Timing Data: March 26

Posted on | by Natalie McGuier | 3 Comments on Timing Data: March 26

This past weekend a couple of our alumni were out recording buggy speeds in two different locations on the course. One took timing data after the chute turn, but we unfortunately don’t have that compiled yet and is summarized in the second table. These data are listed in roll order as several of the buggy IDs were unable to to be collected. Shafeeq was out and using his camera system on Sunday to get terminal Freeroll speeds. That data is summarized in the first table. The rolls are ordered by increasing speed.

Unsurprisingly, SDC, Spirit, CIA, PiKA, and Fringe had the fastest rolls of the day, with Spirit and PiKA each taking 3 of the top 10 spots (Banshee for PiKA and Inviscid for Spirit). What’s truly noteworthy is that Spirit has stepped up to the top of the class. And they’re getting through the chute successfully, though they fall a second or two behind SDC/PiKA/CIA/Fringe by the time they reach Hill 3. It’s likely that driver skill and pusher beefiness are going to play big rolls in determining placement this Raceday.

Freeroll Speeds

Time Team Buggy Speed (mph)
7:32 PhiDelt Perun 23.2
8:24 Apex Ember 26.2
8:18 SigEP Pandora 26.6
8:43 SigEP Pandora 27.1
8:19 SigEP Kraken 27.6
7:37 AEPi Kamikaze 28.3
8:42 SigEP Kraken 28.5
7:59 AEPi Kamikaze 28.9
8:21 AEPi Kamikaze 28.9
7:57 SigEP Kraken 29.3
8:45 AEPi Kamikaze 29.4
7:41 Apex Phoenix 29.6
8:01 SAE Lucy 29.6
8:39 PhiDelt Perun 29.7
7:54 PhiDelt Perun 29.9
8:03 Apex Phoenix 29.9
7:39 SAE Lucy 30
8:15 PhiDelt Perun 30.1
7:35 SigEP Kraken 30.8
7:48 SDC Havoc 31.3
8:05 CIA Impulse 31.3
8:35 Fringe Beacon 31.3
8:37 Spirit II 31.7
8:11 Fringe Balius 31.8
7:47 SDC Bane 32
8:34 Fringe II 32.2
8:31 SDC Bane 32.4
8:28 CIA Tempest 32.4
8:34 Fringe Balius 32.5
7:46 SDC Orange 32.5
7:53 Spirit II 32.5
7:30 Spirit II 32.7
8:09 SDC Bane 32.8
7:50 Fringe Balius 33.5
7:50 Fringe II 33.9
7:30 Spirit Zuke 34.5
7:43 CIA Equinox 34.7
8:13 Spirit Zuke 34.7
7:52 Spirit I 34.8
8:04 CIA Equinox 34.8
8:11 Fringe Bissa 34.8
7:43 CIA Icarus 35.1
8:34 Fringe Bissa 35.1
8:37 Spirit I 35.1
8:40 PiKA Banshee 35.1
7:33 PiKA Banshee 35.3
7:50 Fringe Bissa 35.3
7:56 PiKA Banshee 35.3
8:16 PiKA Banshee 35.9
8:27 CIA Equinox 35.9
8:07 SDC Malice 36.1
8:36 Spirit Inviscid 36.1
7:52 Spirit Inviscid 36.4
7:29 Spirit Inviscid 36.6
7:46 SDC Malice 36.6

 

Chute Speeds (taken at light post)

  MPH
PIKA 23.4497
   Unable to see
  23.9282
  17.6503
CIA 28.5972
CIA 26.8215
  23.1847
  24.2822
  21.0987
Fringe 29.3121
  24.2106
SDC 29.6296
  20.8309
PIKA 22.9899
  14.2242
  19.8726
CIA 26.3057
CIA 28.5972
  23.9282
SDC 27.1768
  23.1194
Fringe 27.1768
  23.3829
  26.9095
  24.3543
  22.0629
  22.3635
  20.5185
  22.5478
  19.7768
CIA-B/R 27.1768
  22.6723
  26.3903
  23.5844
  22.4860
  22.3635
Fringe 27.2671
  24.5730
  22.9257
  20.4673

A word from our Head Raceday Preview Editor

Posted on | by ben | 3 Comments on A word from our Head Raceday Preview Editor

And now a word from Aileen:

Hello BAA members! It’s almost the best time of the year – Spring Carnival time! Every year we publish a detailed Raceday Preview. This year, we’re looking for new input – do you have exciting insider information? Opinions about new wheels, aerodynamics, or other buggy trends? A list of complaints about how things used to be better? We would love any and all new articles, or help with existing article ideas including team season recaps and interviews with key buggy personnel. If you’re interested in getting involved with the Raceday preview, contact Aileen at aileen@cmubuggy.org.

Remember to renew your membership TODAY if you would like to get your preview as soon as it’s available. http://cmubuggy.org/membership

ONE Month to Raceday! We Want New Voices!

Posted on | by ben

Calling all buggy people!

Friday Buggy Panel

With Carnival only a few short weeks away, we would like to invite anyone and everyone to come to our second Raceday Buggy Panel! We will be holding it at the same time as last year, but likely in a new location (more details on that later). We had a wonderful group of panelists last year and we would love to have some new voices on the panel this year. We are looking for both students and alumni to join the panel to give us a wide range of ideas and experiences to share with anyone that attends.

Wednesday WRCT broadcast

Continuing on, we will be having our Wednesday night broadcast on WRCT before the races to give you a live discussion of what to look out for while you’re at the races or watching from home. We are looking for some current students or local alums to join us in the booth and talk all things buggy from this year!

If you are interested in being a part of the Friday Panel or the WRCT broadcast, please contact Ben Matzke (ben.matzke@cmubuggy.org) and let him know that you’re available!

Timing Data: Feb 28

Posted on | by Natalie McGuier | 11 Comments on Timing Data: Feb 28

This past weekend our intrepid alumni ran the new and ever improving speed trap to gather some very interesting data. The trap was set up just after the monument in the Freeroll, so the posted values should represent terminal buggy speed. Not all the buggy names have been matched to their roll, however rolls are listed in chronological order. We will update the buggy IDs as we figure them out. If you happen to know a given ID, please leave a comment so we can edit appropriately. Some rolls have two MPHs listed because two alumni were independently determining speeds.

We can officially say that PiKA, SDC, and Fringe were consistently the fastest buggies rolling on Saturday. This isn’t terribly surprising given the teams’ histories and what we saw last semester.

Sequence Team ID Movie ID MPH 1 MPH 2
1 CIA  Equinox 126 34.67
2 CIA Impulse 127 31.35
3 SDC Black 128 34.67
4 SDC Avarice 129 31.59
5 SDC Purple 130 33.12
6 Fringe Lt. Blue 131 35.89
7 Fringe 132 30.3
8 Spirit 133 33.12
9 Spirit 134 22.6
10 Spirit
11 Spirit
12 Pika Raptor 135 34.82 35.27
13 Pika Banshee 136 39.15 39.73
14 Apex Apex 137 16.14 16.15
15 CIA Equinox 138 34.38 34.57
16 CIA Impulse 139 31.71 32.31
17 SDC black 140 38.05 37.57
18 SDC Stopped after stop sign before Phipps crosswalk
19 Fringe Blue 141 36.86 37.99
20 Fringe Grey 142 35.57 36.39
21 Fringe Blue 143 33.95 33.89
22 Spirit Grey 144 34.23 34.57
23 Spirit Grey 145 30.41 30.86
24 Spirit Grey 146 31.96 31.14
25 Spirit Grey 147 31.47 31.14
26 Pika Raptor 148 35.11 35.64
27 Pika Banshee 149 38.59 38.84
28 Apex 150 23.71 23.84
29 CIA Equinox 151 34.38 33.89
30 CIA Impulse 152 33.12 32.31
31 SDC Black 153 38.96 39.73
32 SDC Avarice 154 32.6 32.61
33 SDC Purple 155 30.99 30.59
34 Spirit Grey 156 36.86 36.77
35 Spirit 157 32.99
36 Spirit 158 30.99
37 Spirit 159 32.21
38 Spirit 160 31.11
39 Pika Raptor 161 35.27 34.92
40 Pika Banshee 162 38.96 39.28
41 Apex 163 25.1
42 CIA Equinox 164 35.57
43 CIA Impulse 165 32.47
44 SDC Black 166 36.2
45 SDC Avarice 167 33.95
46 SDC Purple 168 32.34
47 Fringe Blue 169 38.41
48 Fringe Grey 170 35.42
49 Fringe Blue 171 32.86
50 Spirit Grey 172 34.23
51 Spirit Grey 173 30.3
52 Spirit into hay bales 174 31.23
53 Spirit Stopped in chute due to wreck
54* Pika Raptor 175 34.52 34.57
55 Pika Banshee 176 35.57 35.64
56 Apex 177 26.74
57 CIA Impulse 178 33.26
58 CIA passing 33.12
59 SDC Black 179 38.41 38.84
60 SDC Avarice 180 33.53
61 SDC Purple 181 32.73
62 Fringe Blue 182 38.78
63 Fringe Blue 183 33.81
64 Spirit 184 35.57
65 Spirit 185 32.09
66 Pika  Raptor 186 36.36
67 Pika  Banshee 187 37.53
68 Apex 188 26.39
69 CIA Equinox 189 37.02
70 CIA Impulse 190 32.99
71 SDC Black 191 38.05
72 SDC Avarice 192 33.95
73 Fringe Blue 193 37.53
74 Fringe Blue 194 33.81
75 Pika Raptor 195 35.57 36.39
76 Pika Banshee 196 36.86 37.57
77 CIA Equinox 197 36.2 37.57
78 CIA Impulse 198 34.82 35.27
79 SDC Avarice  Missed
80 SDC Purple 199 31.71 32.01

Mini Raceday Alumni Data Dump

Posted on | by Natalie McGuier

As you probably already knew, this past weekend was the very exciting Mini Raceday Weekend. We posted the official Sweepstakes freeroll and backhill times, but thanks to the efforts of a couple of our more dedicated alumni, we have bonus data! Specifically we have the calculated speeds just before the chute and at the fourth window of Porter Hall.

The columns represent the speed of the buggy entering the chute (Chute), speed at the fourth window of Porter (Window 4), and whether or not the buggy needed to be pushed before the fourth Porter window.

Official BAA Times 

Team Roll Buggy Chute (mph) Window 4 (mph) Pushed
PhiDelt 1 Perun 25.6 11.9 P
PiKA 1 Banshee 35.9 17.1
PiKA 1 Raptor 27.7
SigEp 1 Kraken 30.3
AEPi 1 Kamikaze 27.1 9.7 P
Apex 1 Phoenix 22.7 9.7 P
CIA 1 Equinox 33.7 16.2
CIA 1 Icarus 31.6 13
CIA 1 Orca 29.8 9.1 P
CIA 1 Ascension 23.6 9 P
SDC 1 Malice 35.2 15.8
SDC 1 Vice 31
SDC 1 Havoc 30.5 9.8
Fringe 1 Bissa 34.1 13.4
Fringe 1 Beacon 12.5
Fringe 1 Balius 10.8 P
SigNu 1 Krait 30.7 11 P
Spirit 1 1 33.9 12.7 P
Spirit 1 2 28.3
PhiDelt 2 Perun 24.2
PiKA 2 Banshee 35 15.7
PiKA 2 Raptor 28.1
SigEp 2 Kraken 30.3 10 P
SigEp 2 Pandora 17
AEPi 2 Kamikaze 26.5 9.2 P
Apex 2 Ember 27.6 10.7 P
CIA 2 Equinox 31.1 11.6
CIA 2 Icarus 31.7 12.7
Orca 14
CIA 2 Ascension 23.8 8.1
CIA 2 Impulse 27.2 10.5 P
SDC 2 Malice 35.1 16.1
SDC 2 Vice 31.5 11.9
SDC 2 Havoc 30.4 10.9
Fringe 2 Bissa 33.6 13.7
Fringe 2 Beacon 33.7 12
Fringe 2 Baleus 28.9 9.3 P
Spirit 2 1 33.2 15 P
Spirit 2 2 30.9 11.1 P
Spirit 2 3 30.7
PhiDelt 3 Perun 24.5
PiKA 3 Banshee 35.2 17.1
SigEp 3 Kraken 27.2 7.2 P
AEPi 3 Kamikaze 26.9 8.6 P
Apex 3 Phoenix 30.5 11 P
CIA 3 Equinox 33.3 16.4
CIA 3 Icarus 30.4 11
CIA 3 Orca 28.4 9.6 P
SDC 3 Malice 34.8 15
SDC 3 Vice 32.8

 

The take home points are:

  • PiKA is the fastest downhill and back up
  • SDC is 2% slower than PiKA on the downhill, but 3rd fastest uphill
  • CIA is another 4-5% slower than PiKA on the downhill, but depending on the buggy are between SDC and PiKA going back up
  • CIA, Fringe, and Spirit have almost equal downhill speeds, but Fringe and Spirit are scrubbing speed in the chute.
  • Spirit’s down hill times would suggest a greater rollout than they are getting

 

Speeds were calculated by capturing video using a Nikon 1 series camera, all of which have the ability to take 640 x 240 movies at 1200 frames/sec. The cameras can only record 3 seconds at that speed, so the time it takes a buggy to pass between nearby landmarks (e.g. pairs of trees or parking spot lines) can be precisely measured. After some scouting, our intrepid alumni found useful spots on the course where every buggy takes more or less the same path. They placed the camera where every buggy could be filmed with the same perspective. Each frame is a normal 2D image, so objects in the background remain stationary. This allows you to open the movie in your video editing software of choice and note the time at which the nose of the buggy reaches each landmark. If the distance between the landmarks is known, the time can be converted to a speed.

For comparison, Sweepstakes uses the FinishLynx system on Raceday, which is typically set to take a 1000 x 1 image 1000 times/sec. The finish line software then assembles a series of these 1D lines into a distorted 2D image, where the horizontal axis is time. If you know the length of the buggy, you can tell when the nose and tail cross the finish line and convert that into a speed, however you can only observe one line. The system is optimized to calibrate its clock to real life and not vary much. This allows for accurate split times by placing a camera at each split point. The internal clocks used in consumer-quality cameras are not as accurate, so even though we used multiple cameras focused on different physical locations, we cannot correlate events in each well enough to get useful split times.

More work is needed in calibrating against either another measurement method or something of known speed before comparing speeds obtained our way with other sources, or, for that matter, with historic times. Regardless, comparing 2 teams on the same day should be safe – the systematic errors should affect everyone equally. The video files used to generate these times will be made available on cmubuggy.org for the viewing pleasure of all interested. 

—
This fabulous data is brought to you through the ideas and efforts of Shafeeq Sinnamohideen and Tom Wood.

 

Midsemester Break – No Rolls but some News

Posted on | by ben | 4 Comments on Midsemester Break – No Rolls but some News

With not enough teams to meet quorum, buggy took a break for the long weekend of the midsemester. With nothing to report on, we’ve been looking for something to share with you guys. Given our current struggle with membership tracking, we know there are some of you that didn’t get our most recent publication. So, until we figure out our tracking issue, everyone who reads this can get their own copy. Just send an email to news@cmubuggy.org, no donation required. If you’re feeling generous however, we of course wouldn’t say no.

Enjoy!

wrap-up preview

Ceilidh is Upon Us

Posted on | by ben

Welcome folks to another Ceilidh celebration here at the Pittsburgh Campus of CMU! For us Buggy people, this weekend is more or less business as usual. The weather looks like it will hold and the teams are ready for another full weekend of rolls. This time though, Ceilidh will bring some added bonuses.

Quick look of Ceilidh Buggy Events:
Rolls Donut Tent 7am Sat+Sun Frew Street
Buggy Panel Talk 2pm Sat Connan Roon

While Ceilidh hasn’t really become a major alumni event for us, it is a time when we will have the most parents in town to see just what the hell their kids are up to. We’ll be welcoming and greeting any visitors to the course with a mini version of our Raceday Donut tent. We will likely be setting up in a similar place or closer to top of the hill. Donuts will be arriving at 7 so all teams will get a chance to grab one before rolls really get going.

Aside from rolls, we have put together a small panel of students and alums who will be sharing their experience and answering questions from the audience Saturday afternoon. This is just like the panels that we started having the last couple years, and is the first time we are doing one at Ceilidh. We’re expecting a much different audience and early numbers make it look like it’ll be VERY well attended! We will be going for an hour and a half starting at 2pm.

Given the celebration we will be attempting to livestream all weekend. Allowing you to watch and potentially interact during rolls and the panel from anywhere in the world. It’s been a while since we’ve livestreamed so forgive us if our skills aren’t up to snuff.

As an added bonus to all of our members, whether you are in town or not, you will be getting a special gift later tonight. Of course if you think you should be on the list and don’t hear from us, just let us know and we’ll correct things right away. If you’re not a member yet, head on over to the membership page and join or renew, this is one you won’t want to miss this one.

wrap-up preview

Kids have returned, 2015-16 season has begun

Posted on | by ben | 1 Comment on Kids have returned, 2015-16 season has begun

After the summer hiatus, the kids have returned which means we have too and this time in greater numbers! That’s right, as of now, we here at the BAA have the ability to divide and conquer allowing us to do more for all of you here. Most of us are spread across the country and even the world which means we’re working on delving into some regional activities starting with NYC. If you’re interested in bringing Buggy events to your area let us know, we’d be happy to help however we can! Others of us are focusing on some new materials including the return of our Raceday Recap to get you back in the buggy mood. This is only the start, there is much more going on than I have time to share here, but look for us around the Highland Games, Ceilidh and more!

As for our regular reports that you all know and love, the first weekend of rolls is set to start this very next weekend September 19th and 20th. With more alums in the area, look for some new voices coming through in this season’s rolls reports.

*UPDATE* Due to the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes on Saturday September 19, there will be no rolls this Saturday, first rolls will be on Sunday September 20.