In our Methods in Technology Education class, we were challenged to construct a rover that could efficiently plant seeds across a simulated Mars surface. We worked with two elementary students through the engineering design process to bring our rover to life.
Out of 10 teams, we earned 2nd place!
Us and our student, Caroline!
Our student, Jackson, working on the final warm-up activity!
We would meet with the students biweekly to work through two steps of the engineering design process during each visit.
1. Defining the Problem & Brainstorming Possible Solutions
Our first lesson revolved around establishing the issue at hand: Needing to plant seeds on Mars so that it would be habitable. The students began to brainstorm possible rovers that could help us accomplish this through building their ideas out of pipe cleaners.
This was the mission briefing that was given to the students on our first day.
The students explored what makes Earth inhabitable in the first half of the lesson with 3D printed and laser cut figurines.
2. Research Ideas & Establish Criteria/Constraints
During this lesson, the students first created research PowerPoints where they picked out images relating to seed-dispensing equipment, rovers, and space vehicles.
For the second half, we conducted a Bingo-style scavenger hunt around our MakerSpace to find all of the tools they would be allowed to use to build their rover. The students then used the remaining time to begin rapidly prototyping their initial ideas with the constraints now in place.
3. Consider Alternative Solutions & Selecting an Approach
To explore alternative solutions to the problem, the students spent a great deal of class rapidly prototyping several ideas. One student focused on the seed dispenser, while the other worked on constructing a body for the rover. After finishing their three designs each, we chose one from each category and decided that would be our approach for the rest of the semester.
One of the first iterations of our design.
4. Develop a Design Proposal & Make a Model or Prototype
After selecting our approach, we developed three design goals to include in our proposal: 1) Move in a straight line down the entirety of the track 2) Drop seeds along the track on the targets 3) Be sturdy enough to bear the weight of both control modules. With these goals in mind, the students continued to prototype and refine their finalized ideas and kept testing their rover on the track. After class, my partner and I recreated their prototypes out of more quality materials to prepare for the next meeting.
5. Test and Evaluate & Refine the Design
This lesson revolved primarily around testing the rover we had, evaluating what went wrong/right each trial, and then rapidly iterating to come up with solutions. We tested the rover five times, then returned to take note of the results and discuss what went wrong. We then made a list of our primary issues, and began to prototype solutions. We then decided which changes worked best, and decided to improve those on our final rover.
6. Create the Solution & Communicate the Results
The final rover was made primarily of foam board and plywood that was cut on a laser cutter. Using plywood allowed us to mount our control modules safely on the rover, and the foam board helped make a flexible base and seed dispenser. The red cylinder housed the seeds (skittles) and would rotate to deposit them onto the track.
Here is a video of our final run in the competition. You can see the seed dispenser rotated to deposit seeds at random. It worked well!
