Posted by Nate Smith.
Other on team #66, GM Powertrain/Willow Run HS, from Eastern Michigan University and GM Powertrain.
Posted on 9/20/2000 9:31 AM MST
Well, we don't even know what this year's game is yet, but the time has come to start planning some other parts of the upcoming season, including the GMCIA scouting network. For those of you who are new to the competition and aren't familiar with what the GMCIA is, it is a shared scouting network, where the participating teams decide on a common set of scouting criteria and then gather information on the teams at the regionals that they attend, culminating the season with a setup at Nationals that combines all the information gathered previously with information collected at the national competition itself. For those of you who worked with the network last year, here's a few of the new features in the works for 2001:
- A single-database system, instantly connecting the Palm/Visor users and the web system users.
- An improved web access system, allowing record editing and data analysis without leaving the browser.
- NetSync technology, allowing full database access without being connected to the network, and synchronizing with the master database when you reconnect to the network (Windows only)
- Robot Pictures included with all reports.
- 'Informant' regional event software, that allows downloading of the latest information from the Internet before an event, and uploading of new information after the regional, without duplicating any data in the master database.
All of the same reports will be available as last year, with possibly a couple more if everything works out. The Informant software will be available by the first set of regionals, with the LAN/web interface undergoing first field testing at either the Great Lakes or Midwest regional(still TBD).
Last year, we had over 1,500 records in the database in Florida, with even more anticipated this coming season. Interested in being a part of GMCIA? Please e-mail me at
njsmith@online.emich.edu so I can add your team to the list(Please include GMCIA in the subject line of your e-mail). If you have any questions regarding the GMCIA, feel free to e-mail me as well. I am asking that you e-mail rather than post a reply under this message so that it is easier for me to keep track of those teams who are interested.
See you at the competition!
Nate Smith