Engineering Seniors Building a Robot for CSU

By Jan Joslin / Photo by Ty Cornett

The first engineering students to graduate from Charleston Southern in May will also have the distinction of completing the first engineering senior project. The engineering capstone series is designed for seniors to plan and complete a project in two semesters demonstrating the skills and theory they have learned.

The four seniors in the inaugural class, Jonathan Gaminde, Keara Walsh, Braden Siegal, and Samuel Wand, made a formal presentation of their plan for creating ROB –E.R.T, a robot that will benefit the university, to professors and representatives from enrollment, athletics, and student life.

The robot the seniors are building will feature a cannon which can fire t-shirts and other giveaways to crowds at on-campus events such as Sweet 16, off-campus events such as STEM festivals, and athletic events.

In the fall the senior team designed a drivable robot that will be able to work on multiple terrains, be lightweight and transportable, and blue tooth controlled. The goal is to simplify the process so that any student can control the robot. Spring semester will be spent actually building, programming, and testing the robot.

The team will also create a manual so future students will be able to modify the robot. The seniors hope to finish the working model by the end of March and spend April testing the robot.

While the seniors admit to a little anxiety centered around being the first graduates and the pressure to make their robot work, they are excited to bring their ideas to fruition.

Laurie Diel, of student life, looks forward to having the robot at future events. “I’m excited that students made it,” she said.

Walsh said the experience of being in the inaugural class of engineers has built her confidence, and she is grateful for the support of fellow students in a club she was instrumental in starting, ACSES, the Association of Charleston Southern Engineering Students.