Based on the three main requirements, team FGR came up with about 50 different ideas for a dodgeball vehicle. Some included tank-style treads and some omitted wheels altogether for a snow sled design.
In order to narrow down the designs, we agreed that the vehicle should meet the following functional requirements:
- Support 100 kg
- Cost under $150
- Have a maximum turning radius of 3.5 ft
- Have a mass under 15 kg
- Have less than 4 kg of non-paper products
- Operate in mud, snow, grass, and uneven ground
- Should not fracture from dodgeball impact
With that criteria, we zeroed in on three ideas that seemed feasible. As we continued to work through preliminary drawings and detail the vehicle, the wheelbarrow won out for its stability and lack of non-paper products.
Our preliminary wheelbarrow designs are shown below, and aspects of each design were incorporated into the manufacturing process.