It’s not often that engineers find themselves in athletic facilities, but the product of an electrical engineering senior design project will soon be a fixture in LSU’s Bernie Moore Track Stadium.
Electrical engineering seniors Katherine Blackburn, Richard Bywater, Taylor Creech, Steven Le and Mary Robertson designed and constructed a remote control vehicle to carry javelins, discuses and hammers around the throwing area. Blackburn said track and field head coach Dennis Shaver and assistant coach Derek Yush approached the Department of Electrical Engineering with the project idea in the fall.
Coaches and athletes saw similar cars at work during the 2008 Beijing Olympics and wanted to duplicate the technology at their home facilities.
The coaches met with the group to discuss the unique design challenges such a project would pose, she said.
From these meetings, the group learned that people had trouble running into the low-to-the-ground vehicles. As a result, they decided to store the javelins at a 45-degree angle and install an automatic stop for when the device gets within a certain distance from an obstruction, Blackburn said.
Blackburn’s group and one other group chose to work on the project when they began their senior design class. The two groups spent the fall semester designing their project and selecting three alternatives for each component in case their initial plans weren’t successful.
The group continued to modify its design as its members constructed the project this spring.
Early pitfalls in the design of the electrical components proved the contingency plans worthwhile, Blackburn said. The group had to purchase a new power board after the one they designed overloaded and melted.
Group members said they are confident that their final product is equipped to handle more stress than they expect it to encounter daily.
The batteries have enough charge to last an entire day, and the vehicle can make 300 trips across the field. The 120-amp motor is capable of carrying a person, and the big wheels can navigate a pockmarked field, Creech said.
“We designed it to perform way above its needs,” Creech said. “It has got to work forever.”
The project challenged electrical engineering students to reach beyond their areas of expertise, Creech said. Tasks such as designing and cutting the vehicle’s frame and shaping its fiberglass body required skills taught in mechanical engineering courses, Creech said.
Blackburn said she looked forward to seeing her device in action.
“The final task is the presentation for our class,” Blackburn said. “It will be used for the first time at the SEC Championships next week.”
 
____ Contact Paul Braun at [email protected]