First Place Tidewater Community College Virginia Beach, VA

2004 ASEE Model Design Competition Salt Lake City, UT June 21, 2004

TCC's car was the model of consistency, posting times of 1:33, 1:34, and 1:37 for its three trials.  Steve Work also made an excellent presentation for Team TCC and received many favorable comments from judges, advisors, and students.  The team from Central Carolina Community College actually posted the fastest time of 1:30 (they did not finish the course on their other two trials).  The judges; however, awarded TCC first place, perhaps due to their score on the presentation and on their consistency.  Recall that the scoring is based 55% on speed, 35% on student presentations, and 10% on the judges discretion.    This is the first time that first place was not awarded to the fastest car and it emphasizes the fact that teams need to be well prepared for the presentations also.

Team Members: Steve Work (captain) Alton Davis Brandon Simpkins Keith Owen

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

Alton Davis, Brandon Simpkins, and Steve Work (left to right)	Steve Work prepares to start the vehicle.	Steve and Brandon prepare for the sceond trial.
Keith Owen was unable to travel to Salt Lake City, but his experience with RC cars and with fabrication was very valuable to the team.	The judges watch as TCC's car goes over the hill.	Top View
Front View	Side View	A bottom view of the sensor array (three infrared sensors with two ping pong balls used as skids).
TCC's car climbs over the hill.	TCC students drive the car remotely around the building!  Before loading an software into the Basic Stamp microprocessor, the team tested the drivetrain and steering using remote control.  This proved to be a very effective approach.	Various Lego designs were used to develop a prototype model.  Lego models allowed students allowed students to verify designs for the articulated body and the many twisting motions of the sensor array.