We the people of Enginyte, in order to form a more perfect combat bot, will establish design objectives, provide objective and subsystem constraints, promote the necessary need for interdisciplinary STEM, and secure the safety of Enginyte for ourselves and our combat bot, do establish this mission statement for the community and MechE senior design professors.
Enginyte
“We are geniuses, we’re just not the first geniuses to come up with this”
Our team had the privilege to choose our own project and the field that it was apart of, which was unique to our project. We had originally started with the idea of creating a medical device, but problems such as finding a unique project, budget, and identifying a singular problem limited our decisions. We slowly shifted to creating a project that could inspire people to pursue engineering: a project that was fun, a project that people could be excited about. We found statistics and research that supported our beliefs, claiming high dropout rates and motivation within engineering. Our goal was to inspire some local communities and ignite a passion within Lafayette engineering that students can pursue. The huge advantage to this is that we had a world of possibilities that we could choose from, and we could really pursue whatever spoke to us. Our team decided building a combat robot would inspire us and the people around us, and it became a project people are always eagerly asking us for updates on.
Our team was not broken into specific subsections to get work done. Due to the nature of such a small team, each team was able to get involved in pretty much every aspect of the project. Some members did take point on specific parts of the project, but everything was a group effort. Whenever someone needed help on one part of the project, there were always six other students willing and able to help out.
Team Enginyte created Gantt Charts at the beginning of each semester, trying to determine an ideal timeline for our project. These timelines can be found in our “Timeline” tab. While we tried to adhere to these timelines, it was not always possible as things outside of our control would challenge our process (mostly shipping times). We were, however, able to compete in the April NHRL competition.
Our small team size served us well in that we truly were able to stay up to date with every aspect of the project, and we learned valuable group communication skills. We learned a lot from our peers, the research process, and our professor through the process of this capstone, however, we spent a lot of our time together planning and theorizing rather than building, purchasing, or otherwise getting our hands dirty. If we were to do this type of project again, we would certainly try to begin the physical development of the project a lot sooner so that we could learn from our mistakes in a more practical setting.
Mechanical Engineering major and Psychology minor from Rhode Island. I spend my time on campus rowing with the crew team, working with the orientation leadership team, and learning how to cook! I love designing, prototyping, and problem solving, and I hope to apply those skills, along with my people skills, next year in a user experience, human factors, or industrial design job. I love skiing, hiking, swimming, and also having thoughtful a conversation with a friend.
Mechanical engineering major from Waterville Valley, New Hampshire. The creative possibilities within this project excite me and I hope other students enjoy our progress throughout the year. I’m the captain of the freestyle skiing team and tend to find chasing adrenaline or listening to country music in my free time. After graduation, I plan on working within the mechanical or aeronautical engineering fields either locally or in the Rockies.
Mechanical engineering major and history minor from Apple Valley, California. I’m excited about the potential to compete against other teams! I am also a part of the women’s volleyball team, as well as engineers without borders. After college, I plan to work in aeronautical engineering close to home and buy a puppy or two.
Mechanical Engineering and Math double major from East Lyme, Connecticut. I am super excited for this senior design project in robotics! I am passionate about jazz music, classical music, chess, and math. I’m looking to learn more about how to work with this great group of friends to make something truly great that, win or lose, will make the team proud.
Mechanical Engineering and Theater Dual Degree Student from southern California. I am interested in bridging the worlds of entertainment and engineering and aspire to become an Imagineer or an Interactive Scenic Designer. On campus, I have been a Theater and Engineering Fellow. I am currently a scenic designer in the theater department and work in the scene shop to construct sets. My favorite engineering courses have been Mechanical Design for the Stage and Intellectual Property Law.
Mechanical Engineering major from Fair Haven, New Jersey. I am interested in the outdoors, mountain biking and hanging out with friends. My favorite areas of mechanical engineering are CAD design and intellectual property law. I am currently patent pending on a device to disinfect surfaces with ultraviolet light.
Mechanical Engineering major from Nanjing, China. I am interested in playing soccer and the piano. I also love geometry. My favorite areas of engineering are MATLAB and CAD. After graduation, I plan on going to graduate school.
Ethan Ames, External Communications Manager
Communicates with groups and persons outside of Enginyte, including but not limited to administration, the Lafayette college mechanical engineering department, and other students. Will also organize any external design competitions and be in charge of battle bot competition organization.
Brent Cehelsky, Engage and Ignite Manager
Takes initiative on community outreach and ensures the continuing impact of our project. Analyze the success and impact of similar previous projects.
Lauren Leontas, Research Manager
Takes lead on researching all elements of successful combat bot design, production, and requirements. Ensures that all system elements meet the required standards and optimizes all systems.
Matthew Ramirez, Design Manager
Takes charge on CAD and communicates capabilities with the machine shop. Ensures that all systems will work together and maintain all size and weight constraints for the robot. Takes a large role in the manufacturing and prototyping processes.
Quintin Sefton, Electronics and Coding Manager
Heads the selection process for identifying all functional requirements for all electronic systems and initiates the purchasing for those parts.
Eleanor Williams, Operational and Website Manager
Identifies deadlines and communicates with group members to ensure that they are met. Maintains organization of documents in archives and on the website. Strives to keep member informed of all general information while taking notes and pictures at meetings.
Yunchen Wu, Safety and Systems Analysis Manager
Takes charge on ensuring safety in all prototyping and testing. Communicates closely with the Design Manager and the Coding Manager to ensure that all systems behave as expected and ensure safety.