God certainly made us intricately. Have you considered how amazingly your body can move? From flipping on a light switch to the most complicated of acrobatic moves, we can do amazing things that many machines cannot.
This year, 7th and 8th graders, you are given the challenge to make a machine that can emulate (mimic) a human task or movement. Really we are trying to do what many machines have been doing for years, copying human tasks (biomimicry of sorts). To add to your challenge, no robotics, premade complex machines, or electricity can be used. On top of this, the goal is to mimic the motion, speed, and overall look of the human task. FINALLY, your machine has to work independently. It must be self-supporting and while you could cut a string, let something fall, or push a button to allow springs or gravity to power the motion, you should not have to exert any real force to make your machine work. You will film the human task and then film your final human-motion-emulated machine task. Those who are most clever, most complex, and most successful at mimicking the human task, receive the honor of Challenge 2026 Champion. Follow the steps below for success:
Click here for inspiration from CBS Sunday Morning
You or a team of any size will begin by determining what motion to emulate. Do you like a certain sports task, something as complicated as writing your name, or something as simple as flipping a switch? Consider these things carefully: 1) How hard of a task to choose, 2) Best types of materials to mimic the task, and 3) How to design your machine to best emulate the real human motion in the task and if possible, look humanlike.
After determining the human task to emulate, begin filling out the Google form (link below) next to the February 7th deadline. A video or Google slides file is a required submission within this form. Videos could be as simple as speaking into a phone, voicing over a Google slides, or using a variety of programs like PowerPoint that can be saved as a video. Narration is not needed if text fulfills the content requirements.
Video content should include:
the name(s) of the participant(s) in the group
the LES school being attended by the participants
a description of your human task including any resources that inspired your selection
an explanation of why you chose the task you did
a prediction of your results based on initial observation and any research
Try to limit the video to 60 seconds. If slides are used try to limit yourself to 8 slides.
Since this is a competition, creativity is encouraged. HAVE FUN!
Submit this completed form by Saturday, February 7th.
Deadline I: First Form Submission-- Saturday, February 7th --Click here to fill out form
In this portion of your challenge you will lay out the details of your experiment. Before filling out your second form you will need to determine answers for the following:
What are the different variables that will be tested? How will they be measured? What variables will be kept constant? (remember to test only one variable at a time)
Since your machine is trying to emulate a human task, what/who are you going to use as the human example?
What laws/principles of science will be at work in your machine? (research may be required)
What qualitative observations will be made? (What observations will be made with your senses?)
What quantitative observations will be made? (What observations will be made involving numbers?) How will these quantitative observations be measured? With what units? (Sometimes it will be difficult to have precise measuring tools available. In many cases you can still do careful analysis using consistent springs/clamps for force or even paper clips for mass comparisons). If you scale-up or scale-down the human model, what measuring could you do to keep it as human-like as possible?
What factors are going to best determine your machine's effectiveness in emulating the real human motion?
What do you anticipate as some of the challenges in testing the effectiveness of your machine?
What is going to be the general timeline for accomplishing your experiment, analyzing tests, and submitting results?
Use your answers to the above to formulate a 500-word or less Google document.
Submit this document using this form by Friday, February 1st.
Deadline II: Friday, February 27th -- Click here to submit your 500-word document
In this third important step of your challenge, you will complete the experiment and compile your results into a final report. The report will include an evaluation of your machine based on your experimentation and include a Google Slides presentation of your results.
The points to evaluate should include:
1) structure (the materials used, complexity of motion and method to supply force)
2) safety (safety precautions observed)
3) mimicry of motion (was the motion identical to human motion),
4) mimicry of appearance (did it appear humanlike even if the scale was different--here's where fashion designers and make-up artists will come in handy to recreate the same colors and shapes as the human demonstrator).
5) overall performance (Does it perform similarly, or if scaled down, proportionally to the human body?)
After each evaluation you may have the opportunity to include supporting files or written observations/comments.
The Google Slides presentation will be a short summary of your work including any pictures/videos you would like to incorporate. The goal of this presentation is to "sell" your results in 10 slides or less. Why was your human motion machine a success? What measurements and observations back this up (pictures/graphs)? What did you or your team learn from your experiment? Again, creativity is encouraged. Please list the name(s) in your group at the beginning of your presentation.
After completing the form below with the including supporting files and/or presentation, the project will be judged by the science fair committee. Luther High School students may also be involved by helping with the evaluation of all projects submitted. Winning projects may be displayed on projectors and monitors or at Luther during the science fair. Depending on the results, participants may even be asked to bring in their creations to be displayed.
Deadline III: Thursday, March 6th -- Click here to complete the final form as well as submit your Google Slides file