Kent State University at Tuscarawas engineering technology students collaborated on their capstone project during the spring semester and unveiled a search and rescue robot on finals night in early May.
A class of ten students from electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and electrical/mechanical engineering technologies participated in the process from the ground up – taking the project from the idea phase to the actual design and fabrication of a working robot.
The unique robot seeks out the source of fires in burning buildings, holds a deployable rope for search and rescue missions and features a winch to deploy teargas or smoke canisters for use during active shooter incidents.
The capstone course was taught by David Schlosser, adjunct engineering technology instructor, and included the following students: Wyatt Angel, Rian Antonelli, Michael Hill, Zach Houze, Dylan Little, Erin Neisel, Kade Rainsberg, Chase Ricker, Hunter Smith, and Robert Stewart.
“This was a great group of students!” said Schlosser. “I can't say enough about their hard work and dedication. One of the most enjoyable things I saw while teaching this class was how the students collaborated and worked together to solve issues that popped up along the way.”
A project sponsor, FoxFury Lighting, of Oceanside, California, is interested in displaying the robot at the Fire Department Instructors Conference in Indianapolis next year. Schlosser, a firefighter for over 20 years, said this event draws over 250,000 firefighters from around the world and is the largest trade show of its kind in North America.
Additional project sponsors include CMC Rescue Rope (Goleta, California); Allied Machine & Engineering Co. (Dover); Communications Exhibits, Inc. (Canal Fulton); Action Extreme Sports (New Philadelphia); Vehicle Solutions Emergency Equipment (Navarre); New Philadelphia Police Department; and Kent State Tuscarawas.
For more information about the engineering technology programs at Kent State Tuscarawas, visit www.kent.edu/tusc/bachelor-science-engineering-technology.