Cazenovia — Brady Flannery, a senior at Cazenovia High School, said he is not an inventor, he is more of an engineer — he took something that already existed and found a way to improve it. The item he improved, a base plate for mounting robotic devices, is now manufactured by the company Robotshop and sold to schools and companies across the U.S., and brings the 17-year-old a small income.
And Flannery did it all working in the Cazenovia High School technology classroom during lunch periods over the course of about eight months.
“I love problem solving,” Flannery said while explaining his design. “I’ve come a long way after making this … the problem solving skills [I learned in design class] have helped me in other courses … it opens your mind to new realms of different ways of solving problems.”
Flannery has been taking technology classes since the eighth grade, utilizing the Project Lead the Way program offered through Cazenovia, which is the nation’s largest provider of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curricula for use by elementary, middle and high schools.
Flannery’s base plate design began two years ago when his technology teacher, Chris Hurd, mentioned that in the class, students use Lynxmotion robots that were not designed to attach perfectly with the VEX equipment that the class was interfacing it with. Hurd suggested that Flannery try to solve the compatibility problem within the guidelines of making a simple solution that was inexpensive and easy to implement.
“In class, we use Vex and Lynxmotion robot stuff all the time, but we never had a way for them to work together,” Hurd said. “That’s the thing: you have to solve a problem; we teach the problem-solving process.”
“Mr. Hurd had the original idea and then he turned it over to me,” Flannery said. “After that, I spent seven to eight months designing an idea that would be compatible with these systems.”
continued — Flannery measured the dimensions to create a part to fit the base of the robot and its power switches, drew several sketches of his ideas, turned those sketches into a 3-D model that he created with a BrightStar Laser Engraver and cut out his solution on a piece of acrylic.
After multiple instances of trial and error, Flannery ultimately designed a robotic base plate that was smaller, more compact and accessible to not only the two companies’ technology, but also two different types of robotic arms that could be mounted on the plate.
He worked not only with Hurd on the design, but he also received numerous ideas and opinions from professional engineers, particularly engineers at Robotshop, the company that ultimately purchased Flannery’s design.
“My original design was bulkier, larger, [the engineers] said to make it tighter. They changed the screw sizes, screw holes and where the holes were located,” he said.
In the end, Robotshop purchased the design from Flannery, who now receives royalties from each base plate sold — which sells from 70 to 400 plates per month since it has been on the market, Flannery said. The design is also included for sale in the Project Lead the Way program catalogue that is used by more than 8,000 elementary, middle and high schools in all 50 states.
“What a great life skill to have — to go from an idea in your head to a saleable product,” Hurd said of Flannery’s achievement.
Flannery, a CHS senior, said he plans to continue pursuing his interest in engineering by seeking a dual degree in mechanical engineering and theoretical engineering in college next year, although which college he will attend has not yet been decided.
As to whether or not Flannery has plans to engineer more ideas or make improvements to existing products, “it’s always up in the air,” he said. “Everything can always be changed.”
