Watching a radio-controlled car zip along a sidewalk or street has become a common sight. Within this toy are the basic ingredients of a mobile robot, used by industry for a variety of important and potentially dangerous tasks. In this challenge, students consider modifying an of-the-shelf, radio-controlled car, adapting it for a robotic task.

People interact with products and vehicles in a physical manner. They push lawn mowers, they hold mixers, and they drive cars and trucks. This interaction is greatly improved when there is a physical, dimensional match between the people and the products and vehicles they use. However, people vary in size and shape. The study and application of…

In Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll established an absurd world that tickles the reader's mind with reversals and twists of the ordinary. Occasionally, in one's day-to-day encounters with other persons, one comes across people with an oppositional personality that suggests that they live in a Lewis Carroll world of…

Fuzzy logic programs for computers make them more human. Computers can then think through messy situations and make smart decisions. It makes computers able to control things the way people do. Fuzzy logic has been used to control subway trains, elevators, washing machines, microwave ovens, and cars. Pretty much all the human has to do is push one…

Offers a unit of laboratory instruction for a general technology class that looks at ergonomics--the engineering science that seeks to prevent disorders caused by uncomfortable or stressful working conditions. The activity involves the measurement of body motions. (JOW)

M.A.S.H. mnemonic is a useful framework for generating, tracking, and objectively evaluating innovative ideas. M.A.S.H. expresses the fundamental components of successful design; Mechanics, Aesthetics, Sustainability, and Human Factors. These essential elements are often underdeveloped in student design concepts and subsequently require bolstering…