By MIKE KELLEY
Universe Staff Writer
Students from the Manufacturing Engineering and Engineering Technology Department will participate in the first annual Autonomous Miniature Forklift Competition beginning today.
It will be at 1:30 p.m. in the lobby on the second floor of the Crabtree Technology Building.
Kevin Smith, assistant professor of manufacturing engineering and engineering technology, said this is the first year for the MEET 548 mechatronics class so he is excited to see the results.
'Mechatronics is a specialized area which combines mechanics, electronics and computer programming,' said David Pettingill, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering from Camarillo, Calif.
The students have designed and built miniature forklifts to operate through an obstacle course, Smith said.
'The activity helps students in mechatronics courses (to) actually practice the skills and techniques they have learned in the class,' he said.
Smith said the competition is good because the forklift is a practical device that one might see in a factory.
'The activity allows students to manufacture an electronic device and compete with it,' he said.
The competition consists of two parts, Smith said. In the first part, each forklift will go through an obstacle course picking up and delivering palettes to bays of different heights.
The forklift must read bar codes on the boxes to find out where each is to be delivered.
'The second course is similar to the first, except there are two forklifts on the field at the same time,' Smith said. 'This course tests the ability of the student to avoid hitting the other forklift.'
The competition will be graded for the mechatronics class by giving students positive points for completing the course with no flaws. Points are taken away for running into another forklift or a wall.
The track has been set up on the second floor of the Crabtree giving students the chance to practice the course with their forklift before today's competition.
Smith said he got the idea for the forklift competition from a similar contest at MIT using Legos.
'I believe that by creating this course (obstacle), BYU has taken a big step in raising the level of engineering instruction,' said Eric Blair, a senior from Danville, Calif., majoring in mechanical engineering.