Every year, students across the state have the opportunity to participate in the Texas Space Grant Consortium's (TSGC) annual design challenge. This year, Team Red Rover is one of three Lamar University teams that participated in the challenge.
Unlike the schoolyard game "Red Rover, Red Rover. Come on over," in which players attempt to push their way through obstacles, Team Red Rover chose to focus on object avoidance. The team's robot uses object avoidance to navigate the robot around the obstacles and avoid collisions.
Team members, all 2007 Lamar electrical engineering graduates, include team leader Jace Daigle, John Brazzil, Greg Gattis and Martin Martinez. Faculty advisor Bernard Maxum of the electrical engineering department and mentor Dave Cheuvront of the NASA Johnson Space Center Constellation Program Office also participated in the project.
As team leader, Daigle not only worked on the internal case design and assembly, and programming of the project, but he also oversaw all efforts made by his teammates. Daigle is from Tarkington, but now lives in Austin and works for National Instruments.
"I really enjoyed this experience," said Daigle, "It taught me a lot about team management." Daigle enjoyed a personal victory at the design showcase by receiving the "Well Done Team Leader" award.
John Brazzil worked on the development of the chassis and motor control of the robot. A Baytown native, Brazzo moved to Beaumont after graduation to work for M&I Electric, now American Electric Technologies Inc.
"The level of difficulty involved and the fact that we had to use all the skills we've acquired while we've been at Lamar are what I enjoyed most about this project," said Brazzil.
Martin Martinez helped with the integration and programming of sensors for the robot. Martin lives in Baytown and works with NASA.
"The structure of the project helped me gain insight into 'real-life?' engineering work," said Martinez, "I feel like that made me better prepared for my job."
Greg Gattis contributed by focusing on the mechanical design, the propulsion, track and power systems, and helped in the programming of the robot. Originally from Fannett, Gattis has moved to Pearland to work for Lyondell Chemical.
"After working with my teammates and several consultants to resolve problems, the most enjoyable part of the whole experience was when one of the judges from the showcase told us that our project was the best one he'd seen in four years of judging," said Gattis.
Team members spent two semesters on the Red Rover project working 40-50 hours per week, while still attending classes and work. For their effort, they won several awards, including Best Project Model, Best Project Focus, Best Project Demonstration Video and an Outstanding Participation certificate from TSGC and NASA.
The TSGC Design Challenge is a NASA-sponsored, TSGC-administered contest that gives undergraduate students a chance to propose, design and create a solution to a topic of importance to NASA.
Student teams and their faculty advisors are paired with a research-directed mentor who provides opportunities to engage in research, hands-on design, career opportunities and educational outreach.
