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Five senior mechanical engineering majors are set to unveil Intimidator, a robot that will compete this summer on the nationally aired Comedy Central program “BattleBots,” noon today in Acopian Engineering Center room 239.
At the demonstration, Intimidator will be showcased and group members will discuss their design experiences and explain its features. They are hoping to pass the torch to fellow mechanical engineering majors interested in participating in next year’s competition.
Melissa Jackson of Clifton Park, N.Y.; Kelly Martin of Farmington, Conn.; Krista Moody of Woodbury, Conn.; John Ritter of West Chester, Pa.; and Fran Schadler of Bethlehem, Pa., tackled this challenge as part of their senior design project.
Under the guidance of Leonard Van Gulick, Matthew Baird Professor of Mechanical Engineering, the team improved a 209-pound robot called Bacchus, which was designed and manufactured by 2001 graduates John Fink (York, Pa), Matt Leis (Whitestone, N.Y.), Doug Fish (Londonderry, Vt.), and Chris Therkorn (Milltown, N.J.). In competition, Bacchus racked up four wins, including two by knockout, advancing to the final 16 in a field of more than 100 entries in the heavyweight class. It is ranked 12th in the heavyweight division, according to the BattleBot web site.
“Since we redesigned a BattleBot that was ranked nationally, we are confident that it will perform well at the competition,” says Jackson.
The students say they selected the Bacchus design over Thor, last year’s robot, because it was successful in competition, lightweight, and affordable to repair.
“We’ve performed extensive stress calculations on the flipping arm, our primary weapon,” adds Jackson. “The arm had trouble supporting a load in the previous competition. We also lowered the ground clearance and have a better motor and batteries.”
“We are learning a lot about industry and how things function outside the classroom,” adds Moody. “Our components need to be outsourced, so we are learning to deal with vendors and how to piece things together.”
Martin says the project is providing first-hand design experience and serves as a great lesson in teamwork.
“This project is not as structured as a course,” she explains. “We have to do a lot of work on our own. It is helping us learn what engineers typically do.”
“We are applying the engineering principles and baseline knowledge we learned in our classes,” notes Moody. “This project is helpful because it is showing us how to apply the skills we learned in class in real-world situations. There are also many good faculty members who are always willing to help.”
Airing at 8 p.m. on Saturdays, BattleBots pits robots equipped with armor, knives, claws, and spinning blades against one another. The bots vie for supremacy in the Battlebox arena. “Engineered for maximum safety on the outside and supreme torture on the inside,” the Battlebox presents challenges independent of rival bots’ weaponry. These obstacles include kill saws, ramrods, spikes, a vortex, and other impediments. Battles are set for three or five minutes and end when one robot is immobilized or the time has elapsed.