A video game is being brought to life in this classroom as students compete to see who can make the best automatic burger-building bot.
Sixty second-year engineering students at UBC had six weeks to design, build, and program their robots to win a challenge based on a popular video game called Overcooked.
The students, working in teams of four, had to build a pair of robots which would work together to complete the burgers in a simulated kitchen.
“Probably the most complex thing that we’ve got is actually just the mechanical motions required to pick up things like a slice of cheese,” said Andre Marziali, director of UBC’s engineering and physics program.
“It’s actually, even though it’s 3D printed cheese, it’s still hard, so I think it’s really been interesting to see all the innovative solutions that the students have come up with, because we don’t give them any guidance on that. The designs are entirely their own.”
Some robots wowed the crowd with their fast and furious burger skills. Others, not so much.
But most importantly, students are getting hands-on experience with design, building electronic and mechanical devices, and programming.
The robots don’t need to win to get a passing grade. The students are actually being graded on the design, build, and programming of their bots.