MA 721: Group Project 1:

Sports Ground Illumination

Final presentation on December 1; final paper due on December 8.

Description

All sports that are played under floodlights have a set of criteria for the illumination of the sports ground. First, the level of illumination must be as high as possible. Second, it must be as uniform as possible. Depending on the level of competition, the criteria are different.

There are numerous floodlights available to get the required illumination. For each type of floodlight, tables exist from its manufacturers with the output in different directions.

However, with 36, 144, or 240 floodlights on masts around a field, it becomes very difficult to know where to aim each of the floodlights.

Question

Can you develop a method to tell the groundskeepers where each floodlight should be aimed to get the required illumination on the playing field? As a group, write a paper that is of journal quality.

You get 6 masts of floodlights. Start with a very small number of floodlights on each mast and work up to whatever you can. Place a grid over the playing field (pick a sport such as football or baseball) to measure the illumination properties.

Cheers,
Craig C. Douglas