Engineering in Reverse!
Students learn about the process of reverse engineering and how this technique is used to improve upon technology. Students analyze push-toys and draw diagrams of the predicted mechanisms inside the toys. Then, they disassemble the toys and draw the actual inner mechanisms. By understanding how the push-toys function, students make suggestions for improvement, such as cost effectiveness, improved functionality, ecological friendliness and any additional functionality they determine is an improvement.
Figure 1. Push-toys can be reverse engineered to understand how they work and suggest improved designs.Copyright 2004 Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399 USA. All rights reserved.
Engineers learn about technologies, objects and systems through reverse engineering and the engineering design process. By analyzing the structure and function of a device or component, engineers can improve upon previous designs.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Define reverse engineering as the process of disassembly and careful analysis with the goal of duplicating or improving a device or component.
- Demonstrate the process of reverse engineering using a given object or component and suggest areas of improvement.