Below is a very useful video that explains how to program our NXT Robots!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzRRulYvVdY&sns=em
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Friday, February 22, 2013
Activity 2.1.7 Week 7
This week we worked on calculating Truss Forces. Something that was useful that I learned was 2J=M+R. The J meaning joints, M: members and R: reactions. Thus helped us solve static determinacy.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Trusses
This week we took on Trusses! We worked on taking the angles and lengths of each of the parts. At times it was a but confusing, but we got through it.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Moment Calculations
Wednesday in class, we worked on calculating moments. Probably the most difficult part was converting from grams to newtons. Though my group was successful in completing the task!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Sea Perch
Within the next few days we are going to have competitions between our ROV Submarines. Our team was put in charge of coordinating Tug of War. We have decided on a bracket, below. Also, today we had make buoys for or competitions.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Leadership 101
The past two days we have worked on leadership. The class is divided into groups, each with a team leader. Though we had a class discussion about what makes a leader, mostly referring to characteristics. For example, charisma and authority are two main traits a leader should uphold. We also viewed leadership as a stool. Leadership being the seat an direction, alignment, and commitment being the legs.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Cardboard Canoe Challenge
This is my second year doing the Cardboard Canoe Challange and this year our boat was pretty successful!
We recieved 15 Achievements!
Design Achievements:
• Define the Problem and Brainstorm Solutions - State the problem you are designing a solution for. List at least 20 ideas you have regarding your solution.
• Criteria & Constraints - List or reference the specified Criteria and Constraints you're designing for. List at least one implied criteria. List at least three implied contsraints.
• Sketch Ideas - Draw 3 different sketches for possible designs. Label at least 3 key features for each sketch. Describe the feature's functionality so a viewer understands why the called out feature is important.
• Prototype Ideas - Craft physical prototypes (models) of each of your three sketches. Use a notecard or post it note to call out at least one key feature on each model. Post the images to your blog and describe the key feature that you've pointed out on each.
• Select an Approach - Generate feedback (+, change, ?, !) and make a decision matrix regarding your sketches/prototypes. Specify the approach you've chosen and justify your selection.
+: We had a pointed from so we wouldn't plow through the water, we could cut through it.
Change: For the box design we thought the weight wouldnt be distributed how it should.
?: Why tho coffin style?
!: The length of the design we went with really helped the weight be distributed properly.
• Surface area! - Calculate how much surface area you can cover with your given duct tape. How many sf can you cover with one roll? How many can you cover with all your rolls? What % efficiency do you think you can achieve with your overlap?
Build Achievements:
• Build It! - Build your watercraft. Your build must meet the standards of construction (100% covered in Duct Tape). Document it with a presentable photo.
Test Achievements:
• The Farthest - Awarded to the team that can travel the furthest (laps)
• The Longest - Awarded to the team with the watercraft that floats the longest (multiple teams may be awarded this achievement if multiple boats remain afloat at the end of our competition period).
• Balance Master - Awarded if you can have at least one person stand for 5 seconds in the boat (you must conduct this away from the edge of the pool so that non one falls over and hits their head)
• Videographer - Take video of the challenge and post to your blog.
Reflection Achievements:
• Feedback - Generate ten items of feedback for your effort (from the design/build process and/or the actual product). Make sure you include at least one item of feedaback in each of our four feedback areas (+, change, ?, !)
+: Our canoe floated!! We were able to use a lot of cardboard and tape.
change: I would add more cardboard to the triangle in the front it began to gain water quickly
?: What would happen if we added one more layer of cardboard to the bottom of the boat?
!: Our canoe did quite well, everyone was really enthusiastic about it, which definitely helped!
• How Low Did You Go? - How low in the water did your canoe sit (roughly)? Was it suprising how little your boat went down in the water? What is the unit weight of water in pounds? How much did your pilot weigh (roughly)? Use math to help explain the depth that your boat sat in the water.
I would say we rougly sat down about 2 inches in the water. It was actually surprising how high it sat. A cubic foot of water is about 68 pounds, our pilot weighed about 120 pounds.
• Redesign - If we were to do another Carboard Canoe race next semester, what would you build? Draw from everything you experienced in your class and propose the most competative solution. Include a sketch with key features and dimensions labeled.
We could add flats to the side of our canoe just for extra stabability!
• (Make Your Own Achievement) - Make an achievement of your own design that you can award yourself for something awesome your team did. (Example "Transformer" - although our canoe sunk, our team was able to convert it into a surfboard style design and continue competeting!)
Extreme Balance-Stand up on your float for atleast 20 seconds!
We recieved 15 Achievements!
• Define the Problem and Brainstorm Solutions - State the problem you are designing a solution for. List at least 20 ideas you have regarding your solution.
• Criteria & Constraints - List or reference the specified Criteria and Constraints you're designing for. List at least one implied criteria. List at least three implied contsraints.
• Prototype Ideas - Craft physical prototypes (models) of each of your three sketches. Use a notecard or post it note to call out at least one key feature on each model. Post the images to your blog and describe the key feature that you've pointed out on each.
• Select an Approach - Generate feedback (+, change, ?, !) and make a decision matrix regarding your sketches/prototypes. Specify the approach you've chosen and justify your selection.
+: We had a pointed from so we wouldn't plow through the water, we could cut through it.
Change: For the box design we thought the weight wouldnt be distributed how it should.
?: Why tho coffin style?
!: The length of the design we went with really helped the weight be distributed properly.
• Surface area! - Calculate how much surface area you can cover with your given duct tape. How many sf can you cover with one roll? How many can you cover with all your rolls? What % efficiency do you think you can achieve with your overlap?
Build Achievements:
• Build It! - Build your watercraft. Your build must meet the standards of construction (100% covered in Duct Tape). Document it with a presentable photo.
Test Achievements:
• The Farthest - Awarded to the team that can travel the furthest (laps)
• The Longest - Awarded to the team with the watercraft that floats the longest (multiple teams may be awarded this achievement if multiple boats remain afloat at the end of our competition period).
• Balance Master - Awarded if you can have at least one person stand for 5 seconds in the boat (you must conduct this away from the edge of the pool so that non one falls over and hits their head)
• Videographer - Take video of the challenge and post to your blog.
Reflection Achievements:
• Feedback - Generate ten items of feedback for your effort (from the design/build process and/or the actual product). Make sure you include at least one item of feedaback in each of our four feedback areas (+, change, ?, !)
+: Our canoe floated!! We were able to use a lot of cardboard and tape.
change: I would add more cardboard to the triangle in the front it began to gain water quickly
?: What would happen if we added one more layer of cardboard to the bottom of the boat?
!: Our canoe did quite well, everyone was really enthusiastic about it, which definitely helped!
• How Low Did You Go? - How low in the water did your canoe sit (roughly)? Was it suprising how little your boat went down in the water? What is the unit weight of water in pounds? How much did your pilot weigh (roughly)? Use math to help explain the depth that your boat sat in the water.
I would say we rougly sat down about 2 inches in the water. It was actually surprising how high it sat. A cubic foot of water is about 68 pounds, our pilot weighed about 120 pounds.
• Redesign - If we were to do another Carboard Canoe race next semester, what would you build? Draw from everything you experienced in your class and propose the most competative solution. Include a sketch with key features and dimensions labeled.
We could add flats to the side of our canoe just for extra stabability!
• (Make Your Own Achievement) - Make an achievement of your own design that you can award yourself for something awesome your team did. (Example "Transformer" - although our canoe sunk, our team was able to convert it into a surfboard style design and continue competeting!)
Extreme Balance-Stand up on your float for atleast 20 seconds!
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