Safety Rules

General Safety

  1. Teams are not permitted on track while Go-Karts are running.
    • If a team needs to retrieve a Go-Kart then the team must wait for all Go-Karts to stop on track and the team has been given approval from race officials.

Required Safety Components

  1. Urgent Stop
    • All teams must prove that they have a switch to trigger an Urgent Stop that has the go-kart come to a safe stop.
      • Urgent Stop must trigger if a controller leaves range or disconnects.
    • Urgent Stop must be commandable through software
    • Methods of stopping:
      • Automatic stopping on Software Command or Physical Controller trigger.
      • Switching to RC control to stop.
  2. Remote Estop must be tied to at minimum a physical controller.
    1. Off the shelf Emergency Stop systems are allowed as long as they do not interfere with the track and has a physical trigger.
    2. Remote Estop should initiate an Urgent Stop AND Disconnect power to the Drivetrain.
  3. Physical Estop that is clearly labelled and cuts all power to the kart.
    • Physical switch must exist on go-kart to disconnect ALL power on the go-kart
      • Minimum of 1 switch, if there are multiple switches then any 1 switch must disconnect all power.
      • Must be a Push-Button style Emergency Stop Switch.
      • Can be remote controlled --not required
    • Team must explain all kill-switches in inspection
  4. Moving Commponents must have covers to prevent risk of injury or damage.
    1. Chains must have chain covers.
  5. There must be no exposed sharp edges on the kart.
  6. Front and Rear bumpers are required.
    1. Bumpers cannot be custom made and must be purchased.

Remote Control

  1. Remote Control is needed to drive the kart in and out of the pits.
  2. Remote Control is needed to drive around other teams that may be on track during practice.
  3. The Remote Estop controller is required to reach at minimum 200 meters line of sight to the kart.

Enforcement

  1. Before a kart is allowed to run on the track it must undergo safety inspections and comply with all rules set forth in this document.
    1. Team Safety Officers must be present for that team's inspection.
  2. Inspections may consist of the following:
    1. Visual inspections.
    2. Physical inspections.
    3. Document inspections.

Resources

The following resources are not affiliated with Autonomous Karting Series Inc. but are included to aid teams in finding and sourcing components.

Bodywork

Long Range Control (Including Remote EStop)