1. William Shih Technology Director
Scoring Procedures
William Shih
Technology Director
9 December 2018

2. Objectives Ensure fairness and consistency in calculating scores
Provide transparency to team advisors and judges
9 December 2018

3. Cross-Country Starting Procedures
Teams start each day at 9:00am and departing at preset intervals [Rule 8.1]
On first day, teams draw for start order [Rule 11]
On subsequent days, teams start based on previous days’ mileage [Rule 11]
Each team is given 8 hours of racing time [Rule 8.3]
Example: If the team leaves at 9:03am, they have until 5:03pm to complete the day
Includes 15 minutes for rest stops and 30 minutes for lunch
If teams are not ready at their starting time, their 8 hour timer starts, but must wait until all other teams have left [Rule 8.1, 11]
9 December 2018

4. Cross-Country Racing Procedures
Teams given credit for all miles driven by solar car on the race route during the racing period
May trailer solar car at any time, but will not receive credit for miles trailered
No credit given for miles driven in solar car after 8 hours is complete
No credit given for miles driven in solar car if not on official race route
No credit given for miles driven in solar car when cars are required to trailer
9 December 2018

5. Scoring Program Judges will ride in front seat of chase vehicle
Judges equipped with laptop loaded with scoring program
Scoring program used to:
Enforce race procedures/rules
Eight hour timer – no events can be entered after eight hours complete
Mandatory rest stop periods (15 minutes rest stop, 30 minutes lunch)
Calculate unofficial race statistics
Enter all events for calculating official results and auditing
9 December 2018

6. Scoring Program Screenshot
9 December 2018

7. Scoring “Events” Judges input events into program throughout day
When the solar car enters the race course
When team puts solar car onto trailer
When team enters mandatory stops
When team pulls off the side of the road to fix mechanical failures
Each event associated with odometer from chase vehicle
Used to determine credit given to solar car
Used to calibrate each race segment
9 December 2018

8. Mileage Calibration Route is split into segments
Segments start/end at known mile markers (e.g. rest stop, lunch stop, end of race)
Teams’ miles are added up per segment
Includes all miles on the route:
Miles driven by solar car
Miles trailered
Each team’s miles are calibrated against published values for each segment
Each segment is calibrated individually
9 December 2018

9. Calibration Example 0.0 Mile Markers in Race Route 108.4
Odometer Values
Official Race Route
Route Driven By Solar Car
Route with Solar Car Trailered
108.4
0.0
114.5
START
122.7
Segment 1 (Start – Rest Stop) Odometer Delta = 14.3 Mile Marker Delta = 12.0 Calibration (Odo/MM) =
Miles Driven = (114.5 – 108.4) / Calibration = miles = 5.1 miles
Miles Trailered = (122.7 – 114.5) / Calibration = miles = 6.9 miles
12.0
REST STOP
126.7
128.0
138.9
25.5
Segment 2 (Rest Stop – Lunch) Odometer Delta = 16.2 Mile Marker Delta = 13.5 Calibration (Odo/MM) =
Miles Driven (1) = (126.7 – 122.7) / Calibration = miles = 3.3 miles
Miles Trailered = (128.0 – 126.7) / Calibration = miles = 1.1 miles
Miles Driven (2) = (138.9 – 128.0) / Calibration = miles = 9.1 miles
LUNCH
Segment 3 (Lunch – Finish) Odometer Delta = 20.6 Mile Marker Delta = 17.2 Calibration (Odo/MM) =
Miles Driven = (159.5 – 138.9) / Calibration = 17.2 miles
159.5
42.7
FINISH
9 December 2018

10. Off-Course Scoring Teams may drive off the race route during the day
No credit given for miles driven off-course
Therefore, program must know where the team returned on-course
When a team drives off-course, the team must inform the judge that they are off-course
The judge will inform team to return back to last known mile marker
Judge will enter the mile marker and the odometer value
Program calculates what part of the drive was on-course and what was off-course
9 December 2018

11. Off-Course Calibration Example
0.0
Mile Markers in Race Route
108.4
Odometer Values
Official Race Route
Route Driven By Solar Car
Route with Solar Car Trailered
Route Driven Off-Course
Route Trailered Back On-Course
108.4
0.0
114.5
136.0
13.0
START
122.7
12.0
REST STOP
128.0
Segment 2 (Rest Stop – Lunch)
Previous Calibration Value =
Calculate odometer where car went off-course: (13.0 – 12.0) X Prev. Calibration = 123.9
Invalid all miles between and 136.0
Miles Driven (1) = 1.0 miles
Miles Driven (2) = (140.0 – 136.0) / Prev. Calibration = miles = 3.3 miles
Trailered Miles = (142.0 – 140.0) / Prev. Calibration = miles = 1.7 miles
Miles Driven (3) = (151.0 – 142.0) / Prev. Calibration = miles = 7.6 miles
142.0
151.0
140.0
25.5
LUNCH
FINISH
9 December 2018

12. How Off-Course Affects Calibration
The program estimates the portion driven on the route using previous calibration value and odometer
Since previous calibration values are used to estimate position, the segment’s events cannot be used to calibrate
Using estimated values to calculate the actual position would require multiple iterations
Calibration values between segments should stay relatively stable
9 December 2018

13. Auditing All unofficial results from scoring program are audited
Three race officials independently audit results:
Race Auditor – Adam Monroe
Technology Director – William Shih
One additional intern/judge
Results are announced in morning drivers’ meetings
Once results are announced, they are uploaded to web site for public viewing
Teams may protest results following procedure set in Rule 28
9 December 2018

14. Program Errors
Program is written in Visual Basic and attempts to address all situations that may arise
Sometimes, the program may crash during the day
Race results are stored on laptop in a database and text file, allowing auditors to retrieve them at the end of the day
Judges are equipped with pen/paper in case the program crashes
Judges are in communication with the Race Technology Director and Race Technical Director to help resolve program issues
9 December 2018

15. Contact Information
William Shih
Technology Director
12711 Hadley Street #6
Whittier, California 90601
Cell:
Work:
Home:
Feel free to contact me any time if you have questions, comments, suggestions, etc.
9 December 2018