"Astronaut Tools" Assignment (using LEGO Robotics)

From: Tufts University Simple Robotics (Fall 2015)

In the first-year intro-to-engineering class at Tufts University, instructors Ethan Danahy and Aaron Johnson created a "space themed" project around developing tools that could be used by astronauts in space in order to perform typical tasks that happen on an EVA (extravehicular activity, or space walk): moving nuts between bolts or routing wires. The students had to leverage the LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 hardware in order to develop a new tool to accomplish this task, and were evaluated by an in-class competition to see which tools performed the best/fastest.

Special thanks to Astronaut Don Pettit for the assignment inspiration, Former Astronaut Jeff Hoffman for sharing his experiences with the class, and Leah Fletcher for editing the video.