The University of Michigan Solar Car Team Blog

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

An Update from Chase

As I ride along in Chase for the last stretch of the rayce, I would like to take a few minutes to thank all of our team sponsors, especially those who help my Division: Strategy.

Computers
Computational power is one of the greatest tools of Michigan Strategists. During the race Strategists run simulations to help determine the optimal speed to run Continuum. A special thanks to Acer America, Computer Builder's Warehouse, Red Barn Computers, Intel, and CAEN for providing the team with laptops, desktop computers and servers for the race.

GPS
One of the keys to Michigan's success race strategy is accurate GPS and route information. Topcon provided the team with GPS equipment, which in conjunction with a correction service from OmniStar was used to gather sub-meter accurate data for the entire race route. This helped us plan ahead and save extra energy in the battery for those nasty hills.

Software Development
For this race, Michigan Strategists used mainly MATLAB and Visual Studio for software development. A special thanks to The MathWorks and Microsoft for providing licenses for their respective software suites.

Computer Peripherals
Even with the fanciest computer and superb software tools, it is difficult to run a race without all of the small computer peripherals and accessories. Cables Unlimited, Alternative Wireless, Targus and Sewell Direct helped provide the team with top of the line products including Serial-USB adapters, cellular antennas, laptop power cords, portable harddrive enclosures and other such things.

Testing
Another key to Michigan's successful strategy is detail testing of Continuum. Testing was done on both a system and vehicle level. A special thanks to Carlisle Belts for providing timing pulleys and belts and Visteon for donating a dynamometer to the team; both were used to characterize Continuum's new CSIRO motor last summer. Performance of Continuum was characterized on Dana's and Chrysler's test tracks and at Michigan International Speedway. Continuum has also recently visited Jacob s' and Chrysler’s wind tunnels. This testing was essential for Michigan Strategists to understand the performance of Continuum; it enabled us to drive fast without worrying (too much) about draining the battery back.

Wireless Communication
Continuum utilizes Motorola’s MESH technology to wirelessly transfer data from Continuum to Lead and Chase. Michigan Strategists monitor telemetry data from Continuum throughout the race and compare its performance to their predictive models. MESH worked flawlessly for the team this NASC.

Unfortunately due to my poor internet connection crossing the Canadian prairie, I am unable to post pictures right now.

-Alex
Head Strategist

Labels: NASC 2008, NASC 2008 Season

4 Comments:

Anonymous said...: Hi, Alex --

How does the Caflor Industries gps fit into scheme? (I've really appreciated the gps website the team has given us access to the last couple days.)

Thanks for the updates and to your sponsors from a grateful alum!

Rainey; July 22, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Alex Dowling said...: Sorry about that... I knew I forgot someone.

A special thanks to Caflor. In addition to GPS tracking, they have also provided the team with other resources such as testing facilities (chassis dyno.); July 22, 2008 at 2:29 PM
Wisniewski said...: Alex,
Thank you for recognizing our company. Being a Continuum sponsor has been an extremely rewarding experience.
Dean T. Wisniewski
Visteon Corporation; July 22, 2008 at 2:54 PM
Garrick Williams said...: Seagate was also a big help - the team has an absurd amount of storage available.; July 22, 2008 at 3:08 PM

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Monday, July 21, 2008

Standings as of Medicine Hat

Here are the current official standings from NASC:

Team             Time
Michigan     47:22:53
Principia    56:18:51
FH Bochum    58:43:32
Waterloo     59:05:33
Minnesota    60:30:16
Calgary      70:13:58
Missouri S&T 72:58:23
Iowa State   84:53:20
Red River    85:38:55
Kentucky     91:42:36
Arizona      94:54:11
Queens       101:18:35
Northwestern 104:30:51
Durham       121:27:28
Oregon State 121:42:48

And some quick calculations. Leader is the time behind the leader. Gap is the time behind the next place. These are my numbers, so please let me know if you find any errors.

Team             Time      Leader       Gap
Michigan     47:22:53    --------   -------
Principia    56:18:51     8:55:58   8:55:58
FH Bochum    58:43:32    11:20:39   2:24:41
Waterloo     59:05:33    11:42:40   0:22:01
Minnesota    60:30:16    13:07:23   1:24:43
Calgary      70:13:58    22:51:05   9:43:42
Missouri S&T 72:58:23    25:35:30   2:44:25
Iowa State   84:53:20    37:30:27 11:54:57
Red River    85:38:55    38:16:02   0:45:35
Kentucky     91:42:36    44:19:43   6:03:41
Arizona      94:54:11    47:31:18   3:11:35
Queens       101:18:35   53:55:42   6:24:24
Northwestern 104:30:51   57:07:58   3:12:16
Durham       121:27:28   74:04:35 16:56:37
Oregon State 121:42:48   74:19:55   0:15:20

Labels: NASC 2008, NASC 2008 Season

28 Comments:

Furqan Nazeeri said...: Whoa! That's a record 9-hour lead! Great job...Go Blue!; July 22, 2008 at 12:35 AM
Hostman said...: Wow. Just wow. I'm impressed. Now don't lose the fairings!; July 22, 2008 at 12:45 AM
Anonymous said...: Well done team. Nice to see the note on lead brought some luck after Soiux Falls. Finish strong, it surely is a proud moment for the team and all our supporters.
GO BLUE!!!!!!!; July 22, 2008 at 1:08 AM
Mark said...: Congrats on your incredible time! It's great how I've been using your blog to get updates on times long before NASC updates... Best of luck on your last leg from the Kentucky solar team!; July 22, 2008 at 1:38 AM
Anonymous said...: Amaizing, great teamwork.; July 22, 2008 at 6:00 AM
TC Lambert said...: Steve! So much arithmetic. It all checks. You get an 'A.'; July 22, 2008 at 6:44 AM
TC Lambert said...: Michigan did the Winnipeg to Medicine Hat stage in about 13:09. At 662 miles, that's a 50.3 mph avg. At 2132 miles overall, it's about a 45.0 mph avg. Somebody said with route changes, it's actually 2177 miles. That gives a 45.9 mph avg.

The record of 46.2 mph is still theoretically reachable.

Other teams must have taken penalties. The stage should have been a maximum of 18 hours. (9 to 6 the first day, 8 to 6 the second day, minus 1 hour for two checkpoint stops.) But, besides Michigan, only Waterloo (17 hours even) and Minnesota (17:32) came in under 18 hours. Bochum had 18:44 for the stage, Calgary 19:03, Missouri S&T 19:38, and Principia 20:43.

From their radio interview last night, we know Principia chose to take the penalty for coming in late (7:42 PM!) rather than take the trailering penalty, which would have been app. 12 hours. They saved something like 9 hours, so that's looking like a pretty shrewd move. Good enough to hold onto second place. If they had trailered in, they would have fallen to 5th place.

Principia is not out of the woods yet. They had terrible electrical problems yesterday, and limped in to Medicine Hat with empty batteries. That means they may run slower than they wish for this last leg of 187 miles. Bochum has a small chance to catch up. But Waterloo has a small to catch up to Bochum.

Calgary has moved up to 6th place. S&T fell to 7th. Iowa State moved up to 8th. Red River fell to 9th.

The first five teams managed to go the whole way without trailering. That is worthy of respect right there, with this stage, the longest, scheduled at only 2 days.

Michigan now has almost a 9 hour lead. At least one team has suggested (complained) that Michigan should be in a different class, so somebody else has a chance of winning. (How quickly they forgot 2005.)

The big difference, IMHO, is that Michigan built this car to compete in WSC '07, and consequently had over 5,000 miles of testing before the start of this race.; July 22, 2008 at 7:44 AM
Unknown said...: The team suggesting a separate U of M class also apparently forgot '03, when U of M didn't qualify, and that team won the race! But it doesn't matter much now... 9 hours. Wow. Just wow. For the historians out there, has any US race *ever* been quite like this? Amazing.; July 22, 2008 at 8:06 AM
Doug Carroll said...: Congratulations Michigan!! I believe that Continuum is the best solar car ever made in North America. You may or may not set the speed record of your 2005 car, but the 2005 rules allowed for a lot more charging time at the stage stops. Continuum may be the car to upset the Dutch team in WSC.

Good luck - hope you have a great run today.; July 22, 2008 at 8:29 AM
Anonymous said...: Wow, wonderful Job!

If Continuum keeps up at the speed it posted for the last leg, it should take roughly 3 hours and 45 ish minutes. Presuming they are leaving at 9 am Mountain Time from Medicine Hat. That would put them into Calgary at 12:45 ish. So 1:45 Central and 2:45 eastern.

Keep up the great work!

Go Fast,Go Smooth, Go Blue!

Kate Bateman; July 22, 2008 at 8:30 AM
Anonymous said...: Well done guys and girls.
Make up the 4 minutes and 2 seconds and I will give you all permission to take the day off and have a beer.
An Australian beer of course.; July 22, 2008 at 8:30 AM
Anonymous said...: Not to get ahead of ourselves, but I saw the comment earlier about Continuum and WSC. Is the team planning on rerunning Continuum for WSC 09 or is that the debut race for Infinitum (BTW, I like the name!)

Jose; July 22, 2008 at 8:51 AM
Anonymous said...: Congratulations! Good luck today - we wish we could greet you at the finish line. Go Blue!; July 22, 2008 at 9:00 AM
TC Lambert said...: Michigan is working on InfiniUM right now. (Well, I hope the Infinium team back in Ann Arbor took a break to follow this race.) They tell me it will be a really sweet ride, better in many ways than ContinuUM. Maybe this one can dethrone King Nuon.; July 22, 2008 at 9:10 AM
Garrick Williams said...: Steve - It's been great to see you posting on here. I'm sure the team would like to take you up on your offer, though it's generally difficult to find decent Aussie beer (the only "Aussie" brand is generally Foster's, and that's brewed in the U.S. now). It's a sad state of affairs.; July 22, 2008 at 9:40 AM
Anonymous said...: Wow ... and ... [an awestruck] whoa, Continuum. Thank you for all the updates. Well done through this stage! Good luck today! Go fast, go smooth, Go Blue!

Rainey; July 22, 2008 at 10:21 AM
Anonymous said...: Great job guys and gals. I know you will finish strong! I know I speak for everyone in saying how proud we are of all of you... seriously! It's amazing how different this race ended up being from the '05 race.

Be sure to take pictures of that teepee thingy in Medicine Hat... it might be the last chance you have to see such a fine structure.

Also, be sure to keep your cool on the final morning... things get hairy when you're too stressed with fighting penalties.; July 22, 2008 at 10:43 AM
Anonymous said...: Did they already start? The tracker shows a vehicle peeling down the highway.; July 22, 2008 at 10:44 AM
Anonymous said...: I must have been mistaken. 8 am start? Subtract one hour from my projections... That would but them in Calgary roughly 11:45 Mountain, 12:45 central and 1:45 eastern. Go Blue!; July 22, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Hostman said...: My understanding is the Continuum is not going to race again after this NASC, and Infinium will be the new car starting in WSC '09. It's going to take a lot to beat Nuon ... they're faster than us by about as much as we're faster than everyone else in NASC (this year). Innovation along the lines of the concentrator system will help propel the team to victory, but don't expect it.

Garrick - we can get Cooper's here in Ann Arbor, just go to the Beer Depot...

-Rbt; July 22, 2008 at 10:54 AM
Charles Eichhorst said...: I reran my calculations it it looks like Momentum's record actually will be just out of reach. The 2132 miles to Medicine Hat was correct, not the 2177 I initially calculated. The total distance of the race, as far as I can tell, is 2319 miles. The Winnipeg to Medicine Hat stage was 602 miles. If you neglect the 1-hour penalty for not changing brake pads, then my numbers are correct, but officially setting a new record will have to wait until 2010.

Congratulations on running a great race and have a safe drive into Calgary. I'll clear a spot for the trophy case in the workspace.

Go Fast, Go Smooth, Go Blue!; July 22, 2008 at 10:59 AM
Charles Eichhorst said...: The car is rolling out now.

The tracker was showing the weather car earlier. Its correct now.; July 22, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Anonymous said...: Goosebumps are just around the corner! I do envy those who get to be there.
Continue going fast, true, smooth, and blue, CONTINUUM!!!
(another anonymous); July 22, 2008 at 11:10 AM
Brian Ignaut said...: This is just amazing! Great job Team, you're almost there.; July 22, 2008 at 11:16 AM
Anonymous said...: Traffic Cams in the area show that its a cloudy overcast day, hopefully it will clear up by Calgary.; July 22, 2008 at 11:30 AM
Anonymous said...: ;This blog site has been wonderful. I can keep track of Jeff R. (sort of) and not use our shared phone minutes. I have enjoyed all the comments and keeping up-to-date on the race or rayce. You are pretty close to finish,so maybe you could carry the car the rest of the way, should something horrendous happen. Looks like you have been pretty smooth and fast and so blue! Jeff's Mom; July 22, 2008 at 2:26 PM
TC Lambert said...: Oh no, error, error. (Mine, not Steve's.) Bochum only took 17:44 for the stage, within the 18 legal max. Es tut mir leid, meine Freunde. Und herzlichen Glückwunsch zu laufen wie ein gutes Rennen.; July 22, 2008 at 4:55 PM
NShway said...: Steve,

On behalf of the 2001 M-Pulse team, congrats to you and the entire ContinuUM team for your tremendous win in the 2008 NASC. It was a phenomenal accomplishment and perhaps the largest margin of victory in Solar Car history. In reading your blog, we’re especially proud of the way in which you conducted yourselves as competitors and how you represented the University of Michigan across your journey.

As I’m sure you’re aware, the Michigan Solar Car Team is an excellent launch pad to your future and we hope the bonds you form with your teammates will last for decades to come. Best of luck in your future endeavors as a group, as professionals, and as champion solar car alumni.

Go fast, go smooth, and GO BLUE!!!!

Yours,

Nader Shwayhat
Project Manager (retired)
M-Pulse 2001
University of Michigan Solar Car Team; July 24, 2008 at 3:22 PM

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Saturday, July 19, 2008

Arrival in Winnipeg

Well, the team has arrived in Winnipeg at 11:32 am. We have impounded the battery and are now taking the rest of the day to check over the vehicle and get everything prepared for tomorrow. In addition there are many things going on today. Red River College is hosting this Stage Stop and they have planned a BBQ for the team, opened the gym for floor hockey, and will play a movie for teams to enjoy this evening. And now for some images from stage 3.

Continuum reaches the border and prepares for Canadian customs.

We reach the town of Morris and the Canadian police and other folks on horses proceeded us into the parade.

The main caravan proceeds as part of the parade.

Weather and Scout follow Chase through Morris.

After flagging us around the turn by Red River College, Josh runs to meet us at the Stage Stop.

Labels: NASC 2008, NASC 2008 Season

13 Comments:

Wisniewski said...: Wow, what a great time. Please let us know how the hockey tournament goes.

GO GET 'EM TEAM CONTINUUM!; July 19, 2008 at 3:17 PM
Anonymous said...: I am confused. The pictures show the scout car following the chase car in the parade. Why would the scout car be behind?; July 19, 2008 at 3:32 PM
Anonymous said...: When did your remaining competition arrive in Winnipeg; July 19, 2008 at 4:09 PM
Anonymous said...: Reading the last few entries, I'm so impressed by the collegiality of all the teams, all of you helping each other do your best. What a terrific example of friendly competition - Keep up the great work! Dr. Montgomery; July 19, 2008 at 5:10 PM
Steven Hechtman said...: Anonymous,

When weather and scout arrived at the parade, they spoke with local police and were told that our caravan could not bypass the parade and would have to wait. Weather and scout worked with parade officials to let us into the parade. The caravan made it to the parade route right as it was about to start--therefore we were let in as the third "float" in the parade. Weather and scout followed behind, having been waiting at the beginning to broker the deal.

George,

Principia arrived 56 minutes after we did. They were followed later by Minnesota, Waterloo, and Bochum. Most (if not all) of the other teams were forced to trailer to make it to Winnipeg. We should have more details after tonight's race meeting. Keep in mind, the 56 minute gap does not reflect time off of the clock at the border. One of our team members had to go into the border station to get her visa stamped, so the time taken to do this will be removed from our elapsed time.; July 19, 2008 at 7:31 PM
Anonymous said...: Thanks for the explanation (about the scout car in the parade) Steve.
I hope the parade watchers enjoyed continuum.
GO BLUE!; July 19, 2008 at 8:47 PM
Elson said...: I love the photos of the race caravan in the parade. No doubt it was good PR for solar racing and for UofM. :-); July 19, 2008 at 8:52 PM
Hostman said...: Hey, the Strategy team timed it so Michigan would be the only team getting a parade. :) Go Blue!

-Rbt; July 19, 2008 at 9:34 PM
TC Lambert said...: Quick weather report. Environment Canada says Winnipeg and Brandon will have showers and clouds tomorrow. Regina will have sunny skies, if anyone can reach them.; July 19, 2008 at 10:45 PM
Anonymous said...: Principia radio will have its nightly audio show on the solar race: It is at 10:00.
It is a good show.
http://www.prin.edu/public/index.pl/radio_podcast

GO BLUE; July 19, 2008 at 10:50 PM
Anonymous said...: Principia'a radio show is 11:00 pm A2 time; July 19, 2008 at 10:55 PM
TC Lambert said...: My guesstimate for overall standings:

1) Michigan
2) Principia
3) FH Bochum
4) Waterloo
5) Minnesota
6) Calgary
7) Missouri S&T
8) Red River

and I can't even guess the others. I won't try to guess the time intervals either, except to say it looks like the first three have stretched out, but 4 and 5 may be closing on third. The only change in order from last time is Calgary passing Missouri S&T.

3 of the top 8 are Canadian entries (Waterloo, Calgary, and Red River). Third place is German (Bochum). The other four, including the top two spots, American, and all from middle American states (Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri). Nothing from the left or right coast, nor down south. Not sure what to make of that.; July 20, 2008 at 8:49 AM
Peter said...: I think this kind of compensates for the time Chito stopped a train for the team...

Also, now when you get decked with speeding penalties you have clear evidence that you were going no faster than the horses holding things up.

Dr. Montgomery, great to see you cheering the team on!

GO BLUE!; July 20, 2008 at 11:20 AM

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And across the border we go

The team is now in Canada under 100 miles (or rather 160 km) from Winnipeg. Continuum has also partaken in it's first parade. The city of Morris, Mt holds an annual stampede and it just so happened that this morning the festivities began with a parade. The town welcomed us and let us join their parade. Following two horse drawn carriages and a float we turned on all of our caravan lights and joined in. We were followed by our weather and scout vehicles who arrived earlier to ensure our safe passage through the parade. The parade announcer was unsure of what this yellow car-thingy was and said he still preferred horses. After a short while the parade route turned right and we continued straight on the race route to Winnipeg. I will post a few pictures when we arrive in Winnipeg.

Labels: NASC 2008, NASC 2008 Season

8 Comments:

Michael Adams said...: Is everyone going to get a parade? I would think it would only be fair...we're in a race!! We could've lost crucial time!!; July 19, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Charles Eichhorst said...: Principia might get caught up in it, but I think everyone else is going to miss it.

Michigan is now less than 10 minutes away from the stage stop.; July 19, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Charles Eichhorst said...: Arrival time in Winnipeg: 11:32
Total time for stage 3: 12:32
Distance: 530 mi
Average Speed: 42.3 mph; July 19, 2008 at 12:35 PM
Anonymous said...: Aw come on!
So what if a few minutes were lost in the parade! Winning aint everything (...and I am as competitive as anybody). I suspect that publicity is one thing that this race has had a severe shortage of. We UM cheerleaders should hope that the M car appear in many more parades to come.
Viva la parades. Way better than hail and rain.
RE:
Is everyone going to get a parade? I would think it would only be fair...we're in a race!! We could've lost crucial time!!; July 19, 2008 at 1:19 PM
Anonymous said...: Speaking of Principia, did anyone find out when they made it in?; July 19, 2008 at 2:00 PM
Unknown said...: What rediculous luck to arrive in the middle of the parade. That's even crazier than trying to evade the herds of sheep that hang out in the middle of the Stewart Highway! If anyone has any parade video, it's got to be entertaining if there's any way to post it.; July 19, 2008 at 2:32 PM
Anonymous said...: Now that's a first for solar car racing! The odds of that happening are so slim...

Now how on earth would could you work that into a strategy... :-); July 19, 2008 at 5:04 PM
TC Lambert said...: Just got back from a wedding. My favorite niece got married! Anything interesting happen in the meantime? What the . . . ? A frackin' parade? Are you kidding me? What are the rules regarding this? Any penalties other than driving through horse droppings?

Charles, thanks for the numbers.

How many teams made it to Winnipeg on their own power? The next stage, Winnipeg to The Hat is over 130 miles longer, but still only allotted 2 days. Michigan should be able to make that, probably by early afternoon Monday. Principia by mid-afternoon. Maybe 2 or 3 more without trailering.; July 19, 2008 at 10:06 PM

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Friday, July 18, 2008

Fargo

We are arriving in Fargo! Quite a few people and media are here to greet us.

Labels: NASC 2008, NASC 2008 Season

31 Comments:

Anonymous said...: Congrats to the team for reaching Fargo. I hope today's ride was smooth, uneventful and incredibly successful! Go Blue!; July 18, 2008 at 4:13 PM
Furqan Nazeeri said...: And hopefully the penalty gremlins have been exorcised!; July 18, 2008 at 4:24 PM
Anonymous said...: great work...how is principia doing?

Bob Hayes; July 18, 2008 at 4:35 PM
Anonymous said...: 274miles/6h = 45.7 mph not too shabby...so where is Principia?; July 18, 2008 at 5:28 PM
TC Lambert said...: Charles Eichorst reports Michigan made it to Fargo 13 minutes ahead of Principia. I don't know Charles, but I want to believe him.

Whatever the penalty was (and apparently the 90 minutes was assessed for just one infraction), the Michigan team knows what it was and won't let it happen again. I do know the Crew Chief, and he'll be watching for it.; July 18, 2008 at 5:30 PM
TC Lambert said...: I'm sorry, it's Charles Eichhorst. I owe him an 'h'; July 18, 2008 at 5:32 PM
Charles Eichhorst said...: Maybe I should have introduced myself earlier. I've been on the team since 2006, and currently working on designs for the 2009 car. I'm getting my information from the chat tool the team uses, so I usually have access to more information than is posted to the blog.

On a side note, I did have a chance to meet TC Lambert at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show, although I can't blame him for not remembering since I don't know why I remember that.; July 18, 2008 at 5:50 PM
Unknown said...: Way to go team, great job bouncing back. Good luck with the border crossing tomorrow, hopefully everybody's got their passports ready! Also, I seem to recall the mosquitos being as large as birds up there, break out the OFF!; July 18, 2008 at 6:28 PM
Michael Adams said...: The mosquitoes weren't THAT bad. We just made the decision to camp near large bodies of standing water. Great for charging...bad for mosquitoes. Success always has its price....; July 18, 2008 at 6:33 PM
Anonymous said...: We are cheering you on from a BHPBilliton diamond mine in the Canadian far north. Keep the updates coming!; July 18, 2008 at 8:17 PM
TC Lambert said...: It's 8:30. Does anyone know where are children are?; July 18, 2008 at 8:26 PM
Wisniewski said...: Charles, you were the dynamometer guru..before it was retired..right?

As of Fargo, the estimated Continuum overall lead is 32 to 33 minutes. How does that compare to the battle with Minnesota in 2005?; July 18, 2008 at 8:30 PM
TC Lambert said...: Well, now, young 'un, back in ought five, Minnesota was ahead at this point. And MIT was second. Michigan caught 'em and passed 'em on the windy plains of Canada.; July 18, 2008 at 8:36 PM
Charles Eichhorst said...: I don't have an exact location, but it looks like they ended up somewhere around Grand Forks, ND; July 18, 2008 at 8:36 PM
Unknown said...: To be more specific, (if I remember correctly) in 2005 we were behind Minnesota by about half an hour at this point. By the end of the race we made up an hour and won by half an hour.; July 18, 2008 at 8:38 PM
Charles Eichhorst said...: Yes, I was the 'dynamometer guru'; July 18, 2008 at 8:40 PM
TC Lambert said...: The wife says she thinks we passed MIT before Winnipeg in '05. Minnesota was ahead by a little bit at Winnipeg, less than an hour I believe. We caught 'em and passed 'em somewhere on the road to Medicine Hat.

Are you trying to cast us in Minnesota's role, and Principia in Michigan's? You think Principia will do better in the windy conditions? They do have a slick look. And I hear that Chris Vermillion helped with their aero design. Chris did Momentum's aero design, and also helped with Continuum's. He's the best aero guy there is. (Eat it, Burt Rutan!); July 18, 2008 at 8:49 PM
Anonymous said...: Principia says they are at Grand Forks ND, and that they have travelled 1243.4 miles. See their website. http://www.principiasolarcar.com/nasc
I don't blame people cheering for the little 'un that could. Everybody loves an underdog, except for those of us who are UMich gradjets.

Jay
LSA '72; July 18, 2008 at 8:53 PM
Chris Hilger said...: Nice work Michigan. Hopefully tomorrow is another successful day. I hope to see you all in Winnipeg; July 18, 2008 at 8:56 PM
TC Lambert said...: For those who are MapQuest challenged, Grand Forks is about 80 miles north of Fargo, and about 145 miles south of Winnipeg. Of course, MapQuest said to take the freeway. That would mean Continuum drove about 355 miles in 8.5 hours = about 42 mph. The plus or minus on this one is pretty big.; July 18, 2008 at 8:59 PM
TC Lambert said...: But Fargo is 1215 miles from the starting line. 1243 is only 28 miles beyond that. Grand Forks is more like 1295 or maybe 1300 miles. Somebody's arithmetic is suspect here. Who you gonna trust, the Latin majors of Principia, or a UM grad?; July 18, 2008 at 9:06 PM
Charles Eichhorst said...: I just received word that they stopped just south of Grafton, ND. I also found out a little more about the penalties. 1 hour was due to the brakes, and the rest was speeding and not stopping quickly enough at a stop light.; July 18, 2008 at 9:17 PM
Hostman said...: Chris is indeed quite good with solar car aero. However, we must also salute Jason Kramb, who designed the very successful '01 car (as well as some others, I'm sure), and who is now working for Burt Rutan down @ Scaled...

From my 2c, running past the wear point on the brake pads does not a safety issue make, until perhaps 300-1000 miles have elapsed. Certainly not 15 minutes. But if your observer is non-technical, they might get flipped out about it. Oh well. Time to blast by those amber waves of ... prairie grass... on the one and only road in Canada. :)

Don't get stuck in Brandon, Manitoba as we did on Route Survey '05. They *closed* the only highway for like 16 hours, and then only plowed *one* lane. Jeez.

-Rbt; July 18, 2008 at 9:39 PM
Unknown said...: Michael - the mosquitos *were* that bad, I could have used a couple extra pints of blood.

I believe in '05 we made it across the border right after Minnesota and MIT, and then passed MIT before Winnipeg. Michigan was definitely 2nd to start the Winnipeg to Medicine Hat leg and made up ground as Minnesota got buffeted around with cross winds. As for the finish - less than 12 minutes separated 1st and 2nd after 2500 miles, the teams crossed the finish line just over one minute apart.; July 18, 2008 at 9:43 PM
Garrick Williams said...: I'm pretty sure I recall even Kramb referring to Burt as a genius, so let's just thank fate that he never got an itch to field a Scaled Composites solar car, or we'd be hosed. On the other hand, if he ever does, sign me up.

An interesting note of trivia (and I hope Jason is around somewhere to add to this if I get it wrong) is that apparently Scaled employees were allowed to put a memento of some kind onto one of the SpaceShipOne X-Prize flights (they needed ballast). Kramb's piece was a part from M-Pulse, so Michigan has the distinction of being the first solar car in space.; July 18, 2008 at 9:48 PM
Garrick Williams said...: Also, for those wondering, Continuum handles pretty well in winds, even getting hit by a couple of dust devils while driving without any loss of control. Its short wheelbase and long tail, however, makes it look like it's rotating more than it really is, so the hypochondriacs in chase (among them, me) probably drove the drivers nuts asking them if they were okay.; July 18, 2008 at 9:50 PM
Anonymous said...: I second the mosquitos being *that* bad; July 18, 2008 at 9:57 PM
Michael Adams said...: We never PHYSICALLY passed MIT into Winnipeg. We ended up at RRC about 4 minutes after them. They had a few speeding penalties, however, and that pushed into second for leaving Winnipeg.; July 18, 2008 at 10:05 PM
Anonymous said...: So Garrick, from your comments I take it that Continuum can sail well with the crosswinds?

In the years since solar car and following other racings sports like NASCAR and F1 I have a lot more respect for the work Kramb and the rest of the aero team did for MazieBlaze and MPulse.; July 18, 2008 at 10:08 PM
Garrick Williams said...: She does indeed sail well, though the bigger profile can't help but get buffeted around a bit more than Momentum. And big crosswinds are always tough on your tires. But Continuum should be okay in anything shy of a Category 2.; July 18, 2008 at 11:21 PM
Peter said...: Agreed with Adams on the situation. We were trying darned hard to pass MIT, and as luck would have it, it was their amazing 1000000 mph speedo that gave us the lead. As in, their speedo at one point read 1 million mph for a while, which cost them when they actually sped without knowing it.

To be fair, it's nearly impossible to pass on the one road in Canada. Especially when the other car is weaving like a slalom racer.; July 18, 2008 at 11:57 PM

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A good start with unfortunate penalties

The official times have been released and as it stands we are leaving Sioux Falls in first place. Unfortunatly most of our lead has been lost due to penalties. With 1.5 hours of penalties we have reduced our lead to close to 14 minutes. The majority of the penalty time was caused by the actions of the team in the last 15 minutes of racing two days ago. After a few team meetings and discussions the team does believe that we acted safely and followed the protocols our team has set up. However we do see the other side of the coin and will not be protesting this penalty. Rather we will submit an explanation to the officials that allows our voice to be heard and gives them the chance to understand the mindset of the team and the procedures we have set up and have been running with for over 5000 miles.

The day has started pretty well. We are running for over 20 miles. We are currently in Minnesota heading north to Fargo!

Labels: NASC 2008, NASC 2008 Season

18 Comments:

Anonymous said...: What were the penalties for?; July 18, 2008 at 11:32 AM
Furqan Nazeeri said...: I think that might be an all-time Michigan record in terms of penalties!; July 18, 2008 at 11:33 AM
Anonymous said...: Are you guys jockeying with Principia for first place this morning?

Sucks about the penalties, but its part of the rayce and theres still plenty of time to build up another lead.; July 18, 2008 at 11:33 AM
Anonymous said...: @furqan - The 99 team had to do a fair amount of trailering due to the lack of sun for 3/4 of the race, so thats proably the largest penalty. But this would be up there for a non-trailering offense.; July 18, 2008 at 11:35 AM
Hostman said...: Well, we got about the same amount levied against us in Medicine Hat in '05, and we used logged telemetry data along with GPS data to show were were within the regulations, and all the penalties were removed. Good thing we collected all that data!

This sounds a little less cut-and-dry, but we can hope the race officials will come to a fair determination. Certainly any non-speeding penalty that is related to 15 minutes of driving should not be assessed more than 30 minutes in penalty time ... it's not like the pack was on *fire*, right? :-P

Best of luck team, I'm sure you'll pull through this per usual.

-Rbt; July 18, 2008 at 12:20 PM
Wisniewski said...: Calgary News CTV is following the race. Here is a link to a video they posted covering Bochum and Michigan.
http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080716/CGY_solar_sneha_080716/20080716?hub=CalgaryHome; July 18, 2008 at 12:45 PM
Anonymous said...: I'd be really interested to hear what the penalties are.

Congrats to the strategy crew for building a lead, because this would be disastrous any other way.

@jose: remember that our array in '99 was also put out between 1/3 and 1/2 of rated power output. We couldn't even recover a full charge on a clear day at the Atlanta stage stop it was so bad.; July 18, 2008 at 12:53 PM
Anonymous said...: @russ oh yeah I was just talking about the penalty number alone. The array and the weather just put us behind the eight ball, but it was still a fun ride.; July 18, 2008 at 12:55 PM
Garrick Williams said...: I had a brief conversation with Ferman last night, and this particular violation was not one for which telemetry data would do much good. But the pack was not on fire. I'll leave it to someone on the team to explain fully when they have the time and feel it's appropriate to do so, but the gist of it is that the car had some mechanical issues at the end of the day. The team felt it was safe to press on until they could camp for the night at 5:45, but the race officials disagreed and assigned a penalty.

Again recall that that info is from last night when it sounds like this was still a bit up in the air and is thus in no way an official statement, I just hope to settle down the speculation a bit until the team can tell us more.

Also, the NASC webpage lists the official times with Michigan holding a lead of about 21 minutes, so it may be somewhat better than Ferman's report in the post.; July 18, 2008 at 1:41 PM
TC Lambert said...: I got called in to work. Very frustrating. The safety regs should not be fuzzy enough that we think we can proceed and the official disagrees. At the very least the official in the chase car who is assessing these penalties should be able to say something. That disagreement apparently turned 15 minutes into 90 minutes. Obviously, if we know that's the trade-off, we should stop and fix whatever is wrong. Take the 15 minute hit rather than the 90 minute hit.

The official no doubt acted in good faith. But a disagreement over rule interpretation shouldn't be a 90 minute penalty.

I am upset with the NASC organizers now over a number of issues, one of which is the abysmal communications to us poor folks trying to follow the race. Another big one is about the solar concentrators. Another one is that the longest stage, Winnipeg to Medicine Hat, 662 miles, is only scheduled for 2 days. Only a few top teams can make that, and only if the weather is favorable. Neosho to Sioux Falls, 606 miles, was allotted 3 days.

The guy in charge of NASC doesn't know what he's doing.; July 18, 2008 at 5:03 PM
Garrick Williams said...: TC, I understand you're upset, but keep in mind that there's more to the story than what I said before, or am even aware of.

I agree that, in disagreements over safety between the observer and the team, the observer should be required to give a verbal warning that the intend to pursue a penalty (generally observers don't penalize directly, they only make an observation that other officials later make a determination on). Generally they are not supposed to tell the team when they do this.

The logic behind verbal warning would be that, if it's truly unsafe, the observer should say something - the team may not be aware of the problem, or that it's something that should be considered unsafe. If it's safe enough to keep quiet about until the next stage stop, it probably should not be given a race-changingly large penalty.

With regards to your other criticisms, the guy in charge of NASC, Dan Eberle, is a fantastic, extremely knowledgable person, and this race would have died a long time ago without his persistence in believing it could happen long after a lot of people had given up on it.

A year ago, this event had no sponsor and no prospect of happening. Many if not all of the problems you note are the result of having to hastily organize an event on a minimal budget with a small staff. They are justifiably more concerned with keeping the race safe and well run than they are with putting fancy widgets on the website. This is precisely as it should be. Regulations also had to be developed quickly, with minimal time for debate between teams and race officials. As for the route and stops, much is determined by when venues can be scheduled, etc, things that are difficult to manage on short notice.

Despite the challenges faced by Eberle and the NASC crew, NASC has always been a well run, safe event, much more so than the World Solar Challenge in ways too numerous to list here. The very fact that we're complaining about a lack of GPS coverage rather than, say, making up stage rules two days into the race or releasing solar cars into rush hour traffic without their support vehicles is a testament to the dedication and skill of all the people who make NASC happen. While there are certainly constructive critcisms that can be made, we should really commend the NASC organizers and officials, without whom North American solar racing would be more or less dead.; July 18, 2008 at 5:59 PM
Unknown said...: TC I certainly share your frustration, I loved the GPS tracker in '05, I mainly used it to see where my own caravan vehicles were! But I mostly agree with Garrick. From what I understand this year's NASC is being run by volunteers (no paid employees), and on short funding and time. Not really excuses, but I think we're fortunate there is a race at all (remember they came within a week of canceling it all together)!

Regarding the penalties - No doubt the officials felt they were in the right, and it's pretty hard to argue with safety calls, but 90 minutes, wow! U of M never fails to make things interesting, it'd be no fun if the race wasn't filled with excitement, drama, close calls and lead changes. I have all the faith in the world that the Continuum team will come through this stronger than before!; July 18, 2008 at 6:22 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi TC and Garrick. TC I am surprised you went to work, it seems that with all the info you have been posting for us that you have not had time to sleep never mind work as well.
Regarding both your comments on the organisation of the event and WSC, yes i am frustrated too with the lack of feedback from the official website and confusion with rules and i was frustrated with the same thing for WSC.
But thinking about it a bit the best event ever was 1987 WSC, budget was $0.00 paid staff was 0 lots of volounteers all organised by one bloke who made all these evnts possible.
Let us all thank Hans Tholstup for making it all happen.; July 18, 2008 at 8:14 PM
Anonymous said...: I take more of an issue with the team putting their driver on public roads with overly worn brake pads (based on hearsay I know). If true, that is a ridiculous choice and they should be penalized. The fact that no details about what actually happened have been posted (updates from the road have been very prompt) and that the team isn’t pursuing an appeal tells me that this probably wasn’t a marginal call.; July 18, 2008 at 8:30 PM
Garrick Williams said...: Well, little has been posted because last I knew little was finalized. And as your negative speculation indicates, the team putting out a little info can be worse than putting out none at all. Presumably they are waiting to put out a full report until they can settle down and write something coherent.

Also, worn brakes are a bit of a gray area - obviously running metal on metal all day is unsafe, but is, say, carrying on for a couple miles after you hit the wear indicator unsafe (they are of course, designed to warn you long enough ahead of time to get repair)? In between there's a lot of gray, where conceivably two reasonable people can come to different conclusions, so it's unfair to assume horrific guilt just because you don't have a detailed account.

Keep in mind as well that the race officials are by necessity going to be extremely conservative, while the team knows the car and what it can handle very well. Recognizing this and not protesting the official decision may be a mark of grace rather than an admission of guilt.

At any rate, you make a mistake, serve your time, learn from it, and move on, which is what Michigan appears to be doing.

To Steve:

Hans is, of course, basically the god of solar car. Eberle is comparatively a minor deity, but still worthy of the praise of mere solar mortals.; July 18, 2008 at 9:15 PM
Unknown said...: Garrick you are totally right, we should all be thanking Hans and Dan for giving us unlimited reasons to avoid work and blog about nerdy stuff all day.; July 18, 2008 at 9:35 PM
Anonymous said...: Wow, just checking out the blogs today and there is great information out here. I was lucky enough to see the start of the rayce, living in Plano, TX. My boys were impressed enough with the whole gathering that one of them is finally leaning towards U of M. I just hope we don't penalize ourselves into a situation like our football team! Keep up the great feed. BSEE '88 Go Blue!; July 19, 2008 at 10:39 AM
Anonymous said...: You misspelled "Minnesota"!; July 19, 2008 at 2:16 PM

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Thursday, July 17, 2008

Images from Stage Two

One final set of images leading up until today. I will post more about the evening and a stage update tomorrow. We will be starting in the lead tomorrow morning at 9am!

Here Michigan is on the road making the final turn before we enter the Omaha checkpoint.

Continuum enters Iowa!

Traveling through Sioux Falls just before we enter the park for the stage stop. Just past the next intersection a police escort joined the caravan and led us into the stop.

Continuum enters the stage stop on a road lined with flags. NASC and American flags lined the entrance into Sioux Park (with British, German, and Canadian flags at the end for the international teams).

Lead and Chase line up at Sioux Falls just after we arrive.

We serve 30 minutes after arriving at Sioux Falls and point the array at the sun to help gain a charge before impounding our batteries.

A police escort lead in each caravan. Here they are leading Principia into the stage stop.

Principia enters the stage stop just over an hour after Michigan.

Labels: NASC 2008, NASC 2008 Season

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Images from Stage One

Here is a set of images spanning from the start line to the Neosho Stage Stop.

From my viewpoint in Chase, Continuum rolling down the highway towards Neosho.

Continuum pulls into the Neosho stage stop.

Richard flags in Principia as they enter the stage stop behind us.

A nice picture of the University of Kentucky solar car as it arrives in Neosho.

Iowa State University pulls into Neosho and qualifies! Congrats!

After finding a puddle, we set up to charge at night hoping to fill the pack.

Charing at night while two team membres, Dan Eberle, and Garrett, our observer stand near the array.

The sun sets in Neosho, Mo.

The Missouri National Guard at Camp Crowder

The Missouri Army National Guard provides us with Barracks to spend the nights in Neosho at Camp Crowder

Two team members work to help the Minnesota team.

Crowder College offers us cold water, Coke, and Mountain Dew.

Steve moves over to Minnesota after inspecting our battery pack.

The last morning of the stage stop, we get a little extra charge before moving the car to the start line.

Lead and Chase vehicles for each team line up down the road in order ready to leave the Neosho Stage Stop.

Labels: NASC 2008, NASC 2008 Season

5 Comments:

Unknown said...: I love the pictures!! Very cool. I took a few of my own while down in Texas...

Qualifying

Display Day and Pre-Race

NASC Start Line

Mostly Michigan pictures, but there's one of each car as it gets the green flag. Enjoy!; July 17, 2008 at 8:06 PM
Anonymous said...: where can I find the time for the "Stage Start" in Sioux Falls?

thanx in advance for prompt reply!!; July 17, 2008 at 8:27 PM
Wisniewski said...: WELCOME to those that saw the announcement of this team website during the CTN CitiTV 19 coverage of the Ann Arbor Art Fair.

Note that the 2008 edition of the world's longest solar car race is about to begin stage 3. The race website is americansolarchallenge.org but as you can see, this blog is a wonderful way to follow the "rayce".; July 17, 2008 at 9:17 PM
Anonymous said...: Yay! I've been waiting for pictures! Thanks for putting these up, and for making captions too! :D; July 17, 2008 at 9:37 PM
Anonymous said...: Is Michigan only about 20+ minutes ahead. From previous posts here it looked like Michigan was over an hour ahead. Did Michigan receive penalty minutes on the second leg; July 18, 2008 at 7:49 AM

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Some Images from the Start Line

Again continuing in the series of adding photos, here is a set of photos from the start of the race in Plano, Texas.

The official start line.

The solar car lane leading away from the start lined with NASC 2008 flags.

Robert Vogt, head strategist for both the 2003 and 2005 Michigan teams, and Brian Gilchrist, our faculty adviser, join us at the start of the race. Brian stayed with the team until we reached Sioux Falls.

Continuum and the team pose while waiting for the official all team photo to be taken.

Our lead and chase vehicles sit and wait for the start of the race. We were given American and Canadian flags to put on both vehicles. The start of this race was well organized. While the solar cars lined up at the start line, the lead and chase vehicles for each team were put in another line just after the start. When the solar car passed the starting line, the lead vehicle was already in front of the car ready to go. Chase quickly followed behind and we were off down the road.

Continuum sits in position 1 at the start line. Minnisota and Missouri S&T can be seen in the background.

The two Jeffs on the team stand in front of Continuum shortly before the race start.

The team is treated to dinner by the Dallas Alumni Club on Friday before the race begins.

Labels: NASC 2008, NASC 2008 Season, Photo Posts

2 Comments:

Anonymous said...: Aww, I love those group shots!! Especially that one of everyone with the car. Go--well, you know, that color next to green. ;); July 17, 2008 at 9:42 PM
Anonymous said...: Great pictures...esp the one using the puddle and the one in which Continuum looks so proud (and somewhat smug) as she is surrounded by her team. And she has every right to be proud (and smug)!; July 17, 2008 at 10:21 PM

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Some Images From Scrutineering

Now that we are stationed in Sioux Falls we have access to high speed internet which means pictures can finally be posted. Enjoy this set from Scrutineering in Cresson, Tx.

Steve practices egress and works to ensure he can get out of the vehicle in under 10 seconds.

Our car at the Mechanical Scrutineering Station being inspected by Dick and Greg.

Continuum completes the figure eight test with Brooke driving.

Our support vehicles and safety procedures are even inspected during Scrutineering. Jim, the safety officer for the event, speaks with everyone in the lead vehicle before we simulate an emergency situation.

Continuum flies past one of the corner workers while on the track.

Continuum qualifies! Steve completed 60 laps in a row, making us the first team to qualify for the race.

Another great picture of Continuum on the track. This was taken just after we completed the 60 laps required to qualify.

Chito and Jeff Rogers sit in our pit awaiting a driver swap on the first day of qualifying.

John stands with Continuum as we prepare to enter the track.

Red River College provided a wonderful dinner for all the teams.

Minnisota and Michigan line up at the start line to begin the second day of qualifying.

Jeff Ferman and Alex Dowling chat while watching Continuum on the track.

Doug speaks with the Brooke as she drives Continuum around the track. Gerald stands in the background watching Continuum fly around the track.

Minnesota and Durham leave the track at the end of the second day of Qualifying.

Dean Wisniewski and his mother, Rita - both buy-a-cell sponsors join Chito and the team to watch qualifying. Dean heads our relationship with one of our gold sponsors, Visteon, where he works.

Our Base-X tents set up just before a storm hit. The tent on the left was used as mess hall and as a vehicle tent for work. The second tent on the right was set up for sleeping.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

An Update from Chase

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Monday, July 21, 2008

Standings as of Medicine Hat

28 Comments:

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Arrival in Winnipeg

13 Comments:

And across the border we go

8 Comments:

Friday, July 18, 2008

Fargo

31 Comments:

A good start with unfortunate penalties

18 Comments:

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Images from Stage Two

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Images from Stage One

5 Comments:

Some Images from the Start Line

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Some Images From Scrutineering

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