Design News Seeks Gadget Freaks for Slot Car Race at Pacific Design & Manufacturing

Gadget freaks at the Pacific Design & Manufacturing show in Anaheim next week are in for a special treat: a chance to participate in a slot car competition on the show floor.

The Gadget Freak Workshop competition, sponsored by Allied Electronics and presented by Schneider Electric and Telemecanique Sensors, calls for participants to assemble a sensor-based system to measure the performance of the model cars, and then race those cars around the track.

Attendees at the Gadget Freak Workshop at next week’s Pacific Design & Manufacturing Show will have an opportunity to participate in a slot car competition.
(Source: Telemecanique Sensors)

“We’re trying to show engineers we have the components they need to build their gadgets,” noted Lisa Lea, media/production manager for Allied Electronics. “It’s a chance for them to learn about Allied Electronics and Telemecanique. And it’s a good break in the action.”

”Racers” at the Gadget Freak Workshop will be placed in two-person teams and then asked to install photoelectric and ultrasonic sensors on the track prior to each three-lap race. “It’s a race against each other for fun, but then the assembly and race times will be added together for the team time,” noted Allan Hottovy, an engineer at Telemecanique.

The Gadget Freak competition calls for participants to assemble a sensor-based system to measure the performance of the model cars before they race them around the on-site track.
(Source: Telemecanique Sensors)

Allied Electronics, along with Schneider Electric and Telemecanique Sensors, will offer a giveaway to all race participants. The companies will also give additional prizes to teams whose combined times are among the best over the course of two days of racing at Pacific Design & Manufacturing.

[Visit Schneider Electric at Booth 3230 at Pacific Design & Manufacturing, Feb. 9-11, at the Anaheim Convention Center.]

Hottovy, better known as “The Sensors Guy,” will also give presentations and conduct question-and-answer sessions about the Telemecanique sensors available from Allied Electronics.

The Gadget Freak Workshop will be held at Center Stage (Booth 455) at the Anaheim Convention Center on Tuesday, Feb. 9, from 12:15 – 1:15 p.m. and on Wednesday, Feb. 10, from noon to 1 p.m.

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Senior technical editor Chuck Murray has been writing about technology for 31 years. He joined Design News in 1987, and has covered electronics, automation, fluid power, and autos.