What is MARC?
Problem
We created a product that made mechanical contraction more efficient, by using electromagnets to mimic a “robotic” muscle.
Inspiration
Taking inspiration from the human muscle, it’s purpose is to retract and relax in such a way to levy motion in an arm.
Innovation
Using electromagnets, the device collapses together and expands outward upon command, unlike any current robotic arm.
Execution
Potential applications for this technology include manufacturing, prosthetics, transportation, and more.
About Us
Taking inspiration from the human muscle, it’s purpose is to expand and relax in such a way to levy motion in an arm. Using electromagnets, the device collapses together and expands outward upon command.
This technology could be applied to virtually any setting involving robotic arms, acting simply as a muscle. Potential applications could include manufacturing, prosthetics, transportation, robotics, and more.
Currently, MARC is in the prototyping phase. Using 3D Printing Technology, we are able to develop a functional prototype that can contract and expand easily. We will be using this prototype to develop more potential uses to expand it's applicability.
Our Team
Thomas McCullough III
National Competitor :: T-Shirt Design :: 2015 SkillsUSA NSLC
Second year in SkillsUSA
Delaney Mizell
4th Place :: 3D Animation & Visualization :: 2015 SkillsUSA National Championships
Second year in SkillsUSA
Gerrod Ubben
First year in SkillsUSA
Middle Creek High School
Apex, NC
Design Journal
Technical Review
This was a very impressive project! It’s obvious that a lot of work, thought and effort went into this presentation. Slides with too many words distract the audience. Sometimes it’s helpful to share hard copy hand-outs of the slides so that people could jot down notes/questions, as the presentation goes. That way, they can ask[…]
Research
Our idea initially required a large amount of research and development before we were able to move forward with developing a prototype. We worked out concept problems such as assembly, retraction, expansion, and containment. Other research topics include design, manufacturing, ergonomics, aesthetics, and more. MARC is used to replicate the human muscle for robotic contraction[…]
Design
MARC is intended to be used in a variety of real-world applications, which can be achieved thanks to it’s minimalistic design, which uses as few moving parts as possible. Many of the original ideas from our initial concept remained the same through the prototyping phase of creating our product. Using bracket-shaped links, we were able[…]
Design Problems
In the brainstorming phase of designing our product, we ran into a multitude of issues that would be prohibitive to it working the way we intended. Before we moved to the prototyping stage, we made a list of these obstacles to ensure that the device would work properly. We spent an ample amount of time[…]