Today was the first day we were able to meet within our clusters.  After eating some breakfast at Cafe V, we all went to the maker lab which will be our classroom for the next month.

In the morning classes, we got more acquainted with the TAs and our professors.  After struggling to stay awake during a safety presentation, Professor Silberman gave us an in-depth rundown of our cluster.  In Cluster 7, the goal by the end of the program is to have groups of 3-4 create a working USV (Unmanned Surface Vehicle) that gathers a variety of data from a nearby lake.  After getting into our groups and receiving some crucial parts - sensors, microcontrollers, thrusters - each group assigned roles for the various aspects of the project, such as autonomous programming, data analysis, CAD, and manufacturing.

After we all grabbed lunch at Cafe V and walked back to our maker lab, we got a more in-depth tutorial on CAD from Mr. Mike, one of our teachers.  CAD is an important tool in planning and manufacturing in robotics, and we'll be using it a lot, so it's important that everyone understands the basics.

Today we had a unique start to our day.  After arriving at the classroom, we realized we were locked out!  While waiting to regain access to the maker lab, we spent our time in the Geisel Library.  Groups familiarized themselves with the different floors and study spaces.

After we gained access to the maker lab, listening to an ethics presentation, which is a sub-project we will all be working on throughout the month. Groups of three to four brainstormed ideas they could discuss in an ethics presentation relating to the cluster. We had a waterfall of ideas ranging from the ethics of using marine animals for research to the liabilities of autonomous vehicles. 

After walking to Cafe V and back to the maker lab (we're really getting our steps in) we finished up our refresher on CAD by using more of the features OnShape offers, finishing the day by working on a variety of static projects, such as vases, a pacman, and many more!

We started the day off with a lecture from Professor Silberman on basic robotic communication. After going over everything from brush vs brushless motors to the inner workings of GPS and Radio, we began to program our sensors. 

We all started off with two sensors: a PH sensor (power of hydrogen), and a temperature sensor. If a group successfully implements these two, they can then use a variety of more advanced sensors, such as a REDOX potential sensor and a dissolved solids sensor. 

After returning from lunch, we finished up our CAD rundown by designing ball bearings. After everyone made themselves a ball bearing CAD design, we began to focus more on and apply our knowledge from Professor Silberman's lecture to our future robots. For the rest of the day, we worked on initializing our radio antennae for data collection and autonomous signals.

Our day began with preparing the cluster to present their topics for our ethic presentations. We started off with familiarizing ourselves with the research articles and resources that we have access to on campus, as well as the importance of communication, then broke into groups to work on our presentations. 

After a quick 90 minutes of work, our cluster gathered around to share our ideas for the ethics presentation, ranging from preventative measures against overfishing to developing synthetic medicine that replaces marine-animal-sourced vaccines. 

In the afternoon classes, we broke into groups and began setting up the components of our USVs. Some students worked with Mr. Mike to start coding the pH sensors, while others installed firmware on the flight controllers to pilot the vehicles. 

Once again, we began our walk to the maker lab - it's getting easier and easier as time goes on! Once we arrived at the maker lab, we got a lesson from Ethan who is one of our TA's. The lesson was on buoyancy forces and moment of inertia. It was really cool seeing how some of the things we are learning about in math and physics could be applied to real world objects, like our USVs. 

After the lecture, we continued working on mounting our electronics. As the day progressed, we got tutorials on how to begin laser cutting our mounts through Inkscape, a digital painting software that combines with the laser cutters in the makerspace. After learning the basics, students started cutting our their mounts and continued 3D printing parts for their autonomous vehicles.