Year 8 pupil Keon Robert has won an international 3D design challenge with his idea for a solar-powered bulldozer with special caterpillar tracks based on those used on Moon rovers.
Judges in the Polar Cloud CAT Inc. Design Challenge congratulated him for combining creativity with practicality in his design, and he also won appreciation from other users of American manufacturer Polar 3D’s Polar Cloud online 3D design platform.
To maximise his chances in the competition, which was sponsored by heavy plant manufacturer Caterpillar, Keon even produced an alternative design for the other type of caterpillar – the larval-stage insect – in its natural setting, as well as later producing a design based on snowflakes.
Keon’s victory in the heavy machinery category of the competition won a Polar Cloud-enabled Polar 3D printer and $100 for Queen Elizabeth’s School.
QE Head of Technology Michael Noonan said: “Keon’s achievement is a truly remarkable one. He promoted and shared his idea widely, and his was an outstanding example of design and creativity. He received plaudits from Polar 3D’s CEO, Gregory Lalonde, and many others within the Polar Cloud platform, one which has over half a million members.”
Keon explained his thinking and the process by which he arrived at the bulldozer design.
“I decided to reimagine and reengineer your typical bulldozer by adding features which allow for greater accessibility to remote areas, as well as providing a greener alternative to the standard vehicles.
“Firstly, at the back, there is a retractable claw which is able to lift five tonnes. This was created as a feature to utilise when carrying more rubble or dirt. The treads for the vehicle are intended to be made out of wire mesh and rubber to ensure balance and protection, which is a necessity for users who require some means of transportation in more secluded regions.”
This combination of materials was, in fact, used by the vehicles taken on the Moon landing missions, and is, therefore, ideally suited to rocky environments, Keon explained in his design notes.
“Furthermore, photovoltaic cells were added in order to absorb the sun’s solar energy. This would then be converted to electrical energy to power the vehicle via a generator in the engine compartment. The engine compartment also includes lithium-ion batteries, as another energy source in the event of a breakdown.
“Finally, like any other bulldozer, there is another digger at the front, which can carry lift around 35 tonnes.”
Judges stipulated that entries should not only fulfil criteria such as printability, design execution and creativity, but also prioritised those, such as Keon’s, which garnered higher numbers of ‘likes’ on the online platform.
Keon entered the competition as a way of improving his CAD (Computer-Aided Design) skills and of engaging in the Polar Cloud platform – “essentially a workplace for engineers and designers to post and share their work…a STEM-oriented ‘Facebook’.
“I was frankly stunned when I found out I won the competition: the effort I had given it was extraordinary, so I felt it was definitely worth my time,” said Keon.
He added that he had surprised himself with the level of dedication he had brought to the competition, but feels that this will benefit him in the future, not least in terms of his schoolwork.
QE’s Chem Taj team were ranked fifth out of the 42 teams competing in the Cambridge Chemistry Race, many of them drawn from the country’s leading academic schools.
Khai agreed, saying “it was interesting to apply the Chemistry we’ve learnt to topics beyond our specification”, while Janujan said that by working as a team, they were able to “apply different thought processes to the problem”.
Question: Two congruent pentagons are each formed by removing a right-angled isosceles triangle from a square of side-length 1.
In a special lecture delivered via Zoom, Chris Budd, Professor of Applied Mathematics at Bath, first explained to the whole year group what mathematical modelling is, with contributions also coming from a number of his PhD students. In a highly illustrated presentation, he then set out modelling’s crucial role in determining the best strategy for fighting the pandemic, even drilling down into issues such as how shopping can be made safer in a pandemic.
The professor started his talk by revealing that, although not an Elizabethan, he had been born in Friern Barnet and had moved to Harrow Weald at primary school age, before going up to Cambridge to read Mathematics.
Professor Budd went on to explain how modelling has been used in the case of the Covid pandemic. There are three basic questions, he said. Firstly, how will the epidemic grow if the authorities do nothing (which was the case for the 1918 Spanish ‘flu epidemic)? Secondly, how can we stop the number of cases growing? And third, how should we change our behaviour to keep safe?
Modifying behaviour patterns is simply the most effective way to prevent the spread of Covid, which is why wearing masks, staying in closed bubbles and keeping 2m away from other people are the strategies the Government has been promoting most, he said.
The InDex team, drawn from Year 10, will be aiming to establish a solid online presence since, with none of the normal Young Enterprise trade fairs taking place this year because of Covid-19, they will have to rely heavily on internet sales.
Mr Czirok-Carman, a History teacher, added that the boys are aiming to create a product that has both a unique selling point and a significant purpose. They are already working well as a team, dividing up roles and designing the product, he said, meeting weekly to discuss their progress.
“There are such rapid advancements that people don’t always stop and think about how we can make this product suitable for everyone, as well as thinking about our carbon footprint and making the world a more sustainable place.
Pupils from the year group ‘bubble’ gathered in the Main School Hall for the final of the contest in which QE’s newest pupils gave speeches describing their submitted photos that were by turns comic and reflective, informative and sad.
Although the images, which were projected on to a screen, were important to the event, it was, in fact, primarily a test of boys’ abilities as public speakers. They had to speak for up to three minutes about a chosen photo – not necessarily one they had taken themselves – and were judged on the content, style and delivery of their speech. The presentations were judged by the Headmaster, Neil Enright.
Runner-up, for Broughton, was Shreyas Iyengar. He showed a holiday snap at the white cliffs of Dover. Walking to the top had been an achievement, he said, before adding “but the real take-away was spending time with my family”.
Mr Harrison said: “In the end, Zane was triumphant for Pearce House with a speech which talked about how the time he spent caring for a sunflower acted as a helping hand with, and a metaphor for, his first few weeks and months at QE.”