Please contact the URC Director if you have any questions.

[1.Q]  Do we have to analyze the soil at each site? Or can we do a sample return and analyze it back at HQ?

[1.A]  All data collection must be performed in situ.  The team may only analyze the raw data returned by the rover, not the soil itself.

[2.Q] What sort of ground should we prepare for?

[2.A] Teams should be prepared for any ground conditions that would appear at MDRS.  Please consult the MDRS web site for field reports, images, and other resources.

[3.Q] Is there a possibility that a competition could be scheduled at night/early evening?

[3.A] All of the competition events will be held in full daylight.

[4.Q] How many operators of the rover are allowed?

[4.A] There is no restriction on the number of operators allowed, as long as all operators remain in the designated operators area (there will be no unreasonable constraints imposed).  Nobody may follow alongside the rover and radio back any information.  Members of the judging team may follow a rover at their discretion.

[5.Q] Is there a cap on how many people we can have on the team?

[5.A] No, as long as all other applicable rules regarding team members are followed.

[6.Q] There's no paper aside from the financial report due at the end of the competition, right?

[6.A]  Aside from the financial report due at the beginning of competition, there is the communications specifications due a month prior.  There is no formal abstract or paper due, though.

[7.Q] Are distributed (multi-rover) systems allowed?

[7.A] The rules state: "The rover shall be a stand-alone, off-the-grid, mobile platform."  A single connected platform must leave the designated start gate and return to the designated finish gate.  In the open field, the primary platform may deploy any number of smaller sub-platforms, so long as the combined master/slave sub-platforms meet all additional requirements published.

[8.Q] Are airborne rovers allowed?

[8.A] According to the rules: "The rover shall be a stand-alone, off-the-grid, mobile platform."  Therefore, airborne rovers that meet all other published requirements are allowed.  Additionally, any airborne vehicles must meet any and all FAA guidelines that apply to operating unmanned aircraft in a remote area.  It will be the responsibility of each team to research any such FAA requirements and provide them to the judges prior to the beginning of the field trials.

[9.Q] Will there be AC power available at the competition site?

[9.A] Yes.  There will be power at each Command & Control site to power laptops, and communications equipment.  (Please let the URC Director know if you have any unusually large power requirements for this).  A high power hookup will be available at the MDRS hab for recharging batteries, etc.

[10.Q] Is there a bonus for being more mars-like or using things like hydrogen fuel cells and solar cells or any bonus points at all?

[10.A] This is not in the scope of URC 2008 - although it very well could be considered as part of future competitions!

[11.Q] Are we limited to batteries or can we use a gas engine?

[11.A] Teams are not limited to batteries.  However, safety precautions must be taken for engines.  The URC Director will have to clear vehicles using engines on a case-by-case basis prior to the competition.  This will not be a difficult approval process, but rather a safety "sanity check."  Teams should communicate with the URC Director throughout their design/build process regarding vehicle size vs. engine size, engine placement, etc.

[12.Q] Are overamplified communications devices permitted?

[12.A] All communications devices used must adhear to FCC standards.  Any modified devices must be documented and submitted for approval alongside a statement of applicable FCC regulations.  Team members are permitted to obtain and utilize any relavent licenses, but must document the license, applicable regulations, and devices as part of the communications documentation deadline.

[13.Q] Can antennas be constructed on-site?

[13.A] Teams must be able to safely construct/deconstruct any antennas within 20 minutes, and may be required to do so in between events (the command and control locations will vary with each event).  Antennas must be located within 5 meters of the team's command and control tent, and shall adhear to all applicable regulations.  Any such antenna must be documented as part of the communications documentation deadline.

[14.Q] Can tethered lighter-than-air devices be used for the command and control site?

[14.A] Such devices as tethered balloons cannot be used for direct observation or reconnaissance, however can be implimented for communications.  Balloons must be safely anchored within 5 meters of the command and control tent, must adhear to all applicable FCC and FAA regulations, and may not drift more than 20 meters from overhead space of the command and control tent (this will affect the length of tether teams feel comfortable using depending on wind conditions).  All safety precautions, and applicable FCC and FAA regulations must be documented as part of the communications documentation deadline.

[15.Q] For the Construction Task, what are the bolt grade and threads per inch?

[15.A] This is not provided, and should not be a specification that drives the design of tools for this task.  The head will be a standard 1/2" hex bolt, however this is the only given.  Otherwise teams will need to be able to adapt in-situ.

[16.Q] For the Construction Task, should we expect the possibility that the plane of the panel to be tilted negatively from the horizon?

[16.A] As specified in the rules: "The bolts will be placed between 15cm and 75cm above the ground, and may lie at inclinations of no more than 45° in either direction from the horizontal plane."  So, the short answer is yes.

[17.Q] For the Construction Task, what is the maximum depth of the panel (not height)?

[17.A] From the most forward point of a particular section of panel, the depth shall not exceed 15cm.

[18.Q] For those tasks requiring high-resolution images, would a 640x480 image be of high enough resolution, or are you looking for 800x600 and above?

[18.A] There is no specific minimum resolution requirement.  The most important requirement with cameras is to obtain usable and useful images (i.e. a 1280x1024 image that is washed out and has almost no color depth is not as good as a 640x480 image that is perfectly focused, has good white balance, and is clear).  It should go without saying that assuming all other aspects of the images are constant, higher resolution is better; however resolution is just one aspect of a quality image.

[19.Q] Clarification is requested on the purpose for the IR cameras. Are they to be used to thermally image? The two types of IR cameras on the market (night vision vs. thermal) are quite disparate in price. The night vision (short IR?) are cheap, while the thermal (long IR?) are prohibitively expensive. If we knew what was expected of the IR photography, it would help in knowing which type to purchase.

[19.A] This is one of the many trades that the teams will be required to make.  Remember that for this task, the objective is to obtain, and analyze, meaningful images related to the geology in the field.  This means that it is the responsibility of each team to make trades of the utility of one particular segment of the IR spectrum against the cost and technical risk of implementing the associated imaging device.  The primary tasking (identify the site, look for signs of water, or a particular feature of interest) will take place in the visible spectrum.  There will not be directed tasking in any of the IR spectra; teams should use this opportunity to make observations and analyses that they think are important and support the primary tasking, and will present this to the judges.  The primary goal of this task is to perform meaningful science, not implement technology, and a thorough analysis of the images available is the highest priority.  However it goes without saying that technology does support science, and with proper execution the right technology can support a more thorough scientific analysis.

[20.Q] The soil characterization task wording is somewhat ambiguous. Is only temperature required to be taken below the surface, or all other data as well?

[20.A] For the soil characterization task, only the temperature reading is required to be taken below the surface.  However, for the water concentration, and pH level readings, if teams are able to provide a depth profile, extra points will be awarded (i.e. in the first 1cm of the soil, the water concentration is X%, at 6cm Y%, and at 12cm Z%).  However the water concentration and pH level depth profiles are not driving requirements, and will only yield a marginal amount of extra points.

[21.Q] For the geology spectral analysis, is it safe to assume that the 'relevant features' are situated flat on the surface, or will they be shifted vertically relative to the base of the rover (i.e. rocks, boulders, canyon walls, etc.)?

[21.A] Teams should not assume that their samples will be situated neatly on flat sections of terrain.  Since the nature of geology is that the most scientifically interesting sites often involve variations in terrain, teams should prepare accordingly.  Teams will not be required to image canyon walls, large boulders, or other excessively large features, but should be prepared for gradual slopes, varied terrain, and other scientifically interesting sites.

[22.Q] Regarding communication equipment: For outside antennae, does 'stationary' imply mechanical rigidity as well as an immovable base (i.e. can we track the rover via GPS and have an automated azimuth-finding antenna, as opposed to having a student do it)? Would electrical means of beam steering (such as a phased array) be permitted?

[22.A] The stationary requirement does not impose mechanical rigidity, just a rigid, stable base.  An automated azimuth-finding antenna is permissible, as long as it is safe and stable.  Electrically steered antennas are also permissible, as long as they are operated within FCC regulations (where applicable).

[23.Q] For the remote science reports due at the end of the geology and soil characteristics tasks, do those need to be printed or is a soft copy on a disk or flash drive sufficient?

[23.A] A written report is actually not due for the two science tasks.  Instead, teams will be giving a field briefing to the judges - 15 minutes to present data of interest in any format deemed appropriate, and also to field questions from the judges.  The data used in the presentation can be on a laptop or monitor, or can be printed if the team supplies its own printer.  Teams will be judged on the effectiveness at presenting meaningful analysis over the course of those 15 minutes, and are not required to submit any hard documentation.

[24.Q] The rules state that teams must have an antenna within 5 meters of the tent. Does this mean the base of the antenna or include any guy ropes also used to support our antenna?

[24.A] The base of the antenna must be located within 5 meters of the tent.  Any ropes or wires used for stability purposes only may be anchored within 20 meters of the tent.

[25.Q] In the remote science documentation definition, it asks for a panorama with cardinal directions on the picture and some indication of scale. Scaling a panorama is not really useful because in the stitching process of combining pictures, the ranges are often distorted so that the image can fit the entire horizon. This creates a tunnel vision like phenomenon and scale is not very useful. Panoramas are used to get an entire horizon shot with the most information in them. Scale is used for high resolution imaging to locate or analyze a single subject.  Should teams be prepared to present some form of scale in our panorama?

[25.A] The wide-angle panorama is not required to be a 360 degree horizon image, and thus does not require image stitching (that is not to say that stitched images aren't allowed, or aren't useful in their own right).  The intent of the wide-angle image is to provide perspective of the sample location with respect to the local geography and other features of interest.  The requested scale indication should be applicable to the sample region, and does not need to be perfectly precise.  While a highly accurate scale is always desirable, the main intent of the scale in a wide-angle shot is to provide an order-of-magnitude level of spacial awareness (in the desert, without a known size reference, 100 meter features can easily appear to be close up shots of 10 meter features).