In-House Expo Reflections

We had the opportunity to showcase our project and prototype at both the CEEC James Martin and CEEC Early College campuses! Students were able to drive the Icebreaker robot and ask us questions.

Some common questions were:

Q: How were you able to get the funding to build a robot? A: Our team reached out to many local engineering companies asking for sponsorships through cold calls and emails. The National Academy Foundation (NAF) and Manning Design and Engineering Group (MDEG) were companies that our individual team members have worked with in the past through internships or other extracurriculars. We have learned the value of making connections and keeping up with them, you never know who can help you out in the future! Q: How did you gain the skills necessary to build the robot? A: All of our team members have participated in robotics throughout middle and high school. We have the experience and the mentors who have the knowledge in robotics to design and build Icebreaker.

Other Takeaways and Notes: Many students were surprised about the size of Icebreaker, thinking that the project was supposed to be a smaller scale model. The students were able to drive the robot well, showing the ease of use when driving the robot. Some observers mentioned that the brush was spinning too fast, and we mentioned that we were able to reduce the speed of the motors running the brush. For the final expo, we hope to have the robot and all subsystems fully functioning and ready to showcase. We still need to test the robot's ability to spew the de-icing material and traverse on slippery surfaces.