Real World Science—Robots in Surgery?
Did you know that robots are being used in surgery? There are so many benefits! Robotic arms can move in ways that our hands cannot, reach places impossible for a surgeon to access with their hands, surgeons can operate from a remote location, recovery time is greatly reduced. Our STEM class learned about robotic arms and were challenged to create their own robotic arm, capable of precision grabbing.
This was the adaptation of our first STEM challenge. Students adapted their existing robotic hand to meet the demands of the new task. Students had to redesign their initial prototype, which was designed to grab as many cotton balls as possible, to precisely grab a colored pom-pom in a sea of cotton balls. In addition to the redesign, students were challenged to adapt the grabber to use hydraulics to remotely open and close the pincers. Students designed a custom pincer for their arms. At first, they used cardboard and recyclables, then they rendered the design in TinkerCad and 3D printed the models. Students were able to attach their designs to the robot arms and attempt the challenge.
Students engaged in the engineering design process as they worked their way through the constraints and criteria for the robotic arm. Designing, testing, redesigning, and retesting...it was quite the process to arrive at their final prototype. In their notebooks, students reflected on the journey they took to arrive at their prototype. They evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of their current design and suggested ways they might alter the design to make it more effective.
Covey Denton
STEM Coordinator