Teaser Article

A VEXciting New Experiment

By Dustin Brandl

This article is written about Dustin Brandl, 17, a senior at the Marine Academy of Science and Technology. He is from Farmingdale, New Jersey, which is a part of the Freehold Regional Sending District.  He is partnered with CJ Bzozowski, also 17, on the VEX Robotics senior project.

The Directed Field Research class offered at the Marine Academy of Science and Technology, Sandy Hook, NJ, has a multitude of projects presented before the class of 2012 that opted to be a part of this class.  This article focuses on one project and student in particular, Dustin Brandl and the VEX Robotics.  For this class, the VEX Robot must complete a set of aquatic challenges.  The aquatic challenge includes a series of challenges based off of the Coast Guard challenges.

The VEX Robotics system is designed to create an interesting opportunity for students learn about science, technology, engineering, and math, STEM.  The VEX Robotics system not only encourages STEM skills, but it also encourages more personable skills such as teamwork, problem solving, and leadership.  Brandl’s individual design brief is to design and construct all of the electrical components in order to successfully meet the criteria for each challenge.

The set of challenges for the VEX Robotics teams was designed from the Coast Guard Academy STEM challenge.   Another member of a different VEX team constructed a challenge course to test the groups’ ability to solve problems and work together to achieve a goal.  The set of challenges include placing a ball through a hoop, tugging a friendly vessel, planting a buoy, and sinking an enemy vessel.

The most important STEM calculation, by far, was the buoyancy and stability.  If the final product is not able to float or stay stable in the water, the team then has just wasted a lot of the school’s money and must pay it back to the school.  Buoyancy is found with three factors that were available to these students.  These are mass of the robot, density of the robot, and density of the surrounding liquid.  If the liquid’s density is greater than the robot’s density, then it floats; if not, it sinks.

The final product was shown at Building 77 on the MAST Campus on May 10, 2012.  The challenge being displayed will be the water challenge; the viewers of the presentation saw the final product to place a ball through a hoop, tug a friendly vessel, plant a buoy, and sink an enemy vessel.  Also, one can expect a presentation recapitulating the work, time, and effort that was put into this project.

Brandl and Brzozowski had a few professionals to help them along the way of construction.  These people helped the VEX duo throughout the way of construction by answering any questions that they had.  Some of the things they needed to know were the types of propellers to use, how to calculate buoyancy, and how exactly gear-ratios work.  Another important issue that the mentors addressed was the waterproofing of the electronics.  Brandl used plastic bags to surround the most important mechanical apparatuses.

            Brandl and Brzozowski have dedicated their senior year to this project.  They researched VEX robotics and robotics in general.  They created different ideas using VEX pieces and their own ingenuity in order to complete the tasks set before them; these included, placing a ball through a hoop, tugging a friendly vessel, planting a buoy, and sinking an enemy vessel.  The final presentation of the robot will truly a VEXperience one would not to miss.