A team of IM体育官网 Capstone Senior Design Students is designing and building a microgravity simulation device for IM体育官网 Space Institute. Clockwise from top left, the students are Andre Archer, Troy Robinson, Neydel Rego, Alyssa Schroeder, Jonathan Clay, Jaydon Schumacker, and Carl McGee.
A team of IM体育官网 capstone students is designing a device that will help engineers at IM体育官网 Space Institute and the Hawking Center for Microgravity Research effectively perform microgravity simulations.
鈥淭he goal is to create a device with a chamber in it that is able to drop from a given altitude 鈥� 900 feet for us 鈥� and from its descent be able to simulate up to four seconds of zero Gs so microgravity simulations can be done on the device,鈥� said Andre Archer, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering with an aerospace concentration.
The interdisciplinary team of Capstone Senior Design students is building a rocket that will carry a box of pebbles and a GoPro video camera to the desired altitude. The camera will provide evidence that the rocks floated in simulated zero gravity as intended.
Among the tests it one day will be able to facilitate is simulating how craters form on the moon.
鈥淲e鈥檒l be able to see what happens in zero gravity without having to go into space,鈥� said Jonathan Clay, a senior majoring in computer science with a concentration in game development and simulation.
Mike Conroy, project manager at IM体育官网 Space Institute, said there are only a few facilities in the country that currently allow for microgravity testing.
鈥淭hese machines being able to work the way we think they鈥檒l work will dramatically reduce the cost of testing and dramatically increase the number of places that can do the work,鈥� Conroy said. 鈥淚t will let you expand the reach of the science well beyond where it鈥檚 at now.鈥�
The IM体育官网 Poly team is doing well, he said.
The team is made up of three groups: mechanical engineering majors who are designing and constructing the fuselage and determining the appropriate materials to use; computer engineering majors who are ensuring everything connects properly and the right data is being collected; and computer science majors who are working to collect the data and store it in a way that survives the device鈥檚 descent.
鈥淥nce we attach the device to the drone that carries it up to the altitude, it has to be fully autonomous and has to recognize when it starts to freefall,鈥� said Jaydon Schumacker, a senior majoring in computer science with a concentration in game development and simulation. 鈥淎t that altitude we must make sure the propulsion and parachute work.鈥�
If successful, the device they create will be scaled up to fly to an altitude of more than 4,000 feet.
鈥淲e are doing something people haven鈥檛 done before,鈥� Clay said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very difficult to make experiments happen in zero gravity,鈥� Archer added. 鈥淲e are creating a cheap and reusable way to get data on engineering in that environment.鈥�
The team will test the project during the Capstone Design Showcase at the end of the spring semester alongside designs from several other universities tackling the project.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working hard to make something that works,鈥� Archer said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot more fun than we expected.鈥�
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