Reimagining an iconic design class for remote learning

For the past 50 years, mechanical engineering students astatine MIT person convened connected field for a boisterous robot competition. Since the 1970s, erstwhile the precocious Professor Emeritus Woodie Flowers archetypal challenged students to physique a instrumentality utilizing a "kit of junk," students successful people 2.007 (Design and Manufacturing I) person designed and built their ain robots to vie successful the class's last robot competition. For galore students, the people and contention are a driving origin successful their determination to enroll successful MIT.

"Each year, students archer america that they came to MIT specifically to instrumentality 2.007 and enactment successful the mayhem of creating these robots and doing this amusive competition," says Amos Winter, subordinate prof of mechanical engineering and 2.007 co-lead instructor.

This was the lawsuit for Julianna Rodriguez, a rising elder studying mechanical engineering. "For me, 2.007 was the people I've been astir looking guardant to astatine MIT. It serves arsenic a span betwixt the method classes I've taken and really being capable to physique thing tangible," says Rodriguez.

As with galore hands-on classes, successful March 2020 the module and teaching unit of 2.007 had to scrap plans for in-person elements, including the iconic last robot competition. While the squad rapidly pivoted to a mentation of the people focused connected computer-aided plan (CAD) and analysis, many, including Winter, were near heartbroken that students weren't capable to physique and vie with their robot arsenic they had hoped.

"I truly felt that students mislaid retired connected that carnal transportation to mechanical engineering that comes from hands-on work. They didn't larn each those important lessons of gathering thing successful the existent world, having it fail, past figuring retired however to hole it," says Winter.

Winter and 2.007 co-lead instructor, Sangbae Kim, prof of mechanical engineering, instantly started envisioning what 2.007 mightiness look similar successful outpouring 2021.

"As an educator, it was specified a large learning opportunity. The challenges forced america to deliberation otherwise and beryllium much creative," adds Kim.

Knowing determination would beryllium galore challenges associated with giving students the hands-on, confidence-building acquisition 2.007 usually provides, Winter led an effort to re-imagine the people and relationship for immoderate eventuality. He secured resources from MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering, including hiring Antoni Soledad '21, who participated successful the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) nether Winter's guidance. Winter took the autumn semester disconnected from teaching truthful helium could absorption connected processing an wholly caller 2.007 program that maintained the class's halfway tenets, including however the squad could propulsion disconnected a live, head-to-head, distant robot competition.

A 130-pound delivery

The squad developed a database of "must haves" erstwhile brainstorming however to re-envision 2.007. First and foremost was retaining the confidence-building constituent of students coming up with their ain plan and gathering it with their ain 2 hands, portion astatine the aforesaid clip learning halfway mechanical engineering principles.

"It was captious for this year's people for america to supply each the magic and heavy engineering learning that comes from our mean hands-on experience, but bash it successful a distant environment," adds Winter.

Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Central to each the teaching staff's goals was equity. With immoderate students apt participating afloat remotely, the teaching squad had to travel up with solutions that were just to everyone, whether they lived successful a dorm, apartment, oregon crossed the state successful their family's home.

The team's solution was to nonstop a kit of materials to each 130 students successful the class. The archetypal procreation of the kit was developed past summertime by Soledad. By fall, Winter and Soledad were joined by teaching adjunct Georgia Van de Zande and 4 different UROPs to proceed iterating the kit.

"Because the students couldn't travel to the Pappalardo lab, we decided to nonstop the Pappalardo laboratory to them," says Van de Zande.

The squad enactment a large woody of thought into the size, weight, and creation of these "Pappalardo-in-a-Box" kits. The effect was a 130-pound kit filled with tools and materials students could usage to physique their ain robots from location passim the semester. There was capable assortment successful the materials to guarantee each pupil could travel up with their ain originative and unsocial design.

"It's truly breathtaking that these students are starting their mechanical engineering travel with a literal toolbox afloat of tools they volition usage passim their careers," adds Van de Zande.

The squad besides identified a fitting taxable for this year's competition: "Home Alone: Together." The taxable was a motion to the classical vacation movie and the information that students would beryllium designing, building, and competing chiefly from their homes passim the semester. 

A hybrid semester

With the kits delivered to students, Winter, Kim, and their squad focused connected however to really thatch students halfway plan and manufacturing principles, careless of wherever they were located.

All ceremonial laboratory exercises were done virtually. Students would often conscionable one-on-one with instructors and laboratory unit via Zoom. This distant setup really accrued the magnitude of idiosyncratic attraction each pupil received from staff.  

"In truthful galore instances, virtual has been amended than our mean format," says Winter. "We person truly meaningful one-on-one meetings with the students during our laboratory sections, due to the fact that there's nary distractions similar determination would beryllium successful the carnal lab."

The people besides featured an optional in-person constituent unfastened to students who had entree to campus. Those students would sojourn the Pappalardo laboratory successful tiny groups to interact with laboratory staff. The Pappalardo store unit acceptable up socially distanced workstations wherever students could safely enactment successful the laboratory and get unit feedback. These workstations featured the nonstop aforesaid tools and materials each pupil had astatine home. The unit made definite they were conscionable arsenic accessible via Zoom to the students who could not travel to campus.

Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

One caller diagnostic of this year's people was "Bill's Build Demos"—a bid of videos spearheaded by Bill Cormier, task technician successful the Pappalardo lab, and produced by the store staff. These videos demonstrated communal elements successful robotic plan and the nuances astatine play successful fabrication and assembly. The demos proved to beryllium important successful deepening students' knowing of mechanics design; this was reflected successful the prime and reliability of the robots they produced for the last competition.

The idiosyncratic attraction and dedication the 2.007 teaching squad showed passim the semester had a tangible interaction connected students.

"In my honorable opinion, the 2.007 unit has been 1 of the astir nurturing and knowing module that I've ever encountered," says Megan Ngo, a rising inferior studying mechanical engineering. "I've learned truthful much: the physics down making a part, however to commencement a task from commencement to decorativeness and conscionable however chill mechanical engineering tin beryllium successful the existent world."

MIT's first-ever virtual robot competition

Students enactment the skills they learned passim the semester to the test. Armed with their unsocial robot design, their ain crippled board, and a camera, students were acceptable to enactment successful the archetypal known live, head-to-head, distant carnal robot competition.

The settings for the contention varied. Ben Owen Block and his roommate who besides took the people organized the layout of their dorm country astir the competition. Senior Julianna Rodriguez built her robot from an flat successful West Roxbury, Massachusetts. John Malloy started the semester successful Colorado earlier moving location to Florida, wherever helium built his robot successful his puerility bedroom.

Dressed as "Home Alone" villains Harry and Marv, Winter and Kim emceed the contention arsenic students' robots went head-to-head successful a bid of elimination rounds. While each robot competed from a antithetic location, the 2 competitors per circular ran astatine the aforesaid clip with their video feeds mixed into a unrecorded webcast. Robots performed tasks connected a crippled board, modeled aft the booby-trapped McCallister location from the movie. The robot that earned the astir points would past onto the adjacent round.

In the end, Jordan Ambrosio's robot emerged arsenic the champion. But according to Winter, everyone was a victor this year.

"To travel retired of this semester, spot what the students accomplished, and cognize that the acquisition acquisition of the people has been retained, it feels triumphant," says Winter.

For Kim, a cardinal betterment this twelvemonth was the casual entree students had to their robots. Rather than lone enactment connected their robots successful the lab, students were capable to tinker with their robots successful their spare time.

"We recovered that students could negociate their clip overmuch amended erstwhile they had their tools and materials close successful their rooms," says Kim.

While the 2022 robot contention volition hopefully beryllium backmost successful the Johnson Ice Rink, the 2.007 teaching squad plans connected incorporating galore of the affirmative changes made successful absorption to the pandemic to aboriginal semesters.

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