CSULB
engineering students build bot to battle
By Maritza Diaz
On-line Forty-Niner
CH53
moves like a tank. It has a 4-foot blade
at its center, and it’s ready to take on
anything its challenges.
 The
Society of Manufacturing Engineers of Cal
State Long Beach unveiled its mechanical
creation in front of a class full of students.
The 120-pound remote controlled robot was
built and designed on campus by CSULB students.
“Everyone is interested in something like
this. It’s an interesting and fun project,”
said Todd Szallay, a manufacturing engineer
from Northrop Grumman Corporation.
Szallay is a recent graduate of CSULB and
former president of SME. He got the project
started and with the help of Walter Martinez,
a systems analyst and teacher at CSULB,
they managed to create a project that would
involve the participation of various students.
CH53, whose name represents the chapter
of the club and also the name of a military
helicopter, had a difficult journey in its
creation. In order to enter it in competitions,
the robot would have to weigh a maximum
of 120 pounds in order to qualify for competitions
in its weight class.
“Because of the weight restraint we weren’t
able to do a lot of the things we wanted
to do,” said Eric Chan, a junior engineering
major who helped build CH53.
The robot is a 23-inch square and eight
inches tall and consists of a main weapon,
a blade that has holes along it. The holes
were made in order to loose some of the
weight. There are also wings on either side
that were built in order to prevent an opponent
from going under the robot and flipping
it over. The battery-powered robot also
consists of many materials used in military
aircrafts.
The dedication of the students who were
part of the project was reflected in the
amount of time they invested in creating
CH53.
“We would meet on our breaks everyday for
three or four hours,” said Kris Chinn, a
senior engineering major.
No one person takes the credit for this
project. Everyone who worked on it is given
credit for the input they provided.
“We took turns building it. A lot of us
were putting it together. When they called,
I came,” Chan said.
Those who worked on CH53 expressed pride
in their accomplishment.
“I think building it was more enjoyable
than designing it. You can see it coming
together. It’s not on paper anymore,” said
Corey Snavely, a junior engineering major.
The robot took about five months to design
and build and cost about $4,500. The College
of Engineering, Northrop and Grumman Corporation,
and other sponsors, donated the money needed
to complete the project, according to Szallay.
The next phase in CH53’s artificial life
is competitions. It will be entered in battles
that will pit robot against robot.
“It’s like a boxing match. They have a ring
but it has Plexiglas around it so parts
won’t fly at you and you won’t get hit by
them,” Martinez said. “It’s growing into
a sport.”
Tanthony
Weightman, a junior, who witnessed the unveiling,
was impressed with the outcome.
“I thought it was really cool. I was surprised
students from a university could do this.
I hope it kicks some butt,” he said.
The CH53 did well during its first competition
this weekend, but eventually lost. In the
tournament-style match in San Francisco,
the team won the first two rounds, but lost
the third and fourth.
Something in the weapons casing was cracked,
Chan said. But, he said, “we took out their
wheel.”
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