Students in the third semester of the Industrial Design degree programme are traditionally set a challenging task before Christmas that is technically demanding and at the same time has a constructive and creative component.

The starting point for the ball track is a drop weight that sets a standardised steel ball in motion. The track must then function autonomously: The aim is to guide the ball in a closed circuit over a longer period of time. The track must also be fully visible, execute transitions and jumps of the ball in a controlled manner and, at the end, visualise how much energy is left in the system.

The ball tracks of the various teams can be seen once in live operation on Friday, 16 January, from 3 pm. Among other things, the functional stability, the handling of energy, the technical elaboration and the design quality will be assessed. The jury consists of lecturers from the Industrial Design degree programme.

There are many questions and experiments between the task and the day of the competition: How can energy be channelled with as little loss as possible? Where do friction and instability arise? How can distances be extended without losing speed? And how can a technical structure be turned into a precisely designed object? The teams test different solutions - initially with simple models, later with manufactured components and finely tuned mechanisms.

Spectators are invited to follow the competition on site.