Mousetrap energy powers robots in engineering class

Last year it was cars—this year it is robots, but the object is still the same: Predict how a device will perform, and match those predictions in actual competition against fellow first-year mechanical engineering majors.

Recently, a 22-team field of students from “Introduction To Mechanical Engineering” met in 130 Sharp Laboratory to take part in the “MEEG 101 Celebration,” to determine which robot would store the most potential energy by lifting a weight.

The robots, each powered by a single mousetrap furnished by a mechanical engineering instructor, were a combination of framing lumber, Lincoln Logs, eyehooks and duct tape. One team even sported a used cement block as part of its lifting unit.

Through a series of strategically placed pulleys, cardboard wheels, string and levers, students put the robots through their paces, hoping to match their performances with their predictions—all while lifting the most weight to the greatest height.

Individual team performances were carefully monitored and measured according to the guidelines established by a new Robot Performance Score (RPS) system.

RPS factors used to determine which teams walked away with top honors included height of lift, energy generated by robots, cost ($5 maximum) and accuracy in prediction of unit performance.

“The premium is on accuracy—on seeing how close prediction matches performance,” Dick Wilkins, professor of mechanical engineering, said. “This all means that the students have had to do some serious testing beforehand.”

Surviving the first-round competition and a second-round, 10-team competition was the winning team of Jose Caba, Daniel Johnson, Scott Kasprzak and Ryan Yanek.

This competition was actually the second design project for the mechanical engineering students who recently completed building water-balloon launchers as part of a design-performance project.

“The students have gotten a couple of good chances to design devices,” Wilkins said. “It’s a good way to get students interested in doing things that mechanical engineers do in the real world.”

Wilkins said that such projects are beneficial because they generate a lot of feedback and give the students a chance to see what their classmates have been up to.

“The students were already graded on the steps they took prior to this point,” Wilkins said. “The whole idea of the competition is just to have some fun at the end of the semester.”

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