JPL Invention Challenge

JPL 2017 "Wiffle Ball Loft Contest"

The objective for this year's JPL Challenge is to shoot 10 wiffle balls into a plastic tub located 6 meters away. The tub is situated 6 feet and 6 inches tall. The team that shoots the most balls and the fastest wins.

For me the of the intent of the challenge is to show what I know about the fundamental engineering concepts along with structural integrity to build a sturdy mechanism.

Since this was the first time I worked hands on with power tools and wood without the help of others (than my teammates), this was really more of a learning experience than a competition to see who is the best.

My initial idea for this challenge was to build a high pressure launcher similar to Paper Rocket Launchers. However, since there were too many variables to control such as pressure, angle, air leakage, and air lost through holes in the balls, my team decided to build a flywheel launcher. This concept is similar to tennis ball launchers as well as a ball launcher one of my teammates and I used in robotics last year.