Cluster 11: Introduction to Autonomous Vehicles
Week 1
Who are we?
Cluster 11 is a passionate group of high schoolers participating in the four-week program, COSMOS. Our focus lies in the realm of Autonomous Vehicles and their profound impact on society. Students are provided with an RC Car and assigned the task of 3D printing parts, wiring, and coding a robot to maximize its efficiency. The skills acquired in this cluster include CAD proficiency, Python programming, 3D modeling, laser cutting, and teamwork. With four successful years under its belt, this cluster is modeled after the MAE/ECE-148 class at UCSD.
Seeing an example of a robot produced by previous clusters
Day 1: Intro to Autonomous Vehicles
After trying to stay awake during our opening safety videos, we received our first lecture on Python from Moises. This lecture covered the basics of Python including some basic syntax, functions, and more!
Following the Python lecture, Professor Jack introduced the overview of the cluster, including the schedule, and the teams for our autonomous vehicle project, and provided insight into what we'll be doing in the upcoming weeks
After lunch, we did some tutorials on CAD with Cluster 7: H4O: Hacking for Oceans Teacher Fellow, J. Michael. He walked us through modeling various items in CAD like a tissue box cover and different Pacman to get us used to the software. Giving us some insight into what's to come.
First time walking to the Design and Innovation Building
Day 2: A Start in Ethics and CAD
We spent the first hour of our morning learning about the basics of ethics and learning a bit more about our ethics essay. Then, we started discussing the ethics of our cluster with part discussion and part presentation. Everyone in the class also tested their morals by choosing between different scenarios with the MIT Moral Machine, with some being more widely acceptable than others.
After walking back from lunch, we got another OnShape tutorial with Cluster 7 on modeling a vase and an intro into what 3D printing is and how the settings impact the print from Cluster Assistants Manu, Arjun, and Aashish. Following that presentation, we got a chance to familiarize ourselves with the kit and begin prototyping parts for our own cars.
We also worked on our skit for COSMOlympics on Friday with our Cluster RA, David.
Our cluster going deeper into CAD
Professor Silberman walking us through the electronics
Working hard to start prototyping our cars
Day 3: A Closer Look at Our Cars
Today, we started our day with another tutorial in Python, specifically the basics of OpenCV, where Moises took us through the steps needed to detect lines from an image and the reasoning behind each of the steps. Professor Silberman then walked us through the wiring of the car and the main components of the car after which we were let loose to continue with our components: designing our base plate, an electronics mount, and our camera mount in OnShape.
After class, we spent more of our time preparing for the COSMOlympics, confident in our efforts that we will win! We deemed our skit quite entertaining. It includes memorable characters, twists, turns, loud sound effects, and much more!
Working on our COSMOlympics skit
IMG_4565.movA sneak peek at our COSMOlympics skit...
Meet Your Cluster 11 Newsletter Editors!
Nayra Flores Valdivia • Valentino Martinez • Ellen Min • Amery Ruiz • Jeremy Sevilla