Engineering from the Very Beginning
As is customary this time of year, we often think about goals and resolutions associated with the new year. There is something very refreshing about a clean slate and starting over from scratch at the beginning of January. As I made some personal goals with each of my children, I was thinking of how innocent, curious, and impressed they are with things that are new. They learn quickly, look at problems as a novice, unbiased towards any preconceived solution, and are willing to fail many more times than me or any adult I know. In fact, children are veritable design engineers in many ways.
As new-born infants trying to ingest milk, these small design engineers start experimenting with pressure differences, vacuums, and fluid flow. The mass flow rate of the milk from the bottle increases with a larger pressure gradient, but it takes energy to maintain that gradient. The period of sucking is slowly optimized to make the milk intake most efficient. With any pressure discontinuity in their system (called a bubble) a procedure to equilibrate pressure needs to be performed (called a burp). Even before they can say “Ma-ma” or “Da-da,” these engineers are experiencing their first lessons in fluid dynamics.
Just a few months later, the first lessons in tension and compression of muscles and fingers and friction are started. The infant first holds a toy, then moves a toy, and then throws a toy. They are learning about friction and force - kinematics and kinetics – parabolas and power. These little Isaac Newtons are building a large database of inputs and outputs to later understand the models they’ll later develop.
With a little more time and muscle development, arms and legs are found to swing and bend. These angular positions and velocities are fascinating as limbs, wrists, and fingers are discovered and controlled. Eventually, these members can grab and hold onto colorful objects introducing the electromagnetic spectrum to the baby’s visual system. When these colorful artifacts are too far away to reach, rotational momentum is harnessed and the invention of the wheel, or at least rolling is invoked to reach the desired item. Upgrades and performance improvements are quickly discovered by reducing the friction of forward motion by elevating the body onto the hands and knees into a crawling position. Muscle activation and nerve firing are coordinated, with electric signals from the main computer, to reach very high speeds - speeds so high, that barriers and fences are introduced - the first lesson in constraints.
One-year-olds start to test the full vertical structural capabilities of their skeletal frame. Standing up, first with support, and then independently, becomes possible after significant experimentation. Failure isn’t even recognized at this point. Any attempt, no matter how small and unprogressive, brings the praise of nearby adults. The sensory information processing and feedback control algorithms develop slowly but relentlessly. The child is no machine but deep learning is still happening. Slowly their muscles, nerves, control mechanisms, and the timing of internal and external forces are balanced resulting in one step. And then another. And then another. The dynamic system is walking!
With this new locomotion, the possibilities of exploration and discovery expand. The design space is enlarged and the diversity of views, tastes, sounds, and textures is sampled and processed. The toys become laboratory equipment exposed to all sorts of conditions including cycle fatigue, extreme humidity, abrasion, and large impulses resulting in stress fractures and permanent deformation. With the testing complete, the broken equipment or toys are abandoned to the side. More expensive and complex toys, parts, and assemblies (owned by the adults in the house) are pursued in the other bedrooms, garage, or kitchen. The pots and pans seem to have acoustic properties that make the tall people annoyed. This cause and effect phenomenon is carefully stored away until something else with the same property is found. Thus, the modeling and predictive capabilities of the young child are growing with expectations of similar outcomes from similar inputs.
Scribbles and scratches on paper are the first opportunities to communicate through a medium other than voice. These engineering drawings are placed with magnets on the fridge only to be replaced with later iterations and upgrades. The erratic lines and shapes begin to represent real objects encountered in life just like their random vocal commands begin to mimic the oft-repeated frequency patterns heard from the engineering supervisors who care about the little engineers performance more than anyone. The pressure wave amplitudes, high decibels levels, and tonality all have different responses from the surrounding people. The ability to stimulate a negative or positive response is remarkable.
After a few more exasperating years, the tall people provide thousands of small interlocking bricks that capture the attention of the child. Finally, the destructive capabilities are turned to creative endeavors. Instead of breaking the little design engineer can now build. The previous years of preparation, with experiences in motor control, imagination, colors, geometry, structure, fatigue testing, and patterns are put to use. Designs are built, modified, disassembled, rebuilt, strengthened, and iterated (The LEGO Brick.)
Even when the little engineer had a playmate, they were collectively honing their skills to be effective designers. Collaboration with other engineers on a team is necessary for any design of substance. Working together, sharing, and communicating was required before the Lego structure could read 12 inches high.
To the bricks are added paper airplanes. To the airplanes are added pinewood derby cars. To the cars, are added electronics, sports equipment, music instruments, and trampolines. Every toy, every gift, every experience was training that baby, that child, that teenager as an engineer. Even if you aren’t an engineer today, you were trained to be one…
So, since you were once a child, you are an engineer. Be a child this year and go design something awesome!
