Project Details
[Return to Previous Page]Ride Dirt Not Mud!
Company: Nittany Mountain Biking Association (NMBA)
Major(s):
Primary: EE
Secondary: CMPEN
Optional: CMPSC, ME
Non-Disclosure Agreement: NO
Intellectual Property: NO
In 2022, the Nittany Mountain Biking Association and Harvest Fields Community Church partnered to build the Centre region's first mountain bike skills park…Hamer Park in Boalsburg PA. This project is a huge community success but not without some challenges. It takes an enormous volunteer effort to keep a park like this in good condition and safe for all ages / abilities. Frequent summer storms and spring freeze / thaw conditions in the spring often create soft and muddy conditions. During these conditions, the dirt trails and features are very susceptible to damage caused by ruts from tires which form low spots that cause the trails to hold even more water and then stay muddy for extended periods. Damage also causes additional volunteer effort since this park is non-profit with no paid maintenance staff. The objective of this project is to provide an automated solution to notify the public of conditions and open / closed status. Ideally, this would be communicated in two ways, (1) at the bike park in some visual and / or physical form and (2) over the internet via the website below. Bonus points for automating social media updates in an engaging and informative way! Deliverables: Automate a physical and / or visual signal at the entrance of the park to inform potential users. Currently, all that exists is signage that requests riders to use their judgment to “Ride Dirt not Mud” along with a short explanation of why. Neighborhood kids, some parents and “shred bros” who have driven long distances to ride the park seem to be easily confused by this request and often pretend to not notice the signage. We need something obvious and that cannot be ignored. Automate a status banner at the top of the following page: https://nittanymba.org/harvest-fields/#:~:text=Harvest%20Fields%20Mountain%20Bike%20Skills,for%20progression%20at%20multiple%20levels Currently, a static banner reads "All Open! RIDE DIRT; NOT MUD. Please AVOID Hamer Park and trails when muddy." This banner is left up during the riding season and changed once a year manually. The desire is to automate this banner in order to notify the public of the closed / open status of the park based on current weather conditions (at the park). Ideally this would be up to date by the hour and bonus points for adding info about actual soil and weather conditions. Accurate means to accomplish the above could be (but not limited to) soil moisture, temperature, sunlight, wind and rainfall sensors. Solutions are not limited to physical sensors but accuracy is essential and must not rely solely on regional forecasts or history since rainfall amounts can be highly localized…especially during thunderstorms. Sensing / measurement data of actual conditions could also train machine learning to provide predictive forecasts for future conditions. This project could be multi-disciplinary, containing mechanical, electrical and software engineering components. The preceding paragraph is only meant to provide suggestions…innovative and novel solutions are highly encouraged! Additional info: Check out a video of the bike park here: https://nittanymba.org/harvest-fields/#:~:text=Harvest%20Fields%20Mountain%20Bike%20Skills,for%20progression%20at%20multiple%20levels
