Spring is almost here, and Saturday this week at least felt like it! We had 10 organizations rolling with numerous buggies, including 4 new builds and a few old ones we hadn’t seen in a while. Very limited incidents made for a smooth and busy day- read on!
Spring semester is in full swing, and Sweepstakes has had permits to roll since the beginning of February. So why is this the first time you are hearing from me? Remember all the times I boasted about great Pittsburgh weather in the Fall? Well, Mother Nature had its vengeance and so far we have not had good enough weather to roll. Pittsburgh produced very consistent snow/sleet and cold temperatures this winter.
We couldn’t leave our buggy fans without some news from the teams any longer, so I’m here with a few quick notes on what has been going on this spring. Let us know in the comments if you have more to add!
We continue to need volunteers to help make Raceday run smoothly- please sign up here!
It’s sunny in this picture but so, so cold.
General Observations:
New Buggies: A number of orgs will be debuting new vehicles in the spring. We expect to see new builds from Apex, Fringe, CIA, SDC, and SAE (and maybe Spirit). With no rolls, pictures have been hard to come by, but here is one of CIA’s new build – Starling – at capes.
Starling: CIA’s 2025 Build
More News:
A total of 9 organizations have caped at least 1 buggy this semester: Spirit, SigNu, PiKA, Fringe, DG, CIA, SDC, Apex, and SigEp. Two more could potentially still join in- SAE and AEPi. I hear SAE may be caping very soon!
Sweepstakes has passed some modifications to driver qualification for this Raceday:
Returning drivers need at least 9 total rolls, with at least 3 in the spring.
New drivers need at least 15 rolls total, with at least 6 in the spring.
All drivers need at least 9 rolls in their Raceday buggy, and rolls must come on at least 2 different weekends.
Remember we told you that last year’s winning Women’s buggy- CIA’s Goldfinch – was involved in a accident and sustained significant damage. We are happy to report we expect Goldfinch back soon, pending capes.
Lastly, we need to highlight a very special project, the brainchild of Lewis from SDC. In the spirit of showing that a buggy could be built quickly and cheaply, without compromising safety, SDC built Gluttony out of wood and other simple materials. No one expects speed, but we hope it shows some students they can have fun and build their own buggy without a serious monetary commitment.
This. Is. Gluttony!
Raceday is in 23 days! Here are some things to look forward to:
Push Practice begins this week!
March 15/16 and 22/23 are the only two weekends of “normal” rolls. Expect action packed reports!
March 22 is our 2024 Raceday Rewatch! More info here.
March 29/30 is Truck Weekend! If you are in town come out to see and help time the teams!
Expect your Member’s Only Raceday Preview to hit your inboxes that first week of April!
April 4/5 – RACEDAY! For all things Raceday, head over here!
Some highlights from Fall 2024
Don’t forget, we have a sign-up to cover rolls here. We especially need help on Truck Weekend! That sheet also has links to upload photos (updated every week). Let us know if you do so we can give you credit (DM Barsham or data at cmubuggy dot org). Once again, you can reach me on discord or email with any rolls notes or corrections.
Quick Reminder: Last call to get your BAA Raceday Shirts! They’re available for purchase until March 9, and you can get them HERE
Hey Buggy fans! Pittsburgh weather has struck with a vengeance this semester, and we really miss seeing teams on the course. So we’re taking matters into our own hands.
To get everyone pumped up for Raceday in just 27 days, we’re gonna get the ball started virtually. So we’re organizing a Raceday Rewatch, going all the way back to…2024! Join us on March 22 from 12pm-3pm ET on our YouTube Channel as we re-watch all of the races from 2024! We’ll bring you up to speed on where all of the teams finished last year, so you know what to expect this April 4-5.
At long last, the BAA Executive Board has finally formalized and organized its rules, practices, and standards into a formal document, the Bylaws of the Carnegie Mellon Buggy Alumni Association. The document primarily describes how we’ve already been doing business for years, but now, future BAA Officers, Committee Chairs, and members will have something concrete to reference. They are, by design, easy for the Executive Board to change and update, as they are a living document meant to reflect the actual practices of the BAA at a given time. They serve to fill in the spaces around the framework provided by our Constitution. Thank you to the Executive Board for your contributions, and for the hearty and respectful debates and discussions that led us to a unanimous approval of the final draft.
If you’ve made it this far, and you don’t have one yet, please remember to buy a Raceday shirt while you still can! We also need more Raceday volunteers, both in general and for the broadcast. Thank you for your help and support.
The funds raised by these shirts will help pay for things such as the Raceday alumni events and contributions, support Sweepstakes with things like payment for the Jumbotron, and give us funding for future Buggy Enhancement Grants to assist student buggy organizations across campus.
While you’re waiting for your shirt to arrive, why not tune into the new season of Chute the Sh*t? The first episode is out now on all your favorite streaming platforms… and I hear there’s a rotisserie chicken spinner involved… 🐔
Finally, just like how other premier classes of motorsport rely on volunteer marshals, our premier (and only) class of motorless Buggy racing is made possible through the assistance of our wonderful volunteers. You can become a volunteer for Raceday 2025 today by visiting https://cmubuggy.org/volunteer, or https://cmubuggy.org/broadcast-volunteer if you’re interested in helping out with this year’s broadcast/becoming a broadcaster! 📢
That’s right, YOU can be a Raceday 2025 broadcaster. You can give everyone the play-by-play during the races, tell us your favorite Buggy stories on our pre-race broadcast, and/or work behind the scenes to help us create or edit Raceday-related videos! Remember that there are also time slot options on those forms if you can only commit to certain times—we’ll be thrilled to get all the help we can.
A huge thank-you in advance to all of you who will be contributing your time and energy to Raceday 2025, as volunteers or as broadcast volunteers. We are immensely grateful for your continued support and look forward to seeing you on Raceday with your BAA raceday shirt on and the new Chute the Sh*t season playing!
The application deadline for the Buggy Enhancement Grants is TOMORROW, January 23 at midnight! If you have an idea for something that would enhance your enjoyment of the sport, this is your chance to receive funding and bring that vision to life!
Real Time Kinematic GPS has been a popular topic in Buggy Enhancement Grant proposals. As more teams are expressing interest in building out their own data loggers, I wanted to share some info on two proven systems that will allow you to get centimeter level accurate data from the buggy course.
This quality of data opens a lot of opportunities, and I’m sure we’ve still only seen the tip of the iceberg. Drivers can clearly see the differences in their line between rolls and quantitatively compare the rollouts. Mechanics can see where and how much energy is lost in different parts of the course to fine tune the steering configurations and tire treatments. Pushers can automatically collect split times and even drill down into technique and how much power was delivered during a transition shove.
If this has you feeling inspired, I hope you’ll consider applying for a Spring 2025 Buggy Enhancement Grant. Applications are due by midnight on Thursday, January 23rd.
Arduino Based System
This system was developed by the CMU Robotics Club. Detailed documentation can be found in the project GitHub: https://github.com/CMU-Robotics-Club/rtk-datalogger Note that some soldering will be required. For specifics on where to purchase components and other tips and tricks for getting started with RTK, please refer to the Onboarding Doc.
I would have liked to recommend purchasing a ZED-F9R for the built in accelerometer and ability to integrate wheel rotation and steering input sensors, but that might require changes to the PCB design and updates to the firmware.
Part
Cost
Seed Studio RP2040
$4
SparkFun ZED-F9P
$250
GNSS Antenna
$73
USB Breakout Board
$5
SD Card Reader
$4
OLED Board
$14
USB-C Battery Pack
$20
SD Card
$12
PCB
See GitHub
Total
$382
Raspberry Pi Based System
This system does not require any soldering. We’re working on building out a set of scripts to automate the setup, post processing, and gathering logs from a fleet of devices over WiFi. Keep an eye on the project GitHub and reach out if you are interested in the beta. For specifics on where to purchase components and other tips and tricks for getting started with RTK, please refer to the Onboarding Doc.
Part
Cost
Raspberry Pi Zero W 2
$18
ZED-F9R Dead Reckoning Pi Hat
$290
GNSS Antenna
$73
USB-C Battery Pack
$20
SD Card
$12
Total
$413
Special Thanks
I want to thank Anish Singhani and Delaynie McMillan as the original authors of the Buggy Enhancement Grants that made this possible and for the incredible amount of work that RoboBuggy and Radio Club put into establishing and maintaining the RTK base station on campus.
Thank you to all of our Golden Goose Lifetime Members who have donated to the Buggy Endowed Fund and made Buggy Enhancement Grants possible.
Thank you, Robbie, and Lewis, for helping me put together all the pieces for this BoM.
Thank you to everyone who has already submitted their Spring 2025 Buggy Enhancement Grant applications! If you haven’t submitted yours yet, applications are due by midnight on Thursday, January 23rd.
It is time to submit your ideas for Buggy Enhancement Grants for the spring semester! We have over $12,000 available for this round of funding. This money belongs to you as a member of the buggy community, to enhance your enjoyment of the sport! If you have ideas that you think will make buggy better, we want to hear from you, please apply here!
Submissions are due by midnight on Thursday, January 23rd. The committee will complete its initial review on Friday, January 24th, and applicants will have 1 week to respond to the committee’s feedback before the final vote.
Last semester we saw $3723 allocated towards composites testing, expanding the Essential Build Book (while building DG’s first buggy!), improving shop safety, and improving the safety of existing buggies.
For more details on the program, a summary of previously approved grants, and tips from the committee on how to write a stellar grant application, please read All About Buggy Enhancement Grants.
If you would like to support this program, please consider donating to the Buggy Endowed Fund. Your gift will help perpetually fund this grant program and keep the buggy hype rolling for generations to come! A donation of at least $1000 to the endowment is recognized on our placard in the University Center and with a lifetime membership to the Buggy Alumni Association. There is no shortage of excellent project proposals coming from the community, so please consider supporting this program. Join us Now!
Giving CMU Day is here! Now is the perfect time to donate to the BAA and, in doing so, support buggy enhancement initiatives, Raceday 2025, and so much more.
It’s worth noting that this year, alumni who make a gift of $25-$100 will have their gift matched 1:1 by the Board of Trustees! There is $100,000 in matching funds available, so matches will go fast—be sure to make your donation earlier rather than later to take advantage of this and further support our efforts across the year and on Raceday.
In the past, your generosity has made it possible for teams and individuals involved with buggy to purchase materials for constructing a reusable mold, research and develop steering and brake refurbishment processes, and invest in video and photo upscaling software to process archival footage. Your contributions have also directly facilitated the acquisition of jumbotrons and the organization of Buggy Bash for Raceday. We hope that you will lend us your continued support this Giving Day and will keep helping us make the experience of buggy more engaging and accessible for students, alumni, fans, and family.
Remember that if you’re not already a member, a donation of at least $20 today can also cover your BAA membership for the year. You can learn more on our membership page.
Thank you for your support, and happy Giving CMU Day!
