MIT Student Teams Showcase Innovation and Collaboration
On April 9, a trailer with the words “Born by Fire” emblazoned on the back pulled down MIT’s North Corridor (a.k.a. the Outfinite). Students, clad in orange construction vests, maneuvered their futuristic creation out of the trailer, eliciting a surge of curious bystanders.
The Solar Electric Vehicle Team’s Gemini
The aerodynamic shell is covered by 5 square meters of solar panels. This multi-occupancy solar car, Gemini, designed and built by the Solar Electric Vehicle Team (SEVT), is slated to race in the 2024 American Solar Challenge. Positioned just outside Building 13, Gemini made its inaugural public appearance at this year’s Edgerton Center Student Teams Showcase. The team’s first-place trophy from an earlier competition sat atop, glistening in the sunlight.
MIT Motorsports and Camaraderie
Next, MIT Motorsports arrived with their shiny red electric race car, MY24. SEVT, embodying MIT’s spirit of collaboration, paused their own installation to assist the Motorsports team in transporting MY24 into Lobby 13. Such camaraderie is commonplace among Edgerton teams. MY24 is slated to compete in two upcoming events: the FSAE Hybrid event in Loudon, New Hampshire on May 1, followed by the FSAE Motorsports event in Michigan, later in June.
A Showcase of Innovation and Creativity
At the Third Annual Edgerton Center Showcase, Lobby 13 was abuzz with students, faculty, and visitors drawn in by the passion and excitement of members of 14 Edgerton Center student teams. Team members excitedly unveiled a wide range of technologies, including autonomous waterborne craft, rockets, wind turbines, assistive devices, and hydrogen-powered turbine engines.
Teams and Projects
In one corner, children congregated around the Combat Robotics table, captivated by clips of the team competing on the Discovery channel’s Battlebots series. Nearby, towering rockets almost brushing the ceiling captured the gaze of onlookers. Suddenly, a symphony of electrical crackles filled the air. Visitors quickly discovered the source was not an AV malfunction, but a Tesla coil created by MITERS, where lightning danced to the pitch input using a computer keyboard.
Adjacent to MITERS, students on the Spokes team dished ice cream into a bike-powered blender. A quick ride down the street created milkshakes for many to enjoy. Spokes is an Edgerton team of students who will bike across the country this summer, teaching STEM outreach classes along the way.
The Assistive Technology Club showed an array of innovations poised to revolutionize lives. Their blind assistance team is designing an app that uses machine learning to describe the most relevant features of the environment to visually impaired users. Their adaptive game controller team is designing a one-handed game controller for a user who is paralyzed on one side of her body due to a stroke.
Conclusion
The Edgerton Center Student Teams Showcase is a testament to the innovative spirit and collaboration of MIT students. The event not only showcased the impressive projects of the 14 teams but also served as a forum for idea exchange and collaboration. As Edgerton Center Director and Professor Kim Vandiver notes, participation in an engineering team is great professional preparation, and these leaders are unafraid of hard problems, rapidly rising in project management roles upon graduation.
FAQs
Q: What is the Edgerton Center?
A: The Edgerton Center is a development office at MIT that supports and sponsors student teams in various fields, including engineering, robotics, and technology.
Q: What is the purpose of the Edgerton Center Student Teams Showcase?
A: The purpose of the showcase is to provide a platform for Edgerton Center student teams to showcase their projects and innovations, as well as to foster collaboration and idea exchange among the teams.
Q: What kind of projects are showcased at the event?
A: The event features a wide range of projects, including autonomous waterborne craft, rockets, wind turbines, assistive devices, and hydrogen-powered turbine engines, among others.
Q: Who can participate in the Edgerton Center Student Teams Showcase?
A: The event is open to all Edgerton Center student teams, and participation is encouraged.
Q: What is the Edgerton Center’s role in the development of its student teams?
A: The Edgerton Center provides support and resources to its student teams, including funding, mentorship, and access to facilities and equipment.
