Building Bridges

VISUAL: First Year RMIT students from Aerospace, Automotive, Mechanical and Advanced Manufacturing and Mechatronics Engineering work in teams to design and build bridges made from dried spaghetti. RMIT University logo.

VISUAL: Sam Dowling, Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace Engineering) RMIT University speaking to camera.

Sam Dowling: So essentially, the project was to ...

VISUAL: Close up of a truss bridge made from spaghetti, a small toy car moves across it.

Sam Dowling: ... to build a bridge that could withstand both a ...

VISUAL: Three male students laying the road on top of the spaghetti bridge, there is a ramp to the side of bridge.

Sam Dowling: ... static distributed load as well as a ...

VISUAL: Close up video as one of the male students pushes the car up the ramp.

Sam Dowling: ... dynamic load with a moving car.

VISUAL: Stephanie Duggan, Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) RMIT University speaking to camera.

Stephanie Duggan: We're using spaghetti which is not that strong ...

VISUAL: Video of a male student using a hot glue gun to connect the spaghetti truss framework for the bridge.

Stephanie Duggan: ... and yeah, it's quite a challenge (chuckling).

VISUAL: Dr Akbar Afaghi Khatibi, School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University speaking to camera.

Dr Akbar Afaghi Khatibi: We had about 336 students ...

VISUAL: Video of two male students putting final touches to their bridge. Dr Khatibi is in the background speaking and laughing with another male student.

Dr Akbar Afaghi Khatibi: ... from ...

VISUAL: Male student looking carefully (by squinting) at the weight of his bridge which is sitting on a scale.

Dr Akbar Afaghi Khatibi: ... mechanical engineering ...

VISUAL: An unidentified student releases their car to run down the ramp and over the upside down truss bridge. A male student is watching. Dr Khatibi is taking a picture with his camera. Also an unidentified student is in the background taking a picture with their smartphone.

Dr Akbar Afaghi Khatibi: ... aerospace engineering, mechatronic engineering and ...

VISUAL: Close up of another bridge.

Dr Akbar Afaghi Khatibi: ... automotive engineering students.

VISUAL: Close up of a male student’s hand picking up the toy car as it finishes its run down the ramp and over the bridge.

Johnathan Donnellon: In the group we had to ...

VISUAL: Close up of unidentified student placing a box truss bridge into position on the ramp.

Johnathan Donnellon: ... basically, go and ...

VISUAL: Johnathan Donnellon, Bachelor of Engineering (Aerospace Engineering) RMIT University speaking to camera.

Johnathan Donnellon: ... research different types of bridges that are out there so ...

VISUAL: Video of another bridge with the toy car crossing it. A male student reaches over to pick up the car.

Johnathan Donnellon: ... truss, beam bridges, arch bridges ...

VISUAL: Video of a male student weighing his bridge on a set of scales.

Johnathan Donnellon: ... suspension bridges and ...

VISUAL: Male student talking to someone off camera and he is standing at a bench on which is another type of spaghetti bridge.

Johnathan Donnellon: ... work out what types were applicable to ...

VISUAL: Male student is measuring a part of his bridge, two other male students are watching him. In the background is a male student watching something off screen and he is cheering with his fists in the air.

Johnathan Donnellon: ... spaghetti design.

VISUAL: Charushi Bhasin, Bachelor of Engineering (Adv Manufacturing and Mechatronics) RMIT University speaking to camera.

Charushi Bhasin: It actually took a lot of deliberation and research ...

VISUAL: Video pan across the lab which is filled with about 20 male and female students working in groups on their bridges at different benches.

Charushi Bhasin: ... and everyone had to bring their own ideas.

VISUAL: Stephanie Duggan speaking to the camera.

Stephanie Duggan: First of all, it was just really trial and error.

VISUAL: Video of two male students setting their bridge onto the ramp. They are being watched by four other male students.

Stephanie Duggan: We just came up with a really simple idea ...

VISUAL: Female student releases the car at the top of the ramp and it runs down over the bridge which is underneath the cardboard road.

Stephanie Duggan: ... and we just trialled one design and, it turned out, it worked for us ...

VISUAL: Close up of male student building his truss bridge. The glue gun is beside him on the bench.

Stephanie Duggan: ... so we've just continued using that one ever since.

VISUAL: Dr Akbar Afaghi Khatibi speaking to camera.

Dr Akbar Afaghi Khatibi: So students are learning how they can actually ...

VISUAL: Unidentified student releasing the toy car at the top of the ramp and it runs down the ramp and over the bridge which is under the cardboard road. This is being watched by a male student, Dr Khatibi and an unidentified student taking a photo with their smartphone. As the toy car nears the end of the bridge, the road starts to bend as the bridge underneath it breaks from its join to the ramp. As the car rolls back the whole bridge breaks apart and falls off the ramp. Two of the male students watching open their mouths in shock and disappointment.

Dr Akbar Afaghi Khatibi: ... optimise their design, their solution in order to achieve a specific objective.

VISUAL: Johnathan Donnellon speaking to the camera.

Johnathan Donnellon: You're sort of given the task at the start ...

VISUAL: Close up of a male student and a female student together placing the road on top of the truss bridge.

Johnathan Donnellon: ... and you have no idea how to go about it and you go through ...

VISUAL: Johnathan Donnellon speaking to the camera.

Johnathan Donnellon: ... bit by bit and it slowly sort of reveals ...

VISUAL: Female student using the hot glue gun to building a spaghetti bridge.

Johnathan Donnellon: ... how to build the proper bridge.

VISUAL: Stephanie Duggan speaking to the camera.

Stephanie Duggan: Because it's my first year at uni I didn't ...

VISUAL: Video of various male and female students and Dr Khatibi looking closely at a bridge on the ramp.

Stephanie Duggan: ... know anyone and through this project ...

VISUAL: Video of female student releasing the toy car to run down the ramp and over the road on top of the bridge.

Stephanie Duggan: ... I've been able to meet so many people ...

VISUAL: Stephanie Duggan speaking to the camera.

Stephanie Duggan: ... that I probably wouldn't have come across.

VISUAL: Dr Akbar Afaghi Khatibi speaking to the camera.

Dr Akbar Afaghi Khatibi: I think this project was an opportunity ...

VISUAL: A male student releases the toy car to run down the ramp and over the bridge. He is being watched by four students and Dr Khatibi is taking a photo of this with his camera.

Dr Akbar Afaghi Khatibi: ... for them to, actually ...

VISUAL: Close up of a male student attaching his bridge to the edge of the ramp.

Dr Akbar Afaghi Khatibi: ... build their study group ...

VISUAL: A male student releases the toy car on the ramp and it runs down the ramp over the bridge. He is being watched by two other male students and Dr Khatibi.

Dr Akbar Afaghi Khatibi: ... and continue working as a group ...

VISUAL: Close up of toy car travelling across a bridge. Female student crosses in front of the camera to retrieve toy car.

Dr Akbar Afaghi Khatibi: ... on their assignments.

Johnathan Donnellon: It’s been challenging at times ...

VISUAL: Johnathan Donnellon speaking to camera.

Johnathan Donnellon: ... but, I think, the group's really pulled together ...

VISUAL: Dr Khatibi and five male students watching the toy car travel over the bridge.

Johnathan Donnellon: ... and it's worked well.

Sam Dowling: Doing an engineering subject ...

VISUAL: Sam Dowling speaking to the camera.

Sam Dowling: ... there's a lot of maths and ...

VISUAL: Female student releases the toy car and it runs down the ramp and over the bridge. Dr Khatibi and five male students are watching this in the background.

Sam Dowling: ... physics involved so it was really enjoyable to ...

VISUAL: Close up of a male student releasing the toy car to run down the ramp and over the bridge. In the background Dr Khatibi and another male is watching this.

Sam Dowling: ... get into the lab and, actually, put it into practice.

VISUAL: Charushi Bhasin speaking to the camera.

Charushi Bhasin: I mean I love mechanics so, of course, trying to figure ...

VISUAL: Male student, in slow motion, lifts his bridge off the scales. He is being watched by three male students in the background.

Charushi Bhasin: ... everything out, which way could be better?

VISUAL: Close up of two unidentified students fixing the bridge to the ramp and adjusting the road.

Charushi Bhasin: Could we reduce the weight here? Could we ...

VISUAL: Charushi Bhasin speaking to the camera.

Charushi Bhasin: ... which stresses more? It's like ... it's ... the whole process is so interesting.

VISUAL: RMIT University’s logo and website www.rmit.edu.au. This video features the song To The Future available under a royalty free license.

End of video

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