First, a series of relatively constant volume test sounds is played as the students testing their team's Hearing Enhancer move away from the sound source. Each team scores points when their tester correctly signals hearing a test sound. Next, students testing their design team's device stand in the middle of an imaginary circle and score points for their team by locating the origin of the test sound on the perimeter of the circle. The most important thing students learn in this project is that engineers design things that enhance people's lives. The specific purpose of this project is to expose students to human-centered engineering.
Engineers are interested in helping people.
They use their creativity and talents to design devices that intimately interact with humans. Besides learning about sound and hearing, students learn that engineers are closely connected to things we use every day. In this project, student design teams learn about sound by designing devices to enhance their hearing. Students must think about the requirements for designing something that interacts with the human body. This project can be done in three to five hours and requires a large open area with minimal background noise for testing.