With the longest stretch of beaches on the east coast,
New Jersey has many dunes that it needs to protect. Dunes are large mounds of sand, typically held together by dune grass, at the beginning of the beach. These dunes are essential for the maintenance of our beaches, but they have been at risk for a long time. In this project students are challenged to design a vehicle using the VEX robotics kit for the purpose of protecting the dunes.
Dunes are typically very distinguishable on a beach as the large mounds of sand when you first step on to a beach. Thanks to the dune grass found in them, they hold together the sand so that they may protect the beaches from losing sand in high winds and large waves. These dunes also protect the shore from the high waters of New Jersey Hurricanes and other storms of the like. They are very much so, one of the most important, if not the most important part of the beach, and can be seen in multiple forms above.
The largest problem facing these dunes is human intervention. When we walk along or on top of these dunes, we disturb the sediment holding the dune grass in place, killing or dislodging the grass. This weakens the structure of the dune, putting the land behind it, as well as the beach in front of it at risk.
In this growing industrialized world, litter is becoming more and more of a problem for the environment. Beach sweeps have been able to clean up much of the trash washed ashore on beaches like Sandy Hook, but volunteers for such programs cannot perform clean ups to remove the litter that that has blown up the beaches on to the dunes. This litter is harmful to the environment and can capture animals in it, leaving them for dead. Above, you can see how organizations like Clean Ocean Action have worked to keep the beaches litter free.
The VEX robotics kit is an intricate construction kit, mainly comprised of metallic structural pieces. These structural pieces have motion capacities supported by the motor kits. These motor kits are powered by an onboard battery pack and controlled by an external remote, in the hands of the operator. The remote, batter operated capabilities of the VEX robotics kit are ideal for traveling across dunes without doing much harm to the structural integrity of the dunes. This kit was developed for hands on educational purposes and can be found in middle schools, high schools, and universities across the country. Organizations like the Coast Guard have recently been doing organized challenges with these kits, as seen below. Even the famous "Mythbusters" have experience with these kits, as also seen below, and worked to test the kits for VEX.
RS,
ReplyDeleteThis is a new background information and you should go over this when you give your formal presentation as it will improve your FPU grade.
I am confused however about the trash part as it is not in your design brief.
Comments by DA