Every idea starts with a prototype
Innovation is rarely a straight line — it’s a process of imagining, experimenting, and refining. At Penn Robotics, we believe in showing our work and sharing our journey. In addition to undertaking this new project, we have also decided to become an Open Alliance team for the 2025-2026 season.
This season, we’re tackling a fun challenge: building the third iteration of our t-shirt launcher. Our first two versions taught us a lot about air pressure, safety, and performance. This time, we’re thinking even bigger — and faster.
Our new concept? A Gatling-style t-shirt launcher. The goal is to increase our firing rate, improve consistency, and add a little “wow” factor to our outreach events. Before we even think about PVC or metal, though, we start with something simpler: LEGO.
LEGO prototypes let us test our ideas in a low-cost, flexible way. We can quickly mock up mechanisms, experiment with gear ratios, and visualize how multiple barrels might rotate and load. The little bricks make big thinking possible.
We’re excited to share this early stage with our community. By posting our progress, we hope to spark ideas, get feedback, and maybe even inspire another team to try something new.
Stay tuned as we move from LEGO to full-scale — and from concept to launch. After all, every idea starts with a prototype.
