MUTR
took part in the recent BBC series of Beat the Boss by acting as the
manufacturer of the rockets designed by two rival teams: a group of
high-powered business people, and a group of pupils from a primary school.
MUTR gave technical advice to the two teams and then used their initial
sketches and ideas to create two working rockets both powered by compressed
air.
The
adults rocket, called Sky high, was modelled on NASAs space shuttle
since they wanted something that would take off vertically and then
glide back to earth. They also required that it changed colour in flight
and carried a camera to take video footage. The pupils rocket, called
Lunar Lens, was designed with an unusual bulb shape. It also needed
to carry streamers and flashing lights -and spray confetti as it took
off.2D
Vector-based software was used to produce the aerodynamic shapes.
The
designs were then laser-cut using our in-house facilities (see right),
and the flat pieces then hand-constructed to give the greatest precision.
The
rockets were modelled using a selection of MUTR materials including
the colourchanging
chameleon and simulated metal cards. Sky High was flitted with a
miniature camera and recorder sourced from the famous Mayfair Spy Shop
and the Lunar Lens carried a miniature circuit with flashing LEDs.
Chameleon film and card was used to produce the colour changing effect
required by the Big-shots and it was found the be an extremely popular
finish with everyone.
Both
rockets were launched from adaptations of the MUTR rocket
factory - a compressed air reservoir with electrically operated
firing system. Both were launched successfully several times and retrieved
undamaged.
The
Launch-site was Middlesex Univsersitys Trent Park campus which proved
an ideal setting for the filming with more-than adequate space for the
launches and the backdrop of the mansion being the ideal combination.
After
a whole day of rigorous testing by the 11 - 13 year-olds, the launchers
and rockets held out well and proved to be more durable than expected.
See
below for Video Footage from the Beat the Boss show:
Please
use the controls at the bottom to Play and Pause the Video
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: Mindsets online : MUTR working with the BBC
Smart Materials