Alt-BEAM Archive
Message #02806
To: Bob Shannon bshannon@tiac.net
From: Bob Shannon bshannon@tiac.net
Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 07:25:33 -0700
Subject: Re: Contest and Arena group
To me those look like commercial kits, designed around a type of
contest to sell more of them. And that's fine; I have no objections
at all. But I'd like to see a contest which encourages innovation on
the mechanical and sensor fronts. Standard hardware would turn it
into a programming contest - might as well use a simulator then,
imho.
[ Easter Egg Hunt ]
> Can Arena-bots enter?
I have no objections to that either. Quite the opposite. The Easter
Egg Hunt as I see it would define a task, and I would try to define
a Playground such that only small, relatively cheap `bots can
participate. All they have to do is find and gather all the Eggs.
> > A rechargeable `bot would obviously have to bring its `food' along.
> > Proxies can't be expected to have the right charger for any robot.
>
> May I suggest that all charging be done from a pre-set standard
> DC voltage, say 12 volts or something?
Good suggestion!
[ 'bot travel cost ]
> > so the minimum entrance fee would perhaps be $30.
>
> I think that would be a barrier for some people on the list.
It's modest when compared to the cost of human travel, even within
one's own country.
> As it is, people enter over the web. I personally beleive this
> is a much better approach to drawing more people into the event.
Ben Hitchcock pointed out the advantages of a mail-in contest
pretty well, yesterday. Chiu's current format is nice, but perhaps
not sufficiently ambitious. Something like the Easter Egg Hunt may
be too ambitious. Your Arena may also flop or fly...
Best,
Steve
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# sbolt@xs4all.nl # Steven Bolt # popular science monthly KIJK #
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