloon.)

However, there is disproportionate points being awarded for "Number of grams carried". It will not take much to make a quadcopter capable of carrying 500 grams (at the given size restriction); thus making all the other points awarded (including the coveted time score) worthless.

One of my team members thinks that the max points awarded by "Number of grams carried" is restricted the one gram payload; thus 50 points max. If that is the case the resulting design of the craft is significantly different in order to take advantage of the other possible points being awarded.

I contacted ASME with currently no help with this issue and my design team and professor are stumped. I realize the only one that can give a definitive answer is ASME, but I was hoping this discussion found a conclusion elsewhere and someone is able to share it with us.

Thanks.

 

[rollingstein]

Could that be kgs instead of grams?

A 1 gm sand bag sounds a tad silly and small for a 1 m target.

Then the points make sense?

 

[AlephZero]

The thread title says "2014 competition" but the OP's link says "2013". So don't enter a year to late or a year too early.

Could that be kgs instead of grams?
A 1 gm sand bag sounds a tad silly and small for a 1 m target.

If you successfully dropped a 1kg mass from a UAV small enough to go through a 0.71 m diameter hoop, I think your next control problem would be to stop the UAV hitting the roof of the building

 

[SugarBombs]

If you successfully dropped a 1kg mass from a UAV small enough to go through a 0.71 m diameter hoop, I think your next control problem would be to stop the UAV hitting the roof of the building

Lol.

The link to the PDF is not mine, but it is for the 2014 competition as verifiable on the ASME website. (https://www.asme.org/events/competitions/student-design-competition)