Rubber Duck Boat

Rubber Duck Boat

Overview

Students will work in teams of 4-6 students to assemble a paddle boat powered by McKibben muscles and plastic syringes. The boat was designed to be assembled within a 1.5 hour time frame with materials provided and prepared beforehand along with printed out instructions. Students have control over the dimensions and shape of the paddles of their boat. At the end, all teams will participate in a relay race with their boats, using a rubber duck to act as the baton being passed from one boat to another. The teams will be divided into 2 sections that race against one another, with the first reaching the goal as the winner.

Course Implementation

Potential course(s) implemented:

  • First-year Engineering course
  • Sophomore-year Engineering course
  • Highschool STEM related courses

Fundemental Engineering Concepts: Balancing Mechanical Forces / Parametric Design

Pre-requisite courses/topics needed: N/A

Expected Timeline: 2 hours

Learning Outcomes: 

  • Applying knowledge of mechanical forces and torques
  • Apply parametric design and engineering troubleshooting
  • Practice team work and communication skills
  • Practice time managment

Theory Application

Understand the acutation principle and underlying engineering theory applies to this project.

Project Description

See the breakdown of how this project will be implemented in a course including instructor prep, materials, and phase timeline.

Sample Prototype

See how the developers fabricated the prototype of this project.

Contributors

Joseph Midiri / Kathy Trieu