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Week 3
The overflowed 3d printer we walked in to this morning D:
Prepping for the pool test tomorrow and the lake later this week!
Monday - Day 15
Our day started with one goal in mind: finish mounting every component to the bodyboards before our pool test on Tuesday. To start off, groups began marking where they wanted to place their components, then used tools from the Makerspace, such as Milwaukee tools and drill presses, to create holes for the various devices. However, over time the various fasteners (from screws to zip ties) were running out, so groups began scrambling for the hardware boxes to secure their share of parts.
After lunch, each group began separating to solve their individual issues. For some, their afternoons devolved into insanity as they worked with their remote controls, which wouldn't connect to their vehicles or would control only a single motor at a time. Meanwhile, others would patiently wait for their 3D printed components to finish mounting their sensors, radios, and motors to their bodyboards. Similar to the fasteners, the cluster was running out of isolation boards for sensors, which prevented many groups from adding on the last two sensors: dissolved solids and dissolved oxygen. Regardless, the day pressed on and groups continued to finish assemblying their body boards.
Tuesday - Day 16
Our morning started with postponing our regular science communication lecture to continue working on our robots. The pool test was rapidly approaching, so groups began finalizing their mounting systems and motor controls. By today, every group had decided to utilize only a single waterproof box to mount the components. To accommodate this change, radios, antennas, and GPS modules were thrown on the walls of our boxes, while others created 2nd floors to house the remaining sensor boards. By lunch, most groups had finalized their arrangements and were ready for the pool test.
Once back, we began our final preparations for the pool test. Unfortunately, while at lunch, it was discovered that the propellers on our clockwise and counterclockwise motors were switched. Luckily, our Co-Instructor Ethan helped groups with swapping the components to their correct orientation, while groups frantically worked on carrying the robots to the pool. After a bit of troubleshooting, due to problems with the flight controllers and remote driving, groups began exhaling sighs of relief as they watched their rickety boats glide across the pristine chlorine-infested water.
After the initial tests, groups began working out the kinks of their autonomous vehicles. For starters, many of the vehicles had issues with their motors, with many drifting off a perfectly straight path due to the orientation of the motors, while others encountered issues with overheating in their waterproof boxes, causing the 3D printed mounts to begin melting. While not a perfect success, the boat tests armed groups with the knowledge to improve their designs that would prepare them for the 1st lake test at Miramar Reservoir.
Just pool day things!
Lake day Activities! Driving boats, paddling kayaks, and walks on the dock!
Wednesday - Day 17
Today is our lake test day! It did not start off well. The bus was late, then there was no power at the lake. After we found an outlet, we then began preparing to implement our robots! Alas, there were no kayaks to retrieve the robots if they were to go awry, so we had to chill until Mr. Mike (The G.O.A.T.) was able to source a kayak from a neighbor.
Then, we began to gather data whilst moving about. What fun! Some people took turns using the kayak, while others tried to get the autonomous and data collection working. Overall it was a fun day!
Thursday - Day 18
Today, we started off with a SciComm panel on women in STEM. We then got introduced to our final presentation and poster requirements, which we (mostley) worked on till lunch!
After lunch, we had a much more relaxing day. One member analyzed the data from the lake trip, while everyone made changes to our boat for future trips to the lake. People worked on redesigning parts of their boats, trying to barter for one of the two isolation boards we have for all the groups, and many more relaxing items.
We didn't do that much today, but it was a pretty good break whilst we prepared our final posters and presentations.
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