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The Elevator Challenge
Design Brief:
Your friend Dulce has the worst luck and the best luck. On the same day that she was hit by a car and paralyzed from the waist down, she won 4 million dollars in the lottery! So now she has some money to burn and (lucky for you) she’s going to hire you and your design team to create an elevator for the new house she’s having built.
Design Features:
These are the things Dulce wants in her elevator. If you don’t put them in, she won’t pay you! That elevator must:
- Go up and down
- Stop on four different floors
- Have "open" and "close" options for the doors
- Be spacious enough for Dulce and fifteen friends (LEGO people)
- Be controlled by the passenger
- Have an emergency signal (in case the elevator gets stuck between floors)
Getting Started on Design:
Go to the Conexiones Web site. Look at what other people have created. Soon you’ll get a sense of the great potential of Lego Robotics. But other people’s ideas aren’t going to match all of Dulce’s requirements. So this is only a place to start.
http://conexiones.asu.edu/curriculum/roboticideas.html
Think About the Client:
Dulce is NOT a boring person. She probably won’t be very happy if your elevator design looks just like all every other elevator—that would be too boring!
Brainstorming:
Look carefully at those design features (above) and start asking yourself some questions. For example, what makes an elevator go up and down? Make a list of questions and use the Internet to search for answers. But don’t get lost while you’re surfing the Web. Start with key words that relate to your questions. For example "elevator mechanics." Search the Web until all your questions are answered.
While you’re doing your Web searches, think ahead to the presentation you’ll be giving.
Sell the Idea:
Selling the idea is part of the design challenge. Dulce’s your friend; she’ll probably say she likes your ideas even if she can’t figure out what you’re talking about. BUT if it’s going to be built (and you know Dulce won’t be happy unless it is), then you’re going to have to make your ideas clear to a lot of people.
You’ll create a project Web site to get your ideas across. These are the things you must include on your project Web site:
- Describe the design challenge
- Describe your research (the questions you came up with while brainstorming a and the answers you found on the Internet
- Describe how the mechanics of Dulce’s elevator satisfy those design challenges
- Include plenty of details about those mechanics.
- What are the mechanics of the "open" and "close" door features?
- What kind of emergency signal did you include?
- Are the lifting mechanics of all elevators the same?
Be sure to include interesting facts about elevators and about this design brief:
When was the first elevator installed in a building?
How did people react to it?
Are there any famous elevator scenes in Hollywood movies?
What are the chances of winning the lottery?
What are the chances of getting hit by a car and paralyzed from the waist down?
Which of these two events is more likely to happen?
What challenges did you come across while designing and programming the elevator?
What research information helped you design and build the elevator?
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