Conference Session

Laboratory Innovations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Aflaki, Christian Brothers University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

educational, integrate and apply the knowledgeobtained in courses such as statics, solid mechanics and instrumentation. It demonstrates thepotential use of strain gages as sensors. Strain gages, and signal conditioners are used tomeasure, calculate and analyze force by direct application of a concentrated or distributed loads.These experiments provide students with hands on experience with using strain gages, signalamplifiers, and conditioners and setting up and balancing Wheatstone bridge.IntroductionIn engineering education today, instrumentation and computer integration are increasinglybecoming part of teaching in classrooms. Faculty use new technologies to increase their teachingeffectiveness in their classrooms. In addition, laboratory

Conference Session

Laboratory Innovations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Claire Yu Yan, University of British Columbia; Carolyn Labun, University of British Columbia

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

from other institutions taking 7 courses. Many of these courses haveterm projects. Quite often, students find they lack time to concentrate on their projects due toassignment deadlines, exams, and laboratory assignments. Time management thus becomes asignificant concern, as it affects the outcome of their design projects.The second factor relates to student perspectives on what is meant by “helpfulness.” It seems thatstudents found that traditional assignments and tutorials were more helpful to their learning. Onereason might be that traditional assignments and tutorials provide immediate feedback on howwell students understand the course materials, and students find this information to beimmediately helpful. Another reason might be that

Conference Session

Laboratory Innovations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Arif Sirinterlikci, Robert Morris University; Tony Lee Kerzmann, Robert Morris University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2012-4137: INTEGRATED HANDS-ON DYNAMICS LABORATORIESIN THE CLASSROOMDr. Arif Sirinterlikci, Robert Morris University Arif Sirinterlikci is a professor of engineering at Robert Morris University School of Engineering, Math- ematics, and Science. He also serves as a Director of Engineering Laboratories as well as Co-head of the Research and Outreach Center. He has been an active member of ASEE and SME, serving as an officer of both societies and engaged in engineering education and K-12 outreach.Dr. Tony Lee Kerzmann, Robert Morris University Tony Kerzmann received both a bachelor’s of arts in physics from Duquesne University and a bachelor’s of science in mechanical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in

Conference Session

Laboratory Innovations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas R. Consi, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

between free-form and set-piece projects to maximizeexposure to core mechatronics concepts while minimizing peripheral tasks and, importantly,preserving a good measure of creativity. Students in the author's mechatronics class were givenpremade motorized XYZ platforms and challenged to "do something" with the machines for theirfinal projects. While the basic platform is prebuilt it is of such general nature as to permits awide range of original projects. The results of one semester of this new course design will bepresented and compared with the author's earlier experience teaching the same course but with arequired free-form final project.Introduction Mechatronics is most often taught with a substantial laboratory component to

Conference Session

Laboratory Innovations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Awlad Hossain, Eastern Washington University; Hani Serhal Saad, Eastern Washington University; Martin W. Weiser, Eastern Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

topics including ceramic processing, Pb-free solder development, experimental design, and biomechanics. Page 25.1295.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2012 The Effect of Surface Area and Thermal Diffusivity in Transient CoolingAbstractWe have recently developed a new one-quarter heat transfer course as part of our MechanicalEngineering curriculum. This course includes a significant laboratory component to reinforce thematerial taught in the lecture. The students normally do not have too much trouble with steadystate heat transfer. However, transient heat transfer often causes confusion

Conference Session

Laboratory Innovations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven O'Halloran, University of Portland; Matthew Rodrigues, University of Portland

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

. Page 25.1049.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2012 Power and Efficiency Measurement in a Thermoelectric GeneratorAbstractThis paper documents a laboratory experiment to determine the efficiency of a commercialthermoelectric generator. Thermoelectric devices make use of the Seebeck effect to convert adifference in temperature into electricity. Thermoelectric devices are used or proposed for anumber of different current applications including waste heat recovery. In the experiment, aLabVIEW data acquisition system measures real-time efficiency of the thermoelectric deviceunder different testing conditions. The experiment is well-suited for an undergraduate thermalsciences lab or a demonstration

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Curricula and Courses

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Benita M. Comeau, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Rohit Karnik, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Sang-Gook Kim, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2012-3392: DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH OF AN UNDERGRAD-UATE MICRO/NANO ENGINEERING LABORATORY COURSEDr. Benita M. Comeau, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Benita Comeau is a Technical Instructor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Mas- sachusetts Institute of Technology, where she teaches a laboratory course on nano/micro engineering. She is a Chemical Engineer and received her B.S.E. from the University of Michigan and her Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology. She was an NSF Research Fellow and a member of the Georgia Tech Student and Teacher Enhancement Partnership (STEP) GK-12 program. Before graduate school, she worked as a Product Engineer for Procter & Gamble and Agere Systems

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Trends and Tools

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Vincent Capece, University of Kentucky

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2012-5274: DEVELOPMENT OF A WRITING WORKSHOP FOR AMECHANICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY COURSEDr. Vincent Capece, University of Kentucky Vincent R. Capece is an Associate Professor of mechanical engineering. Capece received his B.S. de- gree in mechanical engineering from Tennessee Technological University in 1980, M.S. in mechanical engineering from MIT in 1982, and Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1987. Page 25.459.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2012 Development of a Writing Workshop for a Mechanical Engineering Laboratory

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment III

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jenna L. Gorlewicz, Vanderbilt University; Robert James Webster III, Vanderbilt University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Clemson University in 2002 and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from the Johns Hopkins University in 2004 and 2007, respectively. In 2008, he joined the faculty of Vanderbilt University as an Assistant Professor of mechanical engineering, where he currently directs the Medical & Electromechanical Design Laboratory. His current research interests include medical robotics, image-guided surgery, continuum robotics, and engineering education. Webster received the NSF CAREER Award in 2011, and the IEEE Volz award for Ph.D. thesis impact in 2011

Conference Session

Simulations and Visualizations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nicholas Mark Randall, University of Southern Maine ; Mehrdaad Ghorashi P.E., University of Southern Maine

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

difference one strategy is to use activities like computersimulations and hands-on experiments where students can actually see the differences betweenthe two types of loadings.A search in the engineering education literature on the mentioned subject did not provide anyresult. Few papers that discuss related courses like materials science look at other issues likemaking homework more interesting1. In the field of chemical engineering there are many papersthat discuss various aspects of laboratory experiments. The majority of these papers discussissues like challenge-based learning, web-based teaching and multimedia laboratory manual2-4.In other references, the three methods of laboratory experience, i.e. simulation, hands-on andremote are discussed

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Trends and Tools

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amanie N. Abdelmessih, Saint Martin's University; Irina Gendelman, Saint Martin's University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2012-4064: SYNCHRONOUS DISTANCE LEARNING FOR UNDER-GRADUATE THERMAL ENGINEERING COURSES: TRIALS AND IM-PROVEMENTSDr. Amanie N. Abdelmessih, Saint Martin’s University Amanie Abdelmessih is professor and Chair, Mechanical Engineering Department, and Director of the Thermal Engineering Laboratory, Saint Martin’s University. Abdelmessih has industrial, teaching, and research experience. Abdelmessih started her career in the paper industry, then she taught in several higher education institutions, with the last 15 years at Saint Martin’s University. Abdelmessih has per- formed research at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Marshall Space Flight Research Center, Ar- gonne National Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Randy Dean Kelley P.E., University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

actual heat transfer topics, a benefit over justdoing homework. The actual graphs are plotted on the same graphs as the theoretical curves andthe students are to comment on the similarities and differences. Some university engineeringprograms have an adjacent heat transfer laboratory class to help students visualize the varioustopics, but some do not.Having the assignment be “mini” research papers instead of actual research papers lessens thework impact but at the same time increasing the students’ writing opportunities. This activelearning technique motivates the students to become interested in the practical aspects of thethree experiments conducted in this class

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment III

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tom Spendlove, Baker College, Flint; Anca L. Sala, Baker College, Flint; James Riddell, Baker College, Flint

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

involved in the learning process taking place inthe classroom, as opposed to the teacher centric traditional lectures. Engineering faculty havelong been using such approaches in many of our courses, for example in courses which includeexperimental laboratories and projects. This initiative has prompted us to focus more consciouslyon the effect of teaching on, and the assessment of student learning. This paper will discuss avariety of design projects we are using throughout the curriculum in the Mechanical Engineeringprogram before the Senior Design Project, how they fit with the Learner Centered Instructioninitiative, as well as how they support the Program Outcomes and Program EducationalObjectives of our ABET accredited program.Projects from

Conference Session

Active and Project-based Learning

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joakim Sigurd Wren, Linköping University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

motivation and learning can be achieved by making the students moreactive and in charge of their learning, which for example can be stimulated by involvement in“hands-on” activities like experiments and laboratory work 2. A project focusing on humanbody thermodynamics was developed as a complement to the traditional content of classicalengineering thermodynamics. The underlying idea was to exploit the general interest inhealth, food, fare and workout shared by many students, thus making the subject moreinteresting while at the same time extending the course to a wider arena. The project was usedin engineering thermodynamics courses for 4 different engineering programs at LinköpingUniversity, Sweden.During the project, the students worked in groups

Conference Session

Active and Project-based Learning

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Isaac M. Choutapalli, University of Texas, Pan American; Robert A. Freeman, University of Texas, Pan American; Young-Gil Park, University of Texas, Pan American

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

given paper glider glidethe longest distance possible?”, can be used to introduce the concept of aerodynamic drag andhence lead to various ways in which aerodynamic drag can be quantified through pressure andvelocity measurements. This challenge-question gives the instructor an opportunity to embed inthe minds of students the importance and the concepts of pressure and velocity measurements. Aseries of such challenge-questions were developed for the various chapters in the syllabus ofM&I.Several metrics were used to measure student learning including; homework, in-class-quizzes(both formative and summative), laboratory exercises, and midterm and final exams. The“average performance scores” of the students from two different semesters, one

Conference Session

Simulations and Visualizations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ricardo Medina, California State University, Los Angeles; Ashkan Motamedi, California State University, Los Angeles; Murat Okcay, Interactive Flow Studies Corporation; B. Uygar Oztekin, Interactive Flow Studies Corporation; Gustavo Borel Menezes, California State University, Los Angeles; Arturo J. Pacheco-Vega, California State University, Los Angeles

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2012-5482: ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OPEN SOURCE CFDSYSTEM TO FLOW VISUALIZATION IN FLUID MECHANICSRicardo Medina, California State University, Los AngelesMr. Ashkan Motamedi, California State University, Los AngelesDr. Murat Okcay, Interactive Flow Studies Corporation Murat Okcay, CEO, obtained his doctorate in mechanical engineering, specializing in fluid mechanics, in 1993 from Bristol University, England. After several years as a lecturer teaching fluid mechanics in the classroom and laboratories at the University he joined Smiths Industries Plc. and has continually pushed the envelope in the field of fluid mechanics as a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer, publishing papers and receiving patents for his designs

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Trends and Tools

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy A. Doughty, University of Portland; Steven O'Halloran, University of Portland

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

shown in Figure 3. This finalexercise is then used directly in lab in a following class period. Figure 1: Photograph of experimental setup for the final tutorial exercise. Page 25.377.4Figure 2: LabVIEW block diagram for the final tutorial exercise Page 25.377.5Figure 3: LabVIEW Front Panel for the final tutorial exercise.Results and DiscussionThe self-guided tutorial was used in the Fall 2010 semester to teach LabVIEW in twoundergraduate courses, ME351 (Mechanical Systems Laboratory) and ME443 (Systems andMeasurement). ME351 was comprised of mostly juniors

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Curricula and Courses

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy M. Hodges P.E., Virginia Military Institute; Elizabeth White Baker, Wake Forest University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

. Page 25.1391.4 11) Understanding science 12) Learning ethical conduct in your field 13) Learning laboratory techniques 14) Ability to read and understand primary literature 15) Skill in how to give an effective oral presentation 16) Skill in science writing 17) Self-confidence 18) Understanding of how scientists think 19) Learning to work independently 20) Being part of a learning community 21) Confidence in my potential to be a teacher of science Benefits of UG Research Graduate Institution Undergrad Only College Items 11-21

Conference Session

Thermodynamics, Fluids, and Heat Transfer

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Zietlow, Bradley University; Jacqueline Henderson, Bradley University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

participation in laboratory or demonstration exercises in conjunction with a lecture produces a more positive learning outcome. (3) Although these demonstrations are useful, critical thinking skills are necessary to transform classroom knowledge into practical application. Students who are asked to explain what they experienced are better able to think critically. Unfortunately, if a student is not required to explain their experience, answers based on partial or incorrect understanding are more likely to occur. (3) In summary, students who are engaged with various forms of learning have a richer educational experience. A combination of lectures, discussions, interactive learning and demonstrations create a learning environment which

Conference Session

Thermodynamics, Fluids, and Heat Transfer

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Onursal Onen, University of South Florida; Rasim Guldiken, University of South Florida

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2012-3059: INTRODUCTION OF ”MICROFLUIDICS” TO UNDER-GRADUATE FLUID MECHANICS COURSESMr. Onursal Onen, University of South Florida Onursal Onen is a Ph.D. candidate in the Acoustic Transducers Laboratory at the Department of Mechan- ical Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, Fla. His research interests are acoustic transducers, ultrasound applications, bio/chem sensors, and engineering education. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey, both in mechanical engineering.Dr. Rasim Guldiken, University of South Florida Page 25.850.1

Conference Session

Capstone Courses

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Manish Paliwal, College of New Jersey; Bijan Sepahpour, College of New Jersey

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

generation of design-oriented exercises and development of laboratory apparatus and experiments in the areas of me- chanics of materials and dynamics of machinery for undergraduate engineering programs. Sepahpour did his undergraduate studies at TCNJ and has degrees from New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). He has served as the Chair of ASEE divisions of Experimentation and Laboratory Oriented Studies (DELOS) in 2006-07 and Mechanical Engineering in 2007-08. Sepahpour is an active member of ASME and ASEE. Page 25.100.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2012 A REVISED

Conference Session

Active and Project-based Learning

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tony Lee Kerzmann, Robert Morris University; Eugene Joseph Werner Jr., GAI Consultants, Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

were fabricated in RMU’s a rapid prototyping laboratory, and werecreated similar to the turbine blades that were researched for the concept.6. All of the students onthe design team had little or no experience in rapid prototyping or with RMU’s fused deposition3D modeler. The students had to learn how to use the 3D printer, determine its limitations, anddiagnose any issues with their prototyped parts. The shaft was made of Stainless steel and waspurchased from a major distributor, while the shaft support was designed in SolidWorks with themajor design criteria of preventing vibration in the turbine and shaft, thereby maintaining Page

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment III

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Horacio Vasquez, University of Texas, Pan American; Arturo A. Fuentes, University of Texas, Pan American; Robert A. Freeman, University of Texas, Pan American

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

it wascompared to a traditional classroom course; at the end, it was determined that even though theonline course could be useful to help students understand fundamental concepts in Statics, itbecomes less effective than the face-to-face course when teaching students to solve a diversity ofpractical problems7. Kim et al.8 developed a hands-on mechanics laboratory, with online accessto some experimental setups. The laboratory was a co-requisite for ME students in the Staticscourse, but, it was optional for other majors. Such mechanics laboratory allowed students tounderstand Statics concepts better through instructor demonstrations and cooperative learninghands-on activities, group projects, and discussions; as a result, the failure and

Conference Session

Outreach, Engagement, and Undergraduate Research

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Peter John Arslanian, NASA/Computer Sciences Corporation; Payam Matin, University of Maryland, Eastern Shore

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

engineering programs are challenged to thoroughly apply their learnedengineering knowledge and research skills toward design and implementation of a challengingsenior design project. A wind tunnel is often used in mechanical or aerospace engineeringprograms as a laboratory instrument to gather experimental data for investigation of fluid flowbehavior. The authors have conducted research to implement a comprehensive design of a smallsize inexpensive wind tunnel for instructional purposes {overall length: 1.8105m, maximumdiameter (contraction nozzle): 0.375m, working section dimensions: 0.25m in length X 0.125min diameter}. The objectives of this research project are to engage an undergraduate engineeringstudent: 1) to design a well-structured wind

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Trends and Tools

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wayne E. Whiteman, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

completely online is theinability to adequately fulfill the ABET criteria associated with laboratory and experimentalrequirements.Contrary to the lack of mechanical engineering degrees offered at the undergraduate level viadistance learning, the number of distance master level mechanical engineering degrees offeredhas experienced the same sort of growth cited by Harris above for the distance educationenvironment in general.Purpose of this StudyOne of the challenges in learning more about the distance education programs in mechanicalengineering at the graduate level is the lack of a single comprehensive source that lists all of the Page

Conference Session

Simulations and Visualizations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Goodarz Ahmadi, Clarkson University; Suresh Dhaniyala, Clarkson University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

Page 25.1027.4force on larger particles. Student can select values of the particle diameter and density, 3the number of particles, and the centerline fluid velocity and understand the relativemagnitudes of the different forces.Module III: Experimental The course sequence includes several experimental modules. One mainexperiment is the measurement in the aerosol wind tunnel with the use of Particle ImageVelocimeter (PIV). The aerosol wind tunnel is located in the Turbulence and MultiphaseFlow Laboratory at Clarkson University. The laser used was a 120mJ Nd:YaG laserwith a 20° adjustable width sheet generator. In this experiment, the sheet width was 0.5mm. The digital camera that was

Conference Session

Thermodynamics, Fluids, and Heat Transfer

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lynn Albers, North Carolina State University; Laura Bottomley, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

, North Carolina State University Laura J. Bottomley, Director, Women in Engineering and K-12 Outreach programs and Teaching As- sociate Professor, College of Engineering, North Carolina State University, received a B.S. in electrical engineering in 1984 and an M.S. in electrical engineering in 1985 from Virginia Tech. She received her Ph D. in electrical and computer engineering from North Carolina State University in 1992. Bottom- ley worked at AT&T Bell Laboratories as a member of technical staff in Transmission Systems from 1985 to 1987, during which time she worked in ISDN standards, including representing Bell Labs on an ANSI standards committee for physical layer ISDN standards. She received an Exceptional

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert G. Ryan, California State University, Northridge

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

for our students, work iscurrently under way to optimize the entry of transfer students into our program by encouragingour local community colleges to develop articulated versions of our lower division designcourses.References 1. R.Ryan and N. Ho, “A Sophomore Design Sequence for Mechanical Engineering Students”, presented at the 2006 ASEE Pacific Southwest Section Conference, Pomona, California, April 20, 2006 2. www.cdio.org 3. N. Ho and R. Ryan, “Designing a Sequence of Design Courses to Improve Student Performance and Retention at a Minority Institution”, presented at the 2009 ASEE Annual Conference 4. E. Cooney, “Laboratory Report Grading Rubrics: What High School Teachers are Doing”, presented at the

Conference Session

Active and Project-based Learning

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Garrett Miles Clayton, Villanova University; Teresa Genevieve Wojcik, Villanova University; Aleksandra Radlińska, Villanova University; Noelle K. Comolli, Villanova University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

the end of the semester, a general courseevaluation was given. This survey included the open ended question: Do you think that you learned engineering design in this course? If yes, HOW (through what classroom readings, activities, discussions, etc.?)Without prompting 35% of students mentioned the impromptu design projects. This may notseem like a huge percentage, but in a class where there are numerous ways to learn the designprocess (hands-on laboratories, homework, Beetlebot competition discussed above, impromptudesign, other in class projects, etc.), a 35% share of responses is actually quite significant. Thisshows that students were indeed interested in the projects, but also that they perceive them asbeing a good education

Conference Session

Active and Project-based Learning

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John-David S. Yoder, Ohio Northern University; James P. Schmiedeler, University of Notre Dame; Michael Milo Stanisic, University of Notre Dame

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

at the Jet Propul- sion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and an Invited Professor at INRIA Rhone-Alpes, Monbonnot, France. Research interests include computer vision, mobile robotics, intelligent vehicles, entrepreneurship, and education.Dr. James P. Schmiedeler, University of Notre DameDr. Michael Milo Stanisic, University of Notre Dame Page 25.1135.1 c American Society for Engineering Education, 2012 Robotic Football: An Inter-university Design Competition Experiment1. IntroductionRobotics competitions have grown significantly over the past decade. The FIRST competitionhas inspired many K