UAlberta mechanical engineering students Xiaohan Yan, Karlie Lobreau, Trevor Cloutier and Ryan Grunwald perform last-minute adjustments before putting their robotic vehicle to the test.
Edmonton-Mechanical engineering students are asked to exercise their creativity in their first engineering design course. And when their assignment is based on a Disneyland ride, they take it up a notch.
More than 25 teams of students in the Mechanical Design I course were given an assignment to design and build a robotic vehicle capable to driving through a maze filled with tight corners and take photos of targets along the way to the finish line. Inspired by the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride at Disneyland, the challenge brought out the best in students.
Taught by mechanical engineering professor Pierre Mertiny, the program is the first design course that mechanical engineering students take. In it, each student team is given the same package of materials, along with access to the Department of Mechanical Engineering's state-of-the-art machine shop-including the use of 3-D printers and support of the shop's technicians.
Students learn more than the science behind designing a vehicle-they also learn how to work as a team, how to arrive at decisions and how to meet tight deadlines.
"We spent a lot of hours in group meetings," said Karlie Lobreau, a second-year mechanical engineering student. "The biggest challege was figuring out which design we wanted to go with."
Lobreau says the team members used a decision-making matrix that they learned about in class to settle on a final design based on five criteria they thought were key to a winning vehicle.
For most of the students, the entire process is new territory. But some have a bit of an advantage because of participation in student vehicle projects.
Student Gordon Miller says his experience volunteering for the Faculty of Engineering's Aero Heavy Lift Group, which designs and builds aircraft and takes part in international competitions, was a great help.
"Because I am a member of the Heavy Lift Group," he said. "I had a bit of experience with design, and that helped."
But no matter what a student's background or level of experience, the students seemed unanimous in saying the course is one of the best they've ever taken.
"This is by far the most sophisticated design challenge I've ever been in," said student Brian Ewasiuk. "If I were to give this course a grade it would get 10 out of 10 for sure. You can see how this directly prepares you for future jobs."
Media coverage: