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>>Theresa Bierer: This sophomore level engineering class includes all the disciplines, mechanical
and electrical to civil and environmental engineering students. They are required to
design a game using robots and then build it.
>>Bridget Bero: The type of robot that they built was completely up to them and they had
to go through a step by step engineering design process to determine what is the best design.
So there is a lot of mechanical complexity here with learning gearing, driving the robots,
they have to program the robots, so the robots are remote controlled. So today is kind of
like their big final exam. >>Bierer: Students followed a short list of
game requirements. This group created a kind of robotic basketball game, designing a ball
launching device so players could shoot balls in the air trying to make them into bowls.
>>Josh Chiriboga: This project has been quite funny; because it's a game it allows us to
have fun with it and we've had some real complicated issues with Legos, how to throw a ball with
Legos is very difficult and that was really our biggest issue with this project.
>>Bierer: Josh Chiriboga says the other challenge was working with a large group, where each
person >>had an abundance of ideas. Chiriboga: This has been a ten person group;
other groups have been five people at the most, so this is really team coordination,
who's doing what to get things done. And that's really been where it's been the biggest challenge
is how to organize a team of ten people to work on one single project has been quite
the task. >>Bierer: And that task provided some of the
more enduring lessons, lessons these students will need as they continue their education
and begin their careers. >>Bero: One of the primary objectives of this
class is to develop the team skills and the management skills as well as to understand
the creative design process. That's sort of what drives the, when you're an engineer working
the field it's your ability to come up with ideas to solve problems. So it's kind of a
problem solving class but it's in a much broader scope
>>Bierer: There were six teams in this engineering class and this final project demonstration
wrapped up a semester of designing, planning, and building. An assignment most would agree
sounds like a fun way to learn.