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

The Swinging Machine is a robot that swings sideways and swings over itself to move forward. Our first prototype model was made out of cardboard so we could get a sense on what we were making. Our second prototype was made out of wood, and we attached servos to them, so we could test if the robot actually worked. We also changed our hand design. Instead of using electomagnets, we designed a clamp design. We originally decided that we wanted to make our final project out of acrylic but the acrylic kept on braking. We made a few adjustments, and eventually decided to make the Swinging Machine out of wood instead of acrylic.

The OmniCar exists in a future overpopulated world. It serves the function of allowing the driver to avoid other drivers and people with its agile maneuverability. The original idea for the OmniCar was to have three spherical drive wheels. We redesigned the OmniCar because we realized that getting the three powered wheels to be coordinated would be nearly impossible to accomplish in two weeks. We decided on one large wheel because the car would work just as well with one drive wheel and it would not require complex coordination. Along with the original three wheeled design, we were going to have an accelerometer in the palm of our hand and a knob to turn for throttle control. We changed this design slightly, and excluded the knob and instead just kept the accelerometer. The direction and speed are now controlled by tilting the glove that the electronics are attached to. We left the car uncovered to show the drive wheel and how it works.

The next thing that we would do is improve the drive wheel to increase the speed and to improve the stepper motor that we used to turn the gears to give it better functionality. One of our biggest challenges was that we spent a lot of our time designing parts that would later become unnecessary. Another big challenge that we faced was that the stepper motor did not turn the drive motor to the correct angle because it did not have enough torque to overcome the resistance of the gears.

The OmniCar exists in a future overpopulated world.  It serves the function of allowing the driver to avoid other drivers and people with its maneuverability.  The original idea for the OmniCar was to have three spherical drive wheels.  We redesigned it because getting the three powered wheels to be coordinated would be nearly impossible to accomplish in two weeks.  We decided on one wheel because the car would work just as well with one drive wheel becaue it would not require complex coordination.  Along with the original three wheeled design, we were going to have an accelerometer in the palm of our hand and a knob to turn for throttle control.  We changed this design to not hava a knob and instead just have an accelerometer.  The direction and speed are now controlled by tilting the glove that the electronics are attached to.  We left the car uncovered to show the drive wheel and how it works. The next thing that we would do is improve the drive wheel to increase the speed and to improve the stepper motor that we use to turn the gears to give it better function. One of our biggest challenges was that we spent a lot of our time designing parts that would later become unnecessary. Another big challenge that we faced was that the stepper motor did not turn the drive motor to the correct angle because it did not have enough torque to overcome the resistance of the gears.