Boe-Bot - 11/29/16

Today there was a lot more frustration then picture taking. So there wont be much to show for today. The whole day consisted of finishing the coding of the QTI sensors... Which we didn't finish. We followed the instructions on writing the code but it just didn't seem to want to work. Joel, Carlos and I altered the code dozens of times, changing the amount of power going into the servos. But nothing would give positive results. We ended up having to call it a day. Unfortunately the end date is coming quickly and we are not having that much to show for it. Here is a picture of how the code was looking.

Boe-Bot - 11/28/16

Today is not an official class day but after a very long break we happened to put ourselves behind schedule which worried Carlos and I. Joel, However, was not able to make it to the meeting. The main objective of the day was getting the Boe-bot to make any movement at all. So we plugged it into the computer and downloaded a code script that Carlos typed up onto the Boe-bot. This is a picture of us downloading the code.

Fortunately we were able to get the boe-bot to move, unfortunately this is what it did...

With some minor adjustments to the code we were able to make it go into circles. The original problem was the amount of power Carlos gave to the servos in the PULSOUT.

This is the most progress that Carlos and I got on the coding of our Boe-Bot today. But before we left I wanted to finish wiring the QTI sensors. When I finished that we packed up and ended the day.

Boe-Bot - 11/22/16

When we arrived to class Carlos explained to us that he read a lot on how to program the robot. This was great news because I really had no clue if I was going to be able to Find out how to program. But as we were in class Carlos was explaining everything in detail and it started making more and more sense. Joel and I watched as he showed how it was done. The program that is used for coding looks like this.

The goal of the day was to complete wiring and assembling the Boe-Bot. We also started to install the Qti sensors (Line following sensors). It was a relatively easy install. However, I'm curious to see how the coding is going to work.

Boe-Bot - 11/17/16

When Carlos, Joel, and I arrived to Lab today we got cracking on the project. After we finalized the Problem Statement and confirmed it with Mrs. Vestal we received our Boe-Bot Kit. My first thought about the kit was that it was very confusing. Before we opened the kit we established our roles. Carlos seemed more into programming the actual bot, Joel was going to work on the design of the Boe-Bot, while I work on assembling the bot. The focus today was the assembly of the bot. We were also faced with the task of wiring the servos of the bot as well. The body was assembled and most of the wiring was finished. Although no one had a clue how to program or work the bot, it was coming together. At this point in time we were ahead of time according to our WBS, and Gantt chart. It is going to be very interesting to discover how this contraption is going to work. Today we also decided that we will be using a line follower kit on our Boe-Bot. The line follower is the best choice due to the concept of our problem statement.

Boe-Bot - 11/15/16

Day 4

Today went much differently than expected. We arrived into class and we were faced with the task to finish our Problem Statement. We thought it was going to be much easier with the input that we received from Mrs. Vestal. So we went to work. First we made slight adjustments to the body of the problem statement. Just minor working errors and different kinds of sentence structure errors. Then we wrote our Vision, because we were missing that after finishing our first draft. We thought it was very nice but were very much proved wrong by Mrs. Vestal. We made more errors then we did before! After trial and error we finally developed a problem statement that was finally worthy. Oh look at the time. It was the end of class by the time we finished the problem statement. But that is okay! we are still ahead of schedule! Ill post a picture of the final Problem Statement soon. But that was Day 4 of the Boe-Bot project!  

Boe-Bot Group Meeting - 11/14/16

Group meeting

This meeting was very important because we finally got the chance to start designing the Boe-Bot. First we began by having a free sketch of a boe-bot and this is what we came up with.

The top left and the bottom left were two sketches that I came up with. The top right was Carlos's designs and the bottom right was Joel's sketch. After visualizing each graph Carlos, Joel, and I all decided the pros and cons of each one. We all agreed that we liked the look of Carlos's and the mechanics of mine. Joel's was very similar to mine, just a difference in the storage. So we all agreed to combine the pros of each one. We took it to the board to sketch designs with our pros in mind...

The far left is my sketch. The middle sketch is Carlos's, and the far right sketch is Joel's. With each of our sketches being very familiar we decided that it would be best to go with a similar design of Joel's because he had a very neat idea for storage. This is where we ended the meet for the day.

Boe-Bot - 11/10/16

Day 3

Ah yes... Today was a very fine day to start finishing up our WBS and Gantt Charts. Carlos, Joel and I worked very vigorously for all of the lab to complete these charts. Thankfully I found a software that constructed a Gantt chart as we constructed the WBS itself, which worked amazing. We worked between this and also revising the problem statement after Mrs. Vestal looked it over and gave us her words of wisdom. That directed us to the correct path on constructing our problem statement. The pictures I have for this week are of the final WBS and Gantt chart and also the draft of the problem statement. Doesn't look like much completed but we finally set a schedule that we can follow from now on which makes me very very very happy.

Boe-Bot - 11/08/16

Day 2

Today is the second day that we are officially working on our Boe-Bot project. We focused mainly on the problem statement today. After we each wrote our own problem statement, we evaluated each of them and then we looked for the strengths of each one and combined them to make our final problem statement. We did all of this while following the set guidelines.

Here are some pictures of us working on our problem statement. These pictures are of me typing my problem statement. One of which Joel is in the background working on his as well.

After we finished our draft we spent the last bit of class working on our WBS. This picture is of 

Carlos' WBS chart and his progress. At the same time both Joel and I were working on creating ours because the plan is to combine all three to make one WBS chart that we all agree on. We got a great amount of work done today and I'm very proud of my group so far!!! :)

Boe-Bot - 11/03/16

Day 1

Wow. Today was the first day of the Boe-Bot project. It seems like yesterday was the first day of class. But now it is time to get serious. Today was the day we picked our teams and got to thinking. Carlos, Joel and I were chosen to be in a team (Team: π) (Team Number: 3.14). First we started with discussing our team contract.

The first picture is Joel reviewing the contract and the second picture is me signing the contract.

Next we went into discussion about the project itself. We went over what a Boe-Bot was and what kind of project we were going to do. After that class was over but we scheduled a get together to start working on our WBS. Here are some of our sketches of what Boe-bot we would make.

East Carolina Trip

Trip Blog - ECU

Today was the day of the long awaited ECU Trip!!!

It all started with an amazing two and a half hour drive to the campus. Actually it wasn't the best experience but it was over before I knew it. As soon as we arrived we made our way to the science and technology building where we heard a very great introduction about their engineering program.

 After the details of the program and a few amazing speakers we were able to tour the different labs in the building. I have a load of pictures but here are a few that were very interesting.

In these pictures you can see the different kinds of equipment and contraptions they have made. You will also see the different kinds of printers and even some equipment from their bio labs! It was all very interesting. After the tour we went to go eat. The food hall was amazing and the food was great.

Afterwards we went and took a tour of the actual campus. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures but the campus was beautiful and I really enjoyed it. To end it we all endured the trip back. When we arrived back to Elizabeth city we said our goodbyes and that is how we ended our day.