Since robotics incorporates a wide variety of engineering disciplines, including mechanical, electrical, and computer engineering, the club soon became very diverse, with numerous young men and women with a variety of engineering and non-engineering backgrounds joining the ranks. When students join EDT, they can expect to become part of an active and capable team that holds a strong passion for what they do. The overall experience and knowledge that they gain not only nurtures their passion to excel as UIC students, but also helps them develop professional engineering attitudes.

Interested in Getting Involved?

What Do We Do?

Competitions

For the 2020-2021 school year, EDT will be participating in two different competitions, with multiple teams in each one. Here is a brief explanation of each one before we introduce our teams:

Midwest Robotics Design Competition (MRDC)

MRDC is a competition that rewards points for completing certain tasks that are specified each year. Some of these tasks might include pressing buttons, shooting balls, or maneuvering difficult obstacles. The winner is determined from a bracket-style elimination, with approximately 40 teams competing against each other. At the very end of the competition, teams can choose to enter a “Demolition Round” where the goal is to be the last one standing…

Robobrawl

Robobrawl is exactly what it sounds like; robots that are designed to destroy their opponents. Each team must follow sizing and weight constraints to level the playing field, and the winner is determined from a bracket-style elimination.

Projects

Due to the possibility that competitions will be postponed or canceled due to Covid-19, we will be putting an additional focus on internal projects, and finding ways to collaborate from home. These projects will not directly affect any competition but will be used to expand our current knowledge base. They are also all-new teams started in Fall 2020, which means that their rosters need to be filled!

Robotic Arm

The goal of the Robotic Arm Project is to build a mobile robot arm that can pick up/drop off, and manipulate objects by both human and autonomous control. There will be multiple iterations of the arm, a specific focus on documenting the design process.

Electric Drift Trike

The Electric Drift Trike will require a mix of mechanical and electrical work. Planned projects will include, but are not limited to, designing and welding a frame, creating a battery pack with a battery management system, and fabricating a fully functioning, 3 wheeled, zero-emissions vehicle.

Maze Mouse

The Maze Mice Project consists of maze solving, small-scale robots that are built and programmed completely from scratch. Each “mouse” is placed inside a custom-built mini-arena, where it is then timed for how long it takes to complete the maze. In the beginning, most of the focus will be on electrical engineering (when being constructed), and programming/computer science thereafter.

Filament Recycler

The Filament Recycler is a project that will allow us to recycle old prototypes, support material, or failed prints that are leftover from our 3D printers. The Machine will first grind the old plastic, melt and mix the small bits, then roll it into a new spool. There are lots of delicate thermodynamic and mechanical elements that must be considered in the design process, so if that sounds interesting please get in contact!