Last week, third and fourth year Mechanical Engineering students exhibited the outcomes of their project work.

Design, Make and Test projects by third year students were on display in the College Main Entrance on Tuesday, 11 June. Students worked in groups as small engineering consultancies; they were given a design brief and had to develop ideas and concepts, then build and test a final prototype product. 

The projects tackled problems from a wide range of fields, from robotics to transportation or healthcare. Cycling featured in several of the prototypes this year, whether they involved implementing continuous variable transmission on a bicycle, improving commuter bikes or batteries for electric bicycles.

Some of the projects devised new tasks and devices to aid in teaching younger students. Robots were present in a variety of shapes, inspired by cockroaches or jellyfish, designed for rescue, surgery or domestic tasks. Visitors to the exhibition were able to see devices built to assist people with mobility issues, such as an alternative system of wheelchair propulsion or a stair climber. Other ideas included artificial hands and equipment for vaccine transportation.

On 12 June, fourth year students exhibited posters for their final year projects in the CAGB Concourse. The final year project is a major piece of individual research work; topics vary over the whole range of subjects included in the Mechanical Engineering degree course.