Irvington Middle School 8th-graders Design, Build Robot Drag Cars

IRVINGTON, NY — Irvington Middle School eighth-graders — who had been learning about robots, coding and how mechanical systems work in Diana Cassidy’s Technology 8/Automation and Robotics classes — recently designed and built their own drag race cars as a culminating project. Having spent the semester learning how to make an automated system by combining the mechanical systems with coding, the students were challenged to build a car that had no more than four wheels and two motors and at least one mechanism.

Another requirement, according to a spokesman, was for the car to start at the activation of a sensor and travel to a specified square in the hallway that was a couple of feet wide and approximately 19 feet from the starting line.

“The students assumed the responsibilities of a mechanical engineer, electrical engineer or computer engineer,” Cassidy said. “But they had to work together to get all elements of the project put together. Once the project was built, wired and programmed, they gave their cars test runs and modified their code or design as necessary.”

Throughout the learning experience, the students followed the design process of defining a problem, generating concepts, developing a solution, constructing and testing, evaluating the solution and presenting. They also had the opportunity to think critically, collaborate with their peers and solve problems.

Photo credit: Irvington Union Free School District.