Thought this road rally I am working on would be of interest to this group. What kind of power could you scavenge along the way?
Event Details:
Shipyard Labs is sponsoring an event to showcase the art and innovation of a new generation of alternatively-powered vehicles. October 10th – 13th 2008, a variety of vehicle entries will compete in a road rally from Berkeley, CA to Las Vegas, NV.
The three day course will take contestants from the Pacific Coast, over the Sierra Mountains, down through Death Valley to the finish line across the Las Vegas strip.
Event rules allow the contestants to use any non-petroleum fuel or power source. However, all fuel must be scavenged along the route. Contestants cannot bring the fuel with them, nor buy it along the way. Rally organizers expect something like “Mad Max meets the DARPA Grand Challenge.” Cash prizes will be awarded to the rally time winner and for notable accomplishments in engineering and art.
Jim Mason, founder of Shipyard Labs, touts the event as an opportunity for, "NASA scientists to go head-to-head with junkyard fabricators in the perennial battle of engineering prowess vs. creative excess. This time, bragging rights for SAVING THE WORLD hang in the balance. Part engineering problem. Part artistic opportunity. All post-apocalyptic road trip adventure."
www.escapefromberkeley.com
Event Details:
Shipyard Labs is sponsoring an event to showcase the art and innovation of a new generation of alternatively-powered vehicles. October 10th – 13th 2008, a variety of vehicle entries will compete in a road rally from Berkeley, CA to Las Vegas, NV.
The three day course will take contestants from the Pacific Coast, over the Sierra Mountains, down through Death Valley to the finish line across the Las Vegas strip.
Event rules allow the contestants to use any non-petroleum fuel or power source. However, all fuel must be scavenged along the route. Contestants cannot bring the fuel with them, nor buy it along the way. Rally organizers expect something like “Mad Max meets the DARPA Grand Challenge.” Cash prizes will be awarded to the rally time winner and for notable accomplishments in engineering and art.
Jim Mason, founder of Shipyard Labs, touts the event as an opportunity for, "NASA scientists to go head-to-head with junkyard fabricators in the perennial battle of engineering prowess vs. creative excess. This time, bragging rights for SAVING THE WORLD hang in the balance. Part engineering problem. Part artistic opportunity. All post-apocalyptic road trip adventure."
www.escapefromberkeley.com
-
Re: Escape from Berkeley by any non-petroleum means necessary
Wed, May 28, 2008 - 4:38 PMThis event is having a free open shop weekend June 7th and 8th, 2008 for people to meet and work on their vehicles. Shipyard Labs in Berkeley, CA is hosting the open shop. Shipyard Labs has a full fabrication shop and all of the tools will be available for use to people participating in the event. Great chance to meet other people doing this and to join a team - or to get your project going.
Check out the blog post here for more info: <www.escapefromberkeley.com/ -
-
Another few questions.
Wed, May 28, 2008 - 10:40 PMAre you considering modeling this at all on the X-Prize or will this be more art than science?
If both would you break out more categories with separate prizes in the competition?
Are you familiar with Baltimore's Kinetic Sculpture races?
www.kineticbaltimore.com/
Will the entries be allowed pit crews and/or chase vehicles (though these could be considered a part of the footprint) and is the race 24/7 or will it stop at night and if not will you be able to guarantee road safety after dark?
Lastly food is fuel too and will the racers be allowed to stock up with provisions and water at the start or do they have to forage for that too along the way? -
-
Re: Another few questions.
Thu, May 29, 2008 - 4:51 AMOne last point.
I am the guy that designed and built the dual motor, 1Kw electric, 15 speed bicycle that is the cover picture of the moment for this tribe. It has a cruise speed of 30 to 35 mph on the flat and can climb a 15% grade at over 20 mph.
Maybe if this idea flies for both of us I can get a new picture for us.
I have been designing all night and have a plan that will knock your socks off built of recycled, reused and homebuilt components as well as high tech ones like PV cells. I am not releasing details for the moment because it is a competition after all.
It is a member of what I call a *solar-human hybrid* class and I have designed a number of such vehicles already. -
-
Re: Another few questions.
Thu, May 29, 2008 - 1:38 PMWe are very excited to hear that you have a human hybrid powered vehicle and more so about the plans you have to knock our socks off!
There has been some other human power interests and we hope they will be coming forward with some other interesting human hybrid power plans.
You can start with the equivalently of 10kwh on board.
Can we put your entry on the website yet?
-
-
Re: Another few questions.
Thu, May 29, 2008 - 1:55 PMWe ultimately wan a bit of a hybrid event lots of science and engineer with a dash of outlandish art thrown in. After all this event comes from the minds of artist who were forced by the city of Berkeley to become power engineers.
We have several other catigories besides the winning vehicle:
- Most difficult engineering problem solved
- Sexiest car on the road
- Smallest GHG footprint between Berkeley and Vegas
- Most energy conversion steps between source and road
- Worst idea that might actually be smart
All vehicles will have support crews and chase vehicles. The organization of this will be forthcoming. We might try to arrange buses or other collective transport to keep in the spirit of are low carbon footprint.
There will be a start time each day and the vehicles have the full 24 hours to make the next stop.
Funny thing is we just had a conversation about human fuel for bike/hybrid schemes, it would be fun to leave that up for scavenging too, but it is a bit out of the question at least for this time around.
-
-
-
Re: Escape from Berkeley by any non-petroleum means necessary
Wed, May 28, 2008 - 10:04 PMFirst let me say I am so interested in this that I would like to enter. My problem is that I live in NY.
Now please do not take this wrong but go back and edit that page, there are way too many minor spelling and grammar mistakes starting in the first sentence and it makes you come off as too unprofessional. It is a really good idea so don't let simple pedantry trip it up, please.
For example you call it a "No HOLES bared" event. So I guess we can't race nude right?
Given the route I might want to anyway ;~)
I have a few more questions:
Are you planing entry fees?
Do you have sponsors?
Will the event have an increasing prize fund as donations as funds are accrued?
If not will the money be designated to specific organizations and groups, or who will get sponsorship money after costs?
Could a part of the prize be a donation made in the winners honor (and a smaller amount proportionally for the second, third, and place vehicles) to an Alternative energy or other non profit group of their choosing?
Remember the prize money will not even come close to the cost of just delivering many vehicles to the race site let alone the cost of building and will those factors enter into the footprint or will everyone be handicapped to the starting line and only deal with the operating impact footprint for the race itself?
-
-
Re: Escape from Berkeley by any non-petroleum means necessary
Thu, May 29, 2008 - 5:23 PMNow that its "no holds barred" you can race naked if you really want to.
Personally, I am very excited to see more solar schemes. After all the race course does go through death valley.
-
