By Gary Lloyd
A Hewitt-Trussville High School duo last week placed third in the senior engineering division of the Alabama Science and Engineering Fair in Huntsville.
Seniors Darby Franklin and Bella Goubeaux competed against 239 science projects in the fair
. Their “Sip and Puff Robotic Arm Exoskeleton for a Quadriplegic” finished in third place in the senior engineering division. The project finished in third place in the engineering division at last month’s Central Alabama Regional Science and Engineering Fair at UAB.
These senior students in the biomedical innovations class in Biomedical Sciences Academy, through collaboration with the Engineering Academy at Hewitt-Trussville High School, created a sip and puff robotic arm that is designed for a quadriplegic and mounted onto a wheelchair. The device brings a cup of water to the person and is controlled by the person’s breath.
Hewitt-Trussville High School seniors Darby Franklin, left, and Bella Goubeaux with their Central Alabama Regional Science and Engineering Fair award last month
submitted photo
Franklin and Goubeaux presented their project to a variety of judges, including Boeing, Teledyne Brown and the “Rocket City Rednecks.”
They had the opportunity to have a discussion with Travis Taylor and Pete Erbach from the “Rocket City Rednecks,” a television show on the National Geographic Channel.
“They were very interested in the project because Darby and Bella utilized the idea of using a Ford Ranger window motor as an arm exoskeleton after watching an episode in which the Rocket City Rednecks built an Iron Man suit,” said Hewitt-Trussville High School Biomedical Sciences Academy Instructor Chris Walters.
A video of the arm can be found at www.trussvillecityschools.com.
Franklin and Goubeaux are the first Trussville City Schools students to compete in the Alabama Science and Engineering Fair, Walters said. They received the Rocket City Redneck Award, and were awarded the opportunity to be interns on Season 3 of “Rocket City Rednecks,” which is shot in Huntsville.
Additionally, they were awarded the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Best in Show Award.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
