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Real-World Challenges
Creativity and design play a significant role in every part of our lives. Here you will find a new approach to design, sustainability, and creative problem-solving using Autodesk software.
Are You Getting Started in Digital STEAM?
Go to the Start Here Page and watch the Digital STEAM Overview videos to get a guided tour of the site. Also, watch the You Don't Have To Be An Expert video and learn more about how to get started using Digital STEAM learning resources without being an expert in Autodesk software.
New this week: The Measurement App!
Play an interactive digital application about systems of measurement! The Measurement App makes students aware of the relevance of measurement in the world and the impact that it has on their daily lives. You can find the application under Level 1: Design Tools.
After completing a review of Autodesk's Digital Steam Workshop, the International Society of Technology in Education, ISTE recognized Autodesk with its Seal of Alignment for Proficiency, for supporting the implementation of ISTE's National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS•S).
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Green Cabin Design
Add a second bedroom onto a predrafted one-bedroom cabin to accommodate your fishing buddies. It is important that you specify green building materials and solar panels for the cabin and stay within your budget limits. The final deliverable is a complete set of construction documents.
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Edible Landscape
Turn an ordinary yard into an edible landscape under the mentorship of landscape-design guru Avis Licht. By replacing ornamental plants with edible plants and following the principles of sustainable landscape design, you create an edible paradise in your own backyard.
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Set Designer
Design a set for a live performing arts show or music video that is a collaboration of many different types of artists. Your set design must present a visual landscape that is interactive for both the performers and the audience. The fusion of visual elements with interactive performance creates a multifaceted, spectacular production.
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Nutrition and the Human Body
Create 3D visualizations of the effects of poor nutrition and disease on organs of the human body. After researching given problems, you create sketches and a storyboard to follow as you animate the effects using Autodesk® Maya® software and a premade stylized human anatomy model.
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Smartphone Accessory
Disguise an older model smartphone by designing a personalized accessory for it. You begin by understanding the needs and preferences of your customer. You research, sketch, create multiple prototypes, test, refine, and ultimately arrive at a solution that delights your customer.
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VEX Robot Gripper
Design an original robotic gripper for use in an industrial materials handling operation. In this case, your robot gripper will be used in recycling operations and must be able to pick up and firmly grasp an ordinary aluminum soda can.
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The Pooch Cooler
Learn a unique way to cool animals down in the summertime, explore how to reduce the thermal discomfort of Ted the 140 lb. bullmastiff by means of heat transfer to the ground by water, creating a self-sustaining energy system that keeps Ted cool and runs only when needed.
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Accessible Design
Remodel the home of an aging superhero to comply with the accessibility laws of the galaxy. Your design must include oversized doors, adequate space and ramps for wheel chairs, grab bars, and other accommodations based on the needs of the particular superhero. Sustainability is required.
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Chicken Coop
Design a chicken coop to fit your own environment. The coop design must take into consideration the needs of the chickens with the purpose of providing a sustainable food source for humans. The chicken coop project covers the same elements required to build a house, only on a smaller scale.
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Bicycle Pavilion
Design a bicycle pavilion to accommodate the growing number of cyclists in San Francisco. With an emphasis on sustainability, you consider site location, weather, building features, materials, and more. You create a 3D model of your design, complete with walkthroughs and renderings.
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Disaster Relief Housing
You are called in to provide a solution for emergency housing in response to a disaster that has left many people in your community homeless. There is an urgent need to move these people into affordable, permanent housing quickly. Your housing design must be easy to assemble and sustainable.
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Contain it Housing
Design a green home out of cargo shipping containers using Autodesk Revit Architecture software. Technology instructor Jennifer Caffrey shows you how to design an alternative home that is affordable, easy to assemble, functional, and sustainable. You think outside and inside the box!
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Help the Environment
Create a 30-second animated public service announcement to increase public awareness about a sustainability issue that concerns you. You construct the animation in Autodesk® Maya® software using features such as camera angles, shading, texturing, lighting, and rendering.
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Save Our Fish
Research a pertinent topic on environmental sustainability and make a fifteen-second animated public service announcement. Using predetermined props, surfaces, and lighting, you determine the concept and create an animation using Autodesk® Maya® software.
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Visualize Virus
Examine a reovirus at a molecular level and create an accurate 3D visualization of the virus infecting a human intestine. You learn how to create a molecular animation from beginning to end using Autodesk Maya software and digital tools and resources developed for biomedical research.
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Blooming Java
Design a dual-purpose retail space. You must figure out how to convert one shop into the other quickly and seamlessly. Each shop requires its own storefront and equipment. You must use green building practices and carry only organic, local, and/or fair-trade products in both shops.
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Electric Vehicle Design 2016
Design a plug-in, zero-emissions electric car in response to the need for more fuel-efficient, cleaner running automobiles. Your completed electric car design must be lightweight, comfortable, reliable, energy-efficient, and affordable for the average consumer.
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Metro Bus Transit Center
Design a metro bus transit center. You follow a complex problem-solving process, collaborating with key stakeholders and BIM experts. You examine every angle of the design problem, leaving no stone unturned. The final design solution is functional, sustainable, and attractive.
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Green Garbage Game
Learn how to create a 3D video game. Game developer Carl Callewaert takes you through the process of designing the Green Garbage Game, a serious game about recycling and the environment. You then create your own game surrounding a sustainability issue that concerns you.
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Urban Park
Collaborate with your classmates to turn an underused lot in your community into an urban park. It should be a place where people can come to relax. Teams work together collaborating on the features of the park to create a sustainable, beautiful, and functional space for everyone to enjoy.
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VEX Robotics Competition – Gateway
Unleash your inner mad scientist to create the next generation R2-D2 or Marvin the Paranoid Android. You and your teammates design a robot that will methodically take out all of its opponents at the 2011– 2012 VEX Robotics Competition—Gateway. Prepare to rule the world!
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I Feel the Chemistry
Create a 90-second song and dance animation to help others learn the elements of the periodic table. Individual periodic elements are the stars of the show as they sing and dance along with the original song “I Feel the Chemistry.” It’s unforgettable!
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Excellence In Design: How to Create a 30 Second 3D Animation Project
Create a 30 second 3D animation to tell a story using the Iiko characters. Over 60 great videos walking you through everything you need to know from storyboarding to compositing and all files are available in both Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya.
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Express Yourself
In this project, you learn how to express yourself by bringing a character to life with Autodesk Maya software. In a series of videos, Carlos Baena, animator and Co-Founder of Animation Mentor, uses a simple robot character, Anibot, to illustrate the creative process of animation.
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Datapad: Video Game Asset
3D artist Jesse Moody shows you how to design an interactive datapad for an video game using Autodesk® 3dx Max® software. The datapad is designed to be the primary device that a player interacts with during gameplay, whether it is to read the mission dossier or fire weapons at a target.
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VEX Virtual ClawBot
In this project, you learn how to design and assemble a robot that can pick up spent nuclear fuel rods and deposit them in a containment device. In place of a real robot, students design a virtual prototype using the VEX Robotics Kit and Autodesk Inventor software.
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VEX Speed, Torque, Power, and DC Motors
In this project, you learn how to design a robotic arm to attach to a VEX object manipulator to compete in a robotics competition. Pre-engineering instructor Brian Stevenson illustrates how to calculate the exact amount of speed, torque, and power necessary to operate a winning robot.
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VEX Object Manipulation
In this project, you learn about robotic object manipulators and how they are used. Pre-engineering instructor Brian Stevenson shows you how to design and build a scoop-type VEX object manipulator using Autodesk Inventor software, the VEX Robotics Kit, and the design thinking process.
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VEX Mechanical Power Transmission
In this project, you learn about mechanical power transmission and the different types of gears and how they work. You design, test, and build a precision gear system that helps transmit power to the robotic arm on a VEX object manipulator for robotics competition.
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VEX Custom Part Creation
In this project, you create a VEX custom part to improve the performance of your VEX robot. Using the design thinking process, you explore ways to enhance or expand the capabilities and market appeal of your robot to make it a more formidable opponent in the robotics competition arena.