Robots "do something interesting" at U of M student show Contacts: Ryan Mathre, University News Service, (612) 625-0552, mathre@umn.edu Rhonda Zurn, Institute of Technology, (612) 626-7959, rzurn@umn.edu |
An automated pizza cutter, a light-sensing vehicle, a motorized insect and a banana slicer will be among the 208 machines on display at the University of Minnesota Robot Show from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8 in the McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. S.E., Minneapolis. The walk-through show is the largest collection of robots assembled in one place in the Twin Cities. The event is free and open to the public and is suitable for all ages. The show is the culmination of six weeks of work for University of Minnesota engineering students who created computer-controlled machines that "do something interesting." Students received a kit of parts, including the computer, and could add no more than $30 worth of their own materials. "That means the students had to be creative, prowling the back aisles of Target or looking in dumpsters," said U of M mechanical engineering professor William Durfee, director of design education. "There are serious objectives to these limits, because in the real world, these future engineers will have to deal with cost constraints when they design things." The robots must act for no more than 60 seconds and have at least one moving part, but it is up to the students whether the unique machines do something useful -- such as crushing pop cans or cleaning gutters -- or exist solely to amuse and delight -- like the computer-controlled xylophone. For more information on this event, visit www.me.umn.edu/robotshow ---------- |
