Electronics Design Judge

[Matthew Piccoli]

Hey,

Does anyone know how to request an electronics judge at design (or if they even exist), specifically for Michigan. Thanks.

[Matthew Piccoli]

Hey,

Does anyone know how to request an electronics judge at design (or if they even exist), specifically for Michigan. Thanks.

[EPMAl]

From what I know, there isn't always a judge specialized in electronics in every booth at design. I remember, at FSAE West in 2008, our electronic guy spent most of is time explaining our electronics to Rouelle, since no one else seemed to want to judge the electronics section.

[exFSAE]

Electronics is kinda vague. Could you be more specific? That's like asking.. "who judges the mechanical part of the car?"

[Hector]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">"who judges the mechanical part of the car?" </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
The mechanical judge, of course.

[Matthew Piccoli]

Fair enough. We have shift/clutch by wire, multi-stage traction, launch, and telemetry all on our custom made canbus. Some of this falls into ergonomics, some powertrain, some innovativeness, but all of it falls into "electronics". I just figured if there were any judges with an electronics background, perhaps we should have one at our booth.

EPMAI, did you have to request an extra judge (even one without an electronics background) so that your electronics guy had someone to talk to? If so, how? Thanks.

[Hector]

Well, we've never had an electronics guy as one of our main speakers. Typically, the subsystem leaders using sparky components are well-versed on the system and can handle surface-level discussion on their use and function.

i.e. Our powertrain guy is prepared to discuss the electronic shifting and its properties. Should a judge want to delve deeper, the sparky is available to jump in and answer questions. This has worked well for us on the past and should be sufficient for almost any scenario.

[VFR750R]

They had one dedicated electronics judge at VIR last spring. And based on all the teams design reports, there were several teams he was scheduled to be in the booth with during design. If there was a conflict of multiple cars at the same time, he went to the teams he missed in the pits at a later time.

If your design report reflects you have a lot of custom electronics, you will likely get a electronics judge in your booth during design without even asking for one.

[Hector]

Good to know. Thanks VFR

[Matthew Piccoli]

Yup, thanks VFR.

[EPMAl]

Like VRF said, most of the time, if a judge can't understand what you're talking about, he will find someone who knows. Whatever the aspect of your development you want to present at design, they will find someone to listen to it, especially if it is clearly stated in your design report.

[Hector]

I was recently given the opportunity to talk to Steve Fox in person. He said that at the end of the Michigan competition, a new design score bracket will be announced that features an "Electrical Integration" section or something similar. It will be used for the 2011 competition season.

Also, they've brought on several new (young) design judges who are all well-versed on modern computer and electrical systems. Maybe not dedicated EEs, but still people who are going to understand ECU tuning, traction control, etc, etc.

Hope this helps.

[Matthew Piccoli]

Thanks Hector. I hope those new judges are there at Michigan 2010.