Marshall Bassford likes to roll across campus on the app-operated electric longboard that he and other students developed for a class project. Now he aims to turn the class project into a marketable product.
Marshall was a freshman in Dr. Ryan Integlia’s Introduction to Engineering Design class when he came up with the idea as a way to save time walking to and from the campus parking lot and the Innovation, Science & Technology Building. He and a student team developed the lithium battery-powered, electric longboard operated via Bluetooth using a smartphone app.
The electronics are on the underside of the board, shielded by a case that Marshall and his team developed in the University’s 3D printing lab. Now instead of taking eight minutes to walk to class, he can use the electric longboard and make it in a couple of minutes!
Granted, there are other electric longboards out there, but most run using a remote control device that is bulky and inconvenient to carry around campus. Marshall’s solution was to create a smartphone app that could do the same thing, only better. “The biggest challenge was the programing,” said Marshall, who is refining the product as an independent summer project under the guidance of Dr. Integlia.
The next steps are to use technology to make the ride safer and to make the phone app user friendly.
Dr. Integlia emphasized that this project is not just about developing a useful product but also about helping Marshall and the other students discover and tap into their interests. The other team members who helped in the creation are Emily Oldenburg, Ariel Brown and Brandon Higbee.