Today I explored some ESRI story maps and USGS minerals databases. I've done some planning for how I want to visualize the data and what stories I can tell. I'll be doing some more over the weekend, so I'll include more details in future blog posts. ;)
I also devoted several hours today to doing a side project, where I built a robot with some friends and instruction videos on Khan Academy. It was quite the experience! The videos make it seem so simple, but in truth, the process was quite complicated for someone who has never really done something like this before. The most challenging aspects were probably keeping track of what each wire does, what it is attached to, and what other wires it's not allowed to touch. It also took me some time to get the hang of working with the soldering iron. It's similar to working with a hot glue gun, except instead of plastic you're using melted metal to attach metal pieces together. You have to keep your hands really steady and make sure to have a fan blowing to dissipate the foul-smelling smoke coming off the iron.
Although it was a challenge to put together, the robot itself is quite simple. It runs on two motors attached to either side of it, and the robot works without computer code, so its abilities are fairly limited. It can move forward, and has two antennae that activate a lever when pushed down, causing the robot to turn or move backwards if it bumps into a wall, for example. It also has LED lights that you can turn on with a switch. After putting the final touches on our robot, my team and I tested it out in an obstacle course made out of a cardboard box. Much to our dismay, the antennae would only work about 30% of the time, so often the robot would get stuck next to walls or corners. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out ways to improve its functionality. Overall I had a lot of fun working on this mini project and I can't wait to do more with robots in the future!
I also devoted several hours today to doing a side project, where I built a robot with some friends and instruction videos on Khan Academy. It was quite the experience! The videos make it seem so simple, but in truth, the process was quite complicated for someone who has never really done something like this before. The most challenging aspects were probably keeping track of what each wire does, what it is attached to, and what other wires it's not allowed to touch. It also took me some time to get the hang of working with the soldering iron. It's similar to working with a hot glue gun, except instead of plastic you're using melted metal to attach metal pieces together. You have to keep your hands really steady and make sure to have a fan blowing to dissipate the foul-smelling smoke coming off the iron.
Although it was a challenge to put together, the robot itself is quite simple. It runs on two motors attached to either side of it, and the robot works without computer code, so its abilities are fairly limited. It can move forward, and has two antennae that activate a lever when pushed down, causing the robot to turn or move backwards if it bumps into a wall, for example. It also has LED lights that you can turn on with a switch. After putting the final touches on our robot, my team and I tested it out in an obstacle course made out of a cardboard box. Much to our dismay, the antennae would only work about 30% of the time, so often the robot would get stuck next to walls or corners. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out ways to improve its functionality. Overall I had a lot of fun working on this mini project and I can't wait to do more with robots in the future!
Robotics (and engineering in general) is a whole different world from software design. I've always been attracted to the "digital purity of the 1s and 0s" you experience when you write code. If the logic is right, it works. That simple.
ReplyDeleteNot so with engineering, where you are in an analog world rather than a digital one. There is friction and tolerance and a host of real world factors that need to be estimated.
Good to see you exploring both these worlds.
I am glad you explored the robotics world! It is a good experience to try out different aspects of technology and design. You might be interested in this Craft Tech Lab at University of Colorado at Boulder: http://l3d.cs.colorado.edu/~ctg/Courses.html
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