A single-car, mechanical conveyor that can transport variously-weighted items between two platforms separated by a gap of arbitrary distance.

The task offers enough flexibility in car design (suspended versus supported) and drive mechanisms to make things interesting and instructive. Various contest situations (inclined or horizontal) and contest goals (total load over fixed time, fixed-load speed competition, etc.) can also influence design choices.

-- Kevin Woo (wookm@yahoo.com), February 07, 2001