Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Electrical Engineering Student Uses Cell Phone to Launch Rocket

 

Contacts:
Dana Schmidt, communications specialist, (515) 294-3071, schmidtdiastate.edu

Ames, Iowa –Electrical engineering junior John Pritchard dreamed all his life of being a professional soccer player or musician, but when it came time to choose a college he also knew he had an interest in computers, so he decided to try electrical engineering to see if he liked it.

He loved it, and because of it he has gotten to do cool projects outside of class as part of Iowa State University’s Critical Tinkers student group, which takes electrical engineering demonstrations to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s Electrical Engineering Learning Community (EELC) and to prospective students.

This year, Pritchard—who is originally from Sioux City, Iowa—worked to adapt a cell phone to act as a trigger to launch a rocket.

“I bought some TracFones at Wal-Mart for about $10 each because I thought I could do something cool with them,” Pritchard says.

Pritchard then took the cell phones apart and tinkered with the remaining parts to figure out a place for an output and triggering devices.

In the first phase of his project, Pritchard removed the speaker and hooked up two wires where the speaker used to be to act as the output. He then connected an LED light to the output and called the phone. The phone call sent current to the output, lighting up the LED.

Next, Pritchard consulted with his classmates Sasha Kemmet, a graduate student in electrical engineering, and Kang Kang, a junior in electrical engineering, to brainstorm ideas and ways to launch the rocket.

In the end, Pritchard replaced the voltage source with an AV battery and exchanged the LED for a small rocket. He and some friends tested the device last fall, and launched the rocket by calling the phone.

“It’s a beautifully simple device,” Pritchard says. “Watching the rocket was an exhilarating experience. Being able to create an original project is exciting, but having it actually work is thrilling!”

Pritchard also adds that working on this project and being part of Critical Tinkers has been a life-changing experience.

“I like that there is so much to be discovered in electrical engineering. It is such a diversified field that no matter what focus I choose, I know there’s a place for me,” Pritchard says. “Most importantly, though, I enjoy creating. Being able to create, design, and then implement gives me a great satisfaction and makes me feel that I am doing some good for the world in one way or another.”

Students from the EELC created and posted online a tutorial on the cell phone rocket launcher device they designed.

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