Will Beatrez `15
May 4, 2013 – On a beautiful Saturday within the stunning campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology, a group of college engineers showed off its bicycle-powered blender to a throng of captivated on-lookers. It was the 2013 Imagine RIT festival, where 30,000 spectators explored exhibits operated by students all around the campus.
Some of the premiere exhibits were presented by students of the mechanical and electrical engineering departments, in which RIT is equal to the most prestigious schools in the world.
The Sustainability Hall is a newly built, state-of-the-art research building and will soon be the center of sustainability engineering at RIT. Follow this link to learn about the incredible ways this building leaves a positive impact on the environment: http://www.rit.edu/emcs/admissions/bca/item/sustainability-hall-tour
One such project was a 10,000 volt Tesla coil. Unfortunately, the school’s insurance carrier prohibited it from being displayed at the festival, but the students decided to show it off late at night after most visitors had left.
The electricity here can be seen travelling from the metal tray, through the pickle due to its natural tendency toward the ground. The device emitted a continuous thunderous boom, so loud that the Public Safety Services came, even though the demonstration was perfectly safe. This was just one facet of the action-packed day. Other exhibits included robots shooting basketballs, new methods of creating biofuel, a computer program that responds with jazz improv during jam sessions, an air cannon shooting balls across the quad, and many other works of innovation and creativity.
After retrieving the basketballs, the robot dumps them into the hoop with its arm.
An RIT Innovator presents his project.
The notes are shown on the screen as both the trumpeter and computer piano play.
