The Vex Vending machine began as
a simple class project to help with our local TSA chapter store.
On September 1, 2010 our teacher Polly Hardy, engineering
instructor at
Haralson County High School, presented us with a challenge
to build a bulk Skittles© dispenser so we could dispense a
certain amount of Skittles© for a quarter to make a large
profit.
The idea in itself was simple;
all it would take is a simple class one lever. Our idea changed
and we decided to build a functional vending machine. The first
step towards completing this idea was deciding to vend fun-sized
candy instead of regular size candy that is in a normal vending
machine. The pulls toward using the fun-sized candy were the
smaller size, doubling our profits, and the greater probability
to sell our product because it is at a lower price than our
competitors.
Our teacher showed us an
invitation to present a project for a student showcase for the
Georgia
Educational Technology Conference 2010 being held in
Atlanta. We decided our current project would fit the bill to
take and present. Now we had a closer deadline for our project
than was expected. It was now time to condense our creation and
work out our individual problems for each candy chute since each
individual chute had to be specialized for each type of candy.
Finally when we completed the
internal components we had to create the exterior box to prevent
people from just taking candy and walking away without paying.
Constructing the exterior box took about four afternoons and one
night of working early into the morning. With making last minute
adjustments in the afternoon before the showcase we finally
completed the vending machine.
The next day we presented at the
GAETC Student Showcase and had a day full of presenting to
curious onlookers. One of those individuals was David
Richardson who we later found out to be the
President and CEO of
Learning Labs, Inc. He offered to transport
our machine to the
GA TSA
Fall Leadership Conference. We wouldn’t have been able to
present at the Fall Leadership Conference without his help.
All in all this has been a
learning experience that has been filled with fun and excitement
as well as arguments and let downs. The trip was one we will
never forget, and we have not reached the end of the road. While
presenting, we were encouraged by many people to enter our
project into the
Georgia
Educational Technology Fair and the
Vex Online Competition.
Once again we owe a thank you to
our teacher, Polly Hardy, our fellow classmates in Robotics II,
our school, and our friends at Learning Labs. Thank you.
The three pictures below document
the development of more chutes and securing them in the vending
machine itself while trying to wire it at the same time.
The video is the group's first
attempt of testing the program. The small chute in the where our
whole idea for the project got started.
