Dr. Susan Cachel, CHES faculty member and Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers, recently advised a Cranbury Middle School team competing in the First LEGO League Robotics Innovation Challenge and helped them design a field-ready solution inspired by real archaeological challenges.
Drawing from her experience in Kenya with the Koobi Fora Paleoanthropological Field School, Dr. Cachel taught students about the limits of solar panels in extreme heat. The team then developed an innovative tent system that combines solar panels with hydropanels, which extract water from air humidity to generate drinking water and cool the solar technology.
Their concept integrates lightweight Dyneema fabric, recycled materials, and dual water and power systems to support archaeologists in remote, arid environments. The students also demonstrated that their system could dramatically increase daily water availability up to 4 to 8 liters per day while reducing emissions associated with fuel use and bottled water transport based on their project testing and design work.
With Dr. Cachel’s guidance, the team successfully advanced through the Mid Atlantic FLL Robotics Competition and placed in the top six teams, qualifying for the next level at the state competition. CHES congratulates Dr. Cachel and the Cranbury Middle School team on their achievement and celebrates this collaboration as a standout example of applied anthropology inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers!!!