Tidewater Community College Virginia Beach, VA

2003 ASEE Model Design Competition Nashville, TN June 23, 2003

TCC's teams were disappointed this year as neither of their cars were able to finish the course.  TCC had two 1st Place and two third Place finishes in the last four competitions, so not completing the course was a setback.  The students were disappointed, but determined to come back the next year! Blue Car Team -   This was TCC's main vehicle.  Most of their effort was put into this car.  It was designed to follow the bridge path and used 7 infrared sensors to follow the tape on the track.  A BASIC Stamp microprocessor was used to read the sensors and turn a steering servo based on the results.  The car was quite reliable and had completed the course dozens of times on their track at home.  They tried out their car on the track in the Exhibition Hall an hour before the competition and it finished the course nicely.  However, the car quicly lost the tape that it was supposed to follow on all three trials during the competition.  The team later traced the problem to a failure of sensor #6 on the car's bank of 7 steering sensors. Red Car Team - After months of working on the blue car, TCC decided to also enter a second vehicle.  This car was designed to follow the tunnel path, so it was built small enough to easily pass through the tunnels.  It used a twin motor gear box and steered by controlling the speeds of the rear motors separately using the BASIC Stamp microprocessor and an H-Bridge.  The car used 5 infrared sensors to detect the tape position and used front skids instead of wheels.  This car never worked reliably as the team had many problems with the H-bridge (mainly overheating) that controlled the speed of the two motors.

Team Members: Steve Work (Blue Car Team Captain) Alton Davis (Red Car Team Captain) Christina Schneider Mike Backs

Faculty Advisors: Paul E. Gordy, PE (PGordy@tcc.edu) Steve M. Ezzell, PE (SEzzell@tcc.edu)

TCC team photo in Nashville:  Steve Ezzell, Steve Work, Alton Davis, Christina Schneider, Paul Gordy (left to right)	Blue Car - side view	Blue Car - top view
Blue Car - front view	The blue car climbs the bridge on the track at TCC.	Blue Car Team (at TCC):  Alton Davis, Christina Schneider, Mike Backs, and Steve Work (left to right)
The blue car goes around a turn on the track at TCC.	The blue car on the track at TCC.	Steve Work uses a drill press in modifying the red car.
Red Car Team (at TCC):  Steve Work, Mike Backs, Alton Davis, and Christina Schneider (left to right)	Red car - side view	Red car - top view
Red car - front view	Red car heads into the tunnel on the track at TCC	Red car comes out of the tunnel
Red car going through the tunnel.	Alton Davis gives a presentation before the panel of judges and the other competitors.	Top view of red car passing through the second tunnel on TCC's track.