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The West Point BattleBots project and competition.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

Three cadet teams at the United States Military Academy each design, budget, build, and test a middleweight, non-stomping BattleBot according to the rules of the national competition.[1] In 2003 we emphasized two aspects of this multidisciplinary, hands-on project--the importance of the final competition and project planning as a military operation. We observed three significant results of this change: 1) increased competitiveness and learning; 2) successful introduction of the Military Decision Making Process (MDMP); and 3) learning valuable leadership and teamwork lessons.

Introduction

The benefits of open-ended, multidisciplinary, hands-on projects are well-documented in literature. Manseur cites some of the advantages of competition-based projects as student motivation, multidisciplinary teamwork, and synthesis of knowledge from many courses.[2] Aglan and Ali assert that hands-on experiences significantly enhance engineering curricula and enable students to better understand the physical problems and solutions that pervade engineering education.[3] Bourgeois also asserts that hands-on projects help students close the gap between theory and practical applications, promote deep-learning, and build students' self-confidence.[4]

Many large-scale engineering competitions exist today. At the undergraduate level, the Intercollegiate Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC) combines electrical, mechanical, computer, and systems engineering within a competition that is, "... multidisciplinary, theory-based, hands-on, team implemented, outcome assessed, and based on product realization."[5] At the middle school and high school levels, the "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology: FIRST" robotics competition sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) requires student teams to build robots with the help of technicians and corporate sponsors.[6] The West Point Bridge Design Contest (WPBDC) is an Interact-based competition that attracts over 10,000 teams of high school and middle students each year.[7] The WPBDC's principal goal is for students to, "learn about engineering through a realistic, hands-on problem-solving experience."[8] As part of the academic program at the United States Military Academy(USMA), every cadet is required to successfully complete an engineering project during his/her senior year.[9] These projects are increasingly complex and realistic, requiring a multidisciplinary engineering approach for successful completion. One such project is BattleBots, which is jointly offered by the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (D/EE&CS) and the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering (D/C&ME).

Battlebots at West Point

For the capstone BattleBots Project, three cadet teams each design, budget, build, and test a middleweight, non-stomping BattleBot according to the rules of the national competition. [1] The project culminates in a BattleBots tournament and final rumble (demolition derby) at West Point between the three cadet and...

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