Sci-Fi Vehicles

Sci-Fi Vehicles

Saba Ghole and Andrew Todd Marcus

Zoom your way through this studio by building your own RC model of a sci-fi vehicle! Learn about all the components that make your vehicle vroom: motors, batteries, engines, radio signals, types of chassis and wheels, and robotic intelligence.

In this studio, students will be constructing an electric vehicle with a sci-fi theme. They will also evaluate the merits of nitro and gasoline combustion. Students will ride the waves of radio frequency and modulation, thus understanding how transmitters and receivers communicate. Other topics of discussion include on-road versus off-road suspension, how RC models compare to full-sized cars, and levels of robotic intelligence (automaton, remote control, teleoperation, full autonomy). Students will experience the hands-on joy of soldering, drilling, and building circuits before applying a custom paint job for the finishing touch. Then it’s off to the races in a final exhibition where the fantasy cars whoosh to save the world!

Focus Skills/Subjects/Technologies:

  Design

  Physics (Electricity, Magnetism)

  Engineering

  Programming

  Electronics

  Robotics (Arduino)

  Sensors & Actuators

  Digital Fabrication (Laser-cutting, 3d Printing)

  3d Modeling