Midde School Final Challenge Complete!

After weeks of hard work designing, building, and programming a Mars rover, four middle school teams headed out to the gym to put it all to the test. These robots were created entirely from scratch--no instructions, no plans, just the student teams and their own wits! The goal was to create a remote-controlled robot that could collect four 3D printed "Mars rocks" as quickly as possible, using whatever means necessary.

Team 1 (Sam, Cole, Nik, and Pedro) went for an asymmetrical design, driven by two strong rubber wheels in the back. An arm with a claw lowered down on one side to scoop up the rocks, bringing them up and over to drop into a large hopper, with more than enough capacity for all four rocks.

Team 1 presents their design to the class

Team 3 (Conner, Brennan, Isaac, and Tessa) decided to maximize speed and agility above all else. They gave their robot a very simple platform on the front, with a swinging arm to contain a single rock at a time. This meant that they would have to exit and re-enter the circle each time to extract their rocks.

Team 3 shows their simple but fast design

Team 4 (David, Samy, and Belen) went for a longer model with more than enough internal capacity for four rocks. Completely unique to the competition, they designed a "paddle wheel" on the front to sweep the rocks right into the belly of the robot. This all made for more difficult turning, but an efficient collection method.

Team 4 shows the longest design in the competition

Lastly, Team 26 (Todd, Ashlynne, and Deacon) designed a big, bulky robot with both caterpillar tracks and rubber wheels. Team 26 was the only team to employ two computers onboard, to account for their large number of motors. A robot arm reached over the front of the robot to close onto the rocks, before lifting them up into the hopper behind.

Team 26 shows the class their hybrid machine

After a day of presenting and time trials, the students played it out in the gym, with parents and fellow students cheering on. Each team scored at least one victory against someone else, although by the end of the first day, it was clear that Team 3 had an obvious speed advantage. With each round of play, they perfected their technique to get faster and faster!

Mr. Meadth and the crowd look on as Team 26 positions for another run;

Team 4 paddles its way forward unhindered

Brennan and Conner from Team 3 close in on another rock; Todd and Deacon

from Team 26 try to co-ordinate their efforts

Samy from Team 4 takes a turn at the controls while David

and Belen look on

On the second day of competition, the students knew it was time for the eliminations. Team 26 and Team 4 had given the shakiest performances up to this point, although both had won a victory against each other. Fighting for the best of three saw a victory in 1:03 for Team 4, then a victory in 1:15 for Team 26. With scores tied, Team 4 pushed through in their fastest performance yet, with an astounding 0:54. Team 26 eliminated!

Samy, holding three, anxiously waits for the fourth rock to

be collected by David

Ashlynne, having positioned Team 26's robot, looks on as Deacon steers it

toward the goal

In the next elimination round, the bulkier Team 1 faced off against the more agile Team 3. In a quick series of best of three, Team 3 established dominance, putting their fastest time on the board of four rocks in 0:30. Team 1 put in a valiant effort, but could not keep up and was eliminated.

Team 1 scoops up their second rock in the elimination round

Conner from Team 3 positions the robot as Brennan gets ready to make a run for

the pink rock

The very long Team 4 and the very quick Team 3 went through to the final round, for another best of three. Tensions were high, and Team 4 started off strong. Team 3 went straight into their typical repertoire: run in, grab, get out, repeat. Like a well-oiled machine, Team 3 took home a victory in 0:50. In the second of three, Team 4 came close to victory, but Team 3 once again won with 1:12--notabley, not as fast as Team 4's best time. However, a third round showed that, without a doubt, Team 3 deserved the grand prize!

Team 4 (left) and Team 3 fly into action in the final round

Already holding two, Team 4 (left) narrowly misses their next red rock, while

Team 3 closes in on the teal one

The winning students were awarded with gift cards and one of the rocks they had fought so hard to collect. Smiles all round, and we'll see what the Final Challenge had to hold in store next year!

Mr. Meadth congratulates Tessa, Conner, Brennan, and Isaac for a job well done

All the students with their robots at the end of the tournament

Field Trip: CMC Rescue

Last Friday, the Providence Engineering Academy was given the opportunity to visit CMC Rescue in Goleta. CMC Rescue designs, tests, manufactures, and assembles a wide range of safety and climbing gear, such carabiners, pulleys, harnesses and rope. The class was warmly received by Tyler Mayer, their Engineering Manager, along with several other members of the engineering team.

The Providence Engineering Academy meets with Tyler (far left) in the

conference room; Eva (far right) looks over the latest CMC pulley design

After being introduced in the conference room, and letting the students look over some new products, Tyler and the team brought the students backstage into the testing area. Safety glasses on!

The CMC team had arranged for a live materials tensile test, giving our students a chance to see some real design work in action. A bright red 1/2" rope was wrapped securely around two ends of a testing rig, and a hydraulic ram was used to stretch it to the breaking point. To make it more exciting, the students were asked to guess how far the rope would stretch before breaking, and mark it on the machine. They also wrote down how much tensile load they thought it would take.

Students watch the rope being pulled to breaking--note the acrylic shield between

the students and the test specimen!

We're proud to say that Jake in 11th Grade won in both categories, with a ridiculously long length marked off and a tensile load guess of 2,500 lb (more than 11,000 newtons, for us international types). The actual tensile breaking load was around 3,800 lb, which is the weight of a small car! Isabelle, also in 11th Grade, was a close second in the load category at 2,222 lb, so Jake and Isabelle were rewarded with their very own heavy-duty CMC Rescue carabiner—with their name engraved on it by the CMC laser cutter!

The class watches as the rope stretches well past anybody's estimation!

Aaron and Eva watch as the laser cutter works its electromagnetic magic

From there, the class took a walk through the rest of the testing and manufacturing facility. CMC has constructed an impressive indoor "playground", welded together out of shipping containers, that allows them to simulate rescue scenarios (escaping out of a burning building, for example). The students peeked inside to see the network of tunnels and a fake grain hopper. Unfortunately, no volunteer equipment testing was enacted!

Tyler shows the class the indoor equipment testing facility

After passing through the in-house sewing manufacturing zone, the students arrived back in the conference room, and were given the chance to put a new pulley design to the test. A broad steel beam ran the width of the conference room, and Aaron (10th Grade) and Eva (9th Grade) were placed into a typical safety harness, and then hoisted up by their classmates. The mechanical advantage of a compound pulley system was made apparent, multiplying force dramatically.

Eva hoists Aaron off the floor; her force is multiplied by a factor of four, but she

has to pull the rope four times as far

As a final test—not to mention a shameless photo opportunity—the class lifted Mr. Meadth up as well. We're glad to report that the equipment worked as designed!

Mr. Meadth gets a lift!

All good things must come to an end, and this field trip was no exception. Tyler generously gave each student a smaller carabiner as a parting gift, and the students paused for a final photo. We're hopeful that we might once again take a walk through the company facility someday, and in the meantime, the students are energized for the practical design process. Thanks, CMC Rescue!

(All photos by Tys vanZeyl)