For the Solar powered Go-Kart I was in charge of putting together the base. This included making the a systems for when you pressed the pedal the kart would be able to move because it would be accessing the electric power it was storing. I also made sure the steering and seating was perfect enough for safety reason and for comfort for a medium size driver. We entered this competition at one of the latest days we were able to enter and this was also our first year so we had to learn from scratch how to build the kart and how to make it work by learning the most efficient way the kart would be able to receive power and would not require expensive products to make. Our team visited another school to see how their kart worked and gave it a test drive to feel how it works and for fun. Once we got to the competition we were able to see everyone else's Go-Karts and saw how they built certain parts such as where the solar panels were placed. We were one of two or three newcomers so most of the karts looked pretty much the same with where they placed the solar panels for the best aerodynamic style (most contenders had all three connected and placed on top) but we had the most diverse placement. We had one placed on the lower back, the very top at downward angle, and on the front in a slightly more downward angle.
There were two races, one for speed and the other a relay. We may have one first place for both challenges and received a larger trophy but safety issues occurred with the tires as one tire looked like it was about to blow. Other than the almost blown tire we were happy as a team to receive a first place trophy, especially since it was our first time joining with the more innovative design.
The second project was for the FTC Block party challenge ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPAATO-NpcM ) in which we also joined late in the game to. My job was to help lead the design for our robot and to actually build it. Following the official rules of the challenge we were able to make our robot move around 360 degrees, the ability to lift itself above the ground granted there being something to hang on to, to move around blocks located on the floor, and to lift our 'alliance' flag at high speeds. Our robot was not able to be one of the best robots but it definitely was not the worst (not trying to say other schools designs were bad). Since this was our first year we were excited for what we accomplished and our design would be used as an example for our school if they consider entering in the future.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think it is pretty incredible that you had to build this all from scratch. I personally would never have the ability to do something like that. It's awesome that it was even just your first year and were able to take home 1st prize for the kart. Your experiences were quite different from mine partly because I have never personally had an entrepreneur experience. Your experience was very hands on and required a lot of thinking and hard work. Here is the link to my experience: http://ariellechristina.blogspot.com/2016/01/my-entrepreneurship-story.html
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post. I find all facets of engineering and robotics very interesting. If I could I would love to participate in events such as the two you described in your post. My experience was quite different because I don't have the ability to create such impressive pieces of machinery from scratch. Nonetheless, congratulations on your first place trophy and I hope you continue to follow your passion in the future.
ReplyDeletehttp://agubernikoffent3003.blogspot.it/2016/01/my-entrepreneurship-story.html