🚀 go-pugleaf

Hmmm... I think my point was not very clear (about the comm-link via wire
instead of radio.)

First of all it was intended to replace the RF transmission link ONLY.  Not to
supply power or the ability to remove the need for on-board computing devices.
The 3 second delay should be required on both the video and the data lines.  And
can be implemented the SAME way that it will have to be done for the RF links.

The general purpose for this sugestion was to allow student groups studying areas
like robotics for manufacturing and such (where RF is might not be used
and therfore not learned by the individual) participate in an event like this.

As far as radio *simulation* goes, (as I stated earlier) the bit stream(s) can be
messed with as needed to generate *bad packets* and require retransmission or
what ever.  And video the same way.  I wasn't thinking of a "toggle switch"
where the communications would just be removed for X ammount of time.  I suppose
it would also be fair to not generate RF errors and limit the bit rate to
something that is low enough to represent the average thruput of the RF link.

I wasn't thinking when I forgot about the change in the power requirements this
would cause (in the favor of the machines w/o radios.)  Oops.  But at the same
time, haven't you??  I would think that a link to another planet would require
more power than a link 1000 feet!   And besides, it would probably be more
dificult to get such a link operating in a place like Chicago than it would be
in Oregon (where this contest is to occur.)  Ever use cellular out here?
There are also a fair ammount of folks Hamming.  (I suppose I am nit-picking
now, so I'll stop.)

And finally I sugested this as a category that COULD be on its own (the
origional posting had a selection of categories) and as such it would not
compete directly with the others.  

My comment that this would "even up the competition" was intended for the 
competition as a whole.  As in everyone should be subjected to the same sort of
communications errors and delay problems.


--
! John Winans                     Advanced Computing Research Facility  !
! winans@mcs.anl.gov              Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois !
!                                                                       !
!"The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away"-- Tom Waits  !