Engineering Olympics
Treforest Campus, University of South Wales
Wednesday 24 June 2015
9.15am–1.45pm
Time
Activity
9.15am
Arrival and Registration
9.30am
Welcome and Introductions
A brief introductory welcome from the School of Engineering at the University of
South Wales followed by an overview of the morning’s proceedings.
9.45am
Engineering at University and Career Prospects
Gain an insight into the different areas of study available at the University and the
opportunities available to engineering graduates.
10.00am
1.30pm
Opportunity for last minute building/questions
Our team of university staff will be on hand to aid with building/tweaking of
equipment.
Robo-Rally Competition
Egg High Jump
Bridge Design
Schools/Colleges will be
Competition
Competition
provided with an ASURO
Schools/Colleges will
Schools/Colleges will
robot kit in advance of the assemble a launch device
design and build a bridge,
day and challenged to
to launch a standard
fabricate and test their
assemble and programme chicken egg to achieve
model bridge until failure.
a two-wheeled robot to
maximum height possible
navigate an obstacle
and then return it safely to (Please see overleaf for
more details).
course.
the ground.
(Please see overleaf for
(Please see overleaf for
more details).
more details).
Lunch
(Please note that lunch will not be provided, however students can bring a packed
lunch or purchase lunch from our on-campus catering outlets).
Prizes and Presentation
1.45pm
Depart
10.45am
12.45pm
Robo-Rally Challenge
The competition will require participants to assemble and programme a two-wheeled robot
which will intelligently navigate an obstacle course, making use of the onboard sensors,
motor control algorithms and producing creative ideas on how the robot will respond. The
finished product will be demonstrated in the Engineering Olympics on 24 June 2015, with a
prize for the team with the quickest completion time. The University will supply each team
with the ASURO robot kit which will require some assembly and soldering work. The fully
assembled product will need to be programmed to control the motor’s speed and direction
along with reading the sensors’ values to help with the robot’s navigation. The robot will be
required to complete a two- stage course; the first stage is to follow a 2m curving black line,
using the line follower sensor on the underside of the robot. At the end of the curving black
and white track the robot enters a simple maze which will need to be navigated using the
front switch sensors. There will be numerous algorithms which may be adopted to complete
this task; the most efficient, well-thought out solution will navigate the course in the
quickest time. The organisers will have the right to modify the obstacle course, giving
participants two weeks’ notice of the modified layout.
600mm wall
Track width 150mm
300mm wall
300mm wall
300mm wall
300mm wall
FINISH
H
2m curved line
following section
START
Egg High Jump Challenge
Requirements
The aim is to launch a standard chicken egg to achieve the maximum possible height and
then return it safely to the ground. Each team can have up to three attempts at launching
their egg. The total height cleared will be the difference between the maximum height the
egg reaches and the point at which it is released. If the egg breaks, the jump is void.
Rules
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No electronics should be included in the design.
No ignitable propellants of any sort are permitted.
No compressed gasses of any sort are permitted.
The egg landing safety system must be fully incorporated with the egg. (The egg
cannot be caught by or land on the protection system).
The egg must be propelled using mechanical means.
The launcher must be portable.
The launcher can only be operated by 1 person.
The launcher cannot be fixed.
Each team will have 3 minutes to set-up their launcher and launch.
The competition area is 3m wide by 4m long.
Health & safety is a key concern and ALL designs will be assessed before the
competition starts.
Bridge Design Challenge
Requirements
The aim is to design, fabricate and test a model bridge to failure.
Rules
Only certain materials are available for construction, as detailed below:
 40 plastic straws
 Sellotape
 1m of string
 1 sheet of A4 card
 1 standard aluminium bar – this bar must be placed at the middle of the bridge, in
the lower section, to enable weights to be suspended from the structure.
The University will supply each team with a kit containing all the necessary materials.
The bridge will be required to span a distance of 350mm and carry the loads without being
fixed to the supports.
The finished bridge will be tested to destruction at the Engineering Olympics on 24 June
2015. There will be three prizes available:
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A prize for the best engineered bridge, to be judged by one academic member of
staff and one practicing engineer.
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A prize for the bridge that is able to carry the most weight.
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A prize for the bridge that gains the most points based on the following system:
o 100 points per 100 grams carried
o +25 points for every straw not used
o +100 points for every 100mm of string not used
The following links can be used to get more information on typical bridge structures:
http://pghbridges.com/basics.htm
http://www.technologystudent.com/struct1/struindex.htm
There is also a FREE mobile app called Bridge Constructor, available from: