Student Achievements 

Systems Engineering Melbourne Museum’s Top Designs Exhibition

Anthony Johnston, Mathematics, Science and Systems Engineering Teacher 

Systems Engineering student Miles Nathan is being featured at the Melbourne Museum’s Top Designs exhibition as part of the Season of Excellence. The exhibition showcases the best design projects from across the State, and Miles' project is one of only nine Systems Engineering projects selected for the honour. 

Principal Jon Charlton and Teacher Anthony Johnston attended the opening night with Miles and his family and couldn’t be more proud of his achievement. 

The Star Wars BB-8 droid was Miles’ inspiration for his Unit 3-4 SAT major project. Despite remote learning and the Covid-adjusted study design (which only required students to complete ‘an aspect’ of their project), Miles forged ahead to complete a fully functioning robot. 

B.R.U.C.E. (ball rolling under centrifugal energy), features a fully 3-D printed spherical shell and head piece held at the top by magnets, while internally a drive motor rotates the sphere propelling forward. 

Steering is achieved through an integrated counterweight which is controlled by servo motors to lean the sphere to either side. The counterweight is also utilised in conjunction with a gyroscopic sensor to achieve active stabilisation such that a displacement away from vertical is rapidly corrected. 

Extensive coding on the Arduino platform was required and includes Bluetooth connectivity to allow remote control from a phone. Quite impressive work from Miles particularly considering 2020’s difficult circumstances. Top Designs 2021 runs until 11 July at the Melbourne Museum.