BOOM (or later The Car Formerly Known as BOOM) was a collaboration with Yamaan Atiq and Zac Capel for the final project in ENGRI 1170, Introduction to Mechanical Engineering at Cornell.
The project involved designing a small vehicle to compete against other groups in a 12m race, pulling force test, and finally tug-of-war between cars. In order to maximize speed for the 12m race, our car had a set of large, lightweight wheels driven by a gearbox set to its height speed. BOOM was more optimized for the two other competitions, as its wheels were lined with sorbothane, giving it a significantly higher coefficient of friction than other cars’. Additionally, BOOM’s axles could be locked and power transferred onto a winch, letting it stay in place and utilize static friction during the tests instead of slipping its wheels against the ground.