Colorado State University Walking Machine To Defend International Title In Mexico City
Thursday, April 10, 1997
Note to editors: Media interested in filming or taking
photographs of the walking machines during the final stages
of construction or practice runs may make arrangements
through the Public Relations office, (970) 491-6432.
FORT COLLINS--Colorado State University's walking machine
team will defend its title at an international competition later
this month in Mexico--this time with two computerized walking
machines.
The Colorado State team, composed of 10 undergraduate
engineering students, has won the Society of Automotive Engineers
Robotic Walking Machine Decathlon in seven of the past 10 years.
The annual competition, scheduled this year on April 26 and 27 at
the Universidad de PanAmerica in Mexico City, challenges
undergraduate students from around the world to design the best
and fastest walking machines.
The competition will feature 14 teams from the United
States, Canada, France and Mexico. Design and construction of the
1997 walking machines began at Colorado State last August, when
engineering students applied to become members of the team.
This year's team, with nine students in mechanical
engineering and one in electrical engineering, includes seniors
Mathew Miscio and John Murphy, team captains; seniors Vanessa
Bates, Jay Greener, Doug Groenewald, Troy Hanson, Mike Padilla
and Chris Turner; and sophomores Mathew Cole and Kerrie Thompson.
Miscio estimates team members have invested between 30 and 50
hours each week improving the machines' design and mechanical
abilities. The students carry the project from beginning to end,
including fund-raising, design, production, assembly and testing.
"The students who are involved in this project are pretty
dedicated because we all want to see our team succeed," Miscio
said. "The hands-on experience we get creating mechanical devices
and testing them in an international competition is invaluable."
For the first time, the Colorado State team will enter two
walking machines in the decathlon. The first machine, Explorer-
III, is a redesigned and rebuilt version of last year's
successful model. The team designed and installed an optical
system that enables the machine to see and retrieve objects as
well as avoid obstacles.
The second creation--called Spider--is a much smaller and
therefore much riskier design. The new walking machine has eight
legs and measures about 11 inches tall, 11 inches wide and 20
inches long. It also is navigated by an internal computer
program, which uses a laser to check its position on the course
each second. The Spider is designed to move up to 36 inches per
second, compared with the Explorer-III, which walks 28 inches per
second.
"Spider is much riskier because it is so different from past
designs," Miscio said. "But we wanted to create something that
was smaller, lighter and faster than the larger walking machines
typical in competition."
The walking machine competes in 10 events, which include
running a dash, locating and retrieving a small pebble and
returning it to the starting line, walking around a pylon in the
center of the course, completing a tire obstacle course, and
walking over a hill with an incline of 20 degrees. Teams score
points based on how well their robots perform the task, with more
difficult tasks earning more points. Machines programmed
internally to compete in events on their own score more points
than machines operated by remote control.
The walking machines also are judged in four design
categories: aesthetics, structural integrity, safety, and start-
up and testing. Each team also submits a technical paper and
makes a presentation on their models.
"Colorado State has a long tradition of winning this event
and we look forward to continuing the tradition," Miscio said.
"This is an extremely challenging and fun project for all of the
team members involved."
Machine parts and financial contributions for the Colorado
State team were provided by the College of Engineering, the
departments of electrical and mechanical engineering, Woodward
Governor, Hanifen Imhoff, Grainger, T.H. Electronics, Gates
Rubber and Advanced Circuits.
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