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Rules

Launch Rules

The spirit of the competition is to develop a mechanical device to launch the dog; no devices that require explosives/propellants/compressed gas/etc will be allowed. Human-assisted propulsion will not be permitted (you may not throw the dog).

• Time: Each team is allowed five minutes in the launch area to set up and launch five dogs.
• Device: The entire device must be entirely contained within the launch area during all stages of all five launch operations.
• Dog: All dogs will be supplied by the School of Engineering at the time of competition; team members shall not make any alterations to the competition dogs. Practice dogs will be available for use on the morning of the event. Example dogs are available for viewing in the School of Engineering main office and are available for purchase at the bookstore.
• Trigger: The launching device must include a trigger mechanism. The trigger mechanism must maintain the device as “ready to fire” without any human interaction. In other words, asking the trigger person to hold back a slingshot does not qualify as a trigger mechanism. When the team in the batter’s box pronounces their device to be ready, the trigger person will load a competition dog and actuate the trigger mechanism.

Team Rules

• Players: Each team will consist of 5-6 players, all of whom must be enrolled in ENGR 101.

Construction Rules

• All construction must take place in your team’s assigned room by team members using the provided hand tools.
• Each team will be given a set of materials for construction (contents of which will be revealed on the competition day).  Teams are free to use any or all pieces, but each piece will come with a cost and a sustainability score, so choose wisely. 
• Teams can help lower their costs and raise their sustainability score by bringing items from home (please do not purchase these items specifically for the competition):
  • Up to 2 empty soda bottles (no larger than 2 liter sized)
  • Up to 1 empty cardboard box (copy paper sized)
  • Up to 4 empty paper towel/toilet paper rolls (no larger than paper towel sized)
• Only items listed above are allowed from home.  All other materials will be supplied by the School of Engineering.