Ride Engineering Competition

Iowa State hosted a competition for student teams to design a model flat ride. It needed to be unique, fit the right scale for their pill-sized riders, and function safely according to ASTM F24 standards.

Our team from UCSD won the Contactless League (for teams who could not meet in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic). We built a ride combining elements from cherished flat ride classics along with a uniquely-UCSD themed tower.

My Role

Team co-lead

Controls & Mechanical Design

Tools & Skills

  • MATLAB

  • SOLIDWORKS

Experience

  • Co-led a team of 8 students to design a fully functioning, novel flat ride model.

  • Verified mechanical design using FEA.

  • Helped design a restraint system disguised within the themed vehicles as wings.

  • Calculated throughput, ride forces and necessary motor torques.

  • Designed a simulated Hardware-in-the-loop test for our controls design through Arduino code.