By Zahra Debbek, Voiland College of Engineering & Architecture
PULLMAN, Wash. – Mechanical engineering students will show off their robotic skills to the public during a competition at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering Building, Room 152, at Washington State University.
The annual project for the ME 401 mechatronics class was made more appealing by adding the optional midterm contest, said Paul Swensen, assistant professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. While students will be graded on in-class performance, 14 teams will compete against each other just for fun in two-minute head-to-head matches.
The robots are made of sensors, motors and microcontroller boards. They will be challenged to perform as “gatherers” or “hunters,” depending on the code activated.
“The performances and the demonstrations are very impressive,” said Yeasir Arafat, graduate student and teaching assistant in the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture. “Finishing this project will be very useful for students in their industrial fields in the future.”