High-schoolers in Australia thought of everything from a toll-free number (1-800-SCOOP-ME) to standard operator creature comforts as they competed for top honours in a recent equipment design contest in Brisbane.
The Cooperative Research Centre for Mining Technology and Equipment (CMTE) and Caterpillar invited 34 students from throughout Queensland and South Australia to design a machine for a given coal mine. They were told to give consideration to the machine’s operational characteristics, maintenance requirements, cost and safety factors. Prior to judging, students were given one week and a box of Lego blocks with which to construct their machines.
The winning presentation, dubbed Sonic Storm, was designed to send out sound waves in order to penetrate and break up coal in an underground mine.
The machine was chosen over another underground innovation, the Hydroblade, described by presenters as “the safest underground mining machine that has ever been built.”
The competition is held annually.
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