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Use of GPS for props


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Just read Screamer's question in the Cadets topic about stages and got to thinking (oh, oh). If not already available, could a corps have built a means to move their props (they would have to be manageable size wise) by battery operated motors that are GPS programmed for each field before the corps goes on? Can a GPS be programmed for multiple positions over a course of a show? I don't know if the DCI rules cover something like this, but if not covered there shouldn't be any restrictions on doing it. A couple of staff/volunteers could drive ahead of the corps to their next show location and set up the numbers. Since visual sores are so important, this would allow 20+ mm to keep on marching, twirling, spinning, dancing, playing, etc.

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Was the no motor rule in place before Father Ryan's WGI show with the self-driving snare drums?

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I don't think the civilian version of GPS is accurate enough for Drum Corps. Yes, it can be used for surveying, but it takes 24 hours to get a precision reading. Unless things have changed ....

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I'd use GPS for props. For instance - in the Alamodome I'd set all the props to travel to Houston. Keeps the field clean.

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GPS probably wouldn't be the best bet, cause like you said it would require new calibration per field and the indoor fields would cause a lot of trouble. Maybe more of a localized triangulation set up? Four signal generators on the corners of the field and each stage has a receiver that calculates its position... Trick would be accounting for the echo of the signal as it bounces off of the stadium wall, but that's not impossible. Some sort of holonomic drive for omnidirectional movement... Definitely in the realm of possibility... Shame there's a no motor rule...

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