[ExI] self-driving cars again

[BillK]

On Mon, Jul 16, 2012 at 2:31 AM, spike wrote:
> No, scratch that, better idea.  The hell with Pike's Peak, too far away.  We
> have a perfectly adequate hill right here next to San Jose, the road up
> Mount Hamilton where the Lick Observatory sits.  That is a paved road,
> really winding, hairpin turns everywhere.  We have the Stanford lads right
> close by, a big city where there are plenty of amateur AI programmers and
> some actual professional bit-slingers.  We could get up there at the crack
> of dawn on any summer day and have a really cool unpowered robot race.  I
> could keep the car right here in my own garage.  If it has no motor, there
> is very little risk of starting a fire in the event of a crash.
>
> We could start with something as simple as this:
>
> http://gokartsusa.com/azusa3557gokart.aspx
>
> We don't need the engine, so off that comes, or just look for a frame.  With
> engine, this rig is about 100 pounds, so once we get that motor off and the
> sensors on, we might still be under 100 pounds.



:)  At the risk of setting you off again.......

The motor is not just used for driving the wheels.
You will need a good battery to power the sensors and the computers.
And to operate the steering and brakes.

To get faster times you probably need better tyres for cornering grip.
And a bit of streamlining cover as air resistance quickly builds up
above 50 mph.
Maybe a wing for cornering downforce?

Then you need a stronger frame to carry all that gear.


BillK