2.007^2
2.007, Design and Manufacturing I, is a mechanical engineering class at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Typically taken in the sophomore year, the class is centered around a contest designed by the students who took the class the previous year. Students design, manufacture, and operate small remote controlled robots to compete in the competition. To celebrate the once-in-a-lifetime occasion (2.007 taking place in 2007), this year's contest was named 2.007^2. The contest, played on the table below, involved moving pucks and balls around on the scoring table. Points could be maximized by splitting the pucks and balls between the lower and upper bins, as well as manipulating the an arrow which added a multipler to the score. The official rules (pdf) can be found on the course website.
As I'll explain in other sections of the site, my design utilizes a spring-activated actuator which could grip the pucks and deposit them in the "0" bins on the table. I also designed a powerful drivetrain. I've played field hockey as a fullback for 8 years, so I'm truly a defender at heart. I wanted a simple, elegant design which would accomplish something impressive (scoring the pucks in the upper bins) that was also robust enough to play some tough defense against other robots.