Project Abstract: As avid football fans and as enjoyers of playing football we often design paper-written plays and then don’t use them because it is annoying and inconvenient to have to do so. We wanted to create a program that would output different play designs to a screen that the user could use on the football field. This way playing football can be an easier process with pre-designed plays that simulate how NFL teams play-call. We used a mathematic and scientific approach to accurately depict which plays are best at which down and distance, as well as on each area of the field.
Summary/Reflection: This was a very enjoyable project as we were able to find a way to make something we love, football, and combine it without engineering principles to better our experience with playing the sports we loved. It was very challenging at times with being online and making a project that requires time and communication but we made it work for the most part and are very happy with how it looks. Some issues we had were about making sure the item was portable and we are still looking for a way to make it easy to transport. As of now it is connected to a lot of wires and that isn’t ideal for people using it while playing football so we are looking for a way to change that. This project was very enjoyable and taught us a lot about engineering as well as our time managment and the importance of communication. This was a project we had been eyeing for a while and it is super enjoyable to be able to work on something so cool and something that is relevant to our lives. If we could do this project again we would try and create an AI that the user can see the success rate of the plays they personally have run so that the playbook assistant is special to each individual user. I think that is a very cool thing we could add with more time.
Our group’s challenge was to create an experiment that would run itself. Using an Arduino UNO, a temperature probe, a coffee heater, 3-D printed materials, and our knowledge of circuitry and coding, we were able to create a repeating procedure that would calculate the specific heat capacity of water.
We would find the specific heat by putting a known amount of energy into a known amount of water and then measuring the temperature change of the water.
We 3-D printed a stirring bar that would attach to the motor to mix the water to better distribute the heat added to it. The motor would be controlled by the Arduino UNO. We used a coffee heater to apply heat, and a temperature probe, both were controlled by the Arduino.
We also 3-D printed a lid with holes so that the temperature probe could go into the cup as well as the motor, which was connected to the stirring rod.
The code we used!
The motor was controlled by the wiring above in the picture to the right, we used the motor pins for that. We also programmed the motor using the code above, and more specifically using the lines, “int motorPin = 3;”, “runMotor(10,150), this controls the speed of the motor and all of the lines inside the “void runMotor”, that part actually gets the motor to run when we want it to run.
The heater control was controlled through wiring by the ac power, the outlet, and also is connected to the relay, which is used as a switch. The heater is controlled by the code that activates the transistor, connected to pin 13.
The temperature measurement was used with the temperature probe. The code that controls the temperature probe and the reading of it is everything in “float takeTemp()”, in that float you can see that the voltage is being read by an analog pin, we used analog pin5, and then is being read and displayed onto our screen using the “analogRead” command. In the code it calculates all the variables and then calculates “T” and then we have “return T” which is what then is the command that gets us the T value that then displays on the screen due to the analogRead.
How we wired the temp probe and heater!
The heater, the temperature probe, and the motor and stirrer were all placed in the water. The heater would turn on and off, and while the heater was off the stirrer was on. This would alternate every few seconds. The probe was constantly measuring the temperature of the water.
We ran the experiment and started adding heat to the water and stirring it. After an amount of time, we stopped adding heat and measured the temperature change of the water. We calculated that the water had a specific heat capacity of 2.24 J/gC⁰.
Main Goal: To try and pick up the golf ball and place it in the box in the quickest time possible.
Functions:
Legos: Are used as support and the base of the robot.
Motors: Get the robot to start and move.
Wheels: Allows the robot to make turns or move forward/backward. Also, are used for support.
Claw: Moves up and down to pick up the golf ball, and then to drop the golf ball.
Systems: We are going to build an NXT robot, with 3 motors. 2 of the motors in the back to help the robot move, and the third to help attach the claw, and to add some power and stability to the robot as well. The claw will move up and down, allowing it to pick up a golf ball, and eventually dropping it in the basket.
Integration: All these pieces work together because they all help connect to different parts of the robot. Also, all are extremely important to help the robot actually produce what we want it to produce.
Concept sketches:
Ilan Shelest´s sketch of the robot!
Stephen Rolfes´ sketch of the robot!
Analysis: So far, we have obviously had some tough stretches. Some times we are unable to think of great ideas, and it hurts our team. We do however feel confident in what we have produced so far, and what we can produce as our final product. We have optimized our time in class very well, and feel our product is very close to being ready for the first trial. We are very excited to see how the first trial will go, and also make improvements based on what we see in the first trial.
Daily Logs:
08/31/19: Today we started on building our robot for the challenge. We have built the robot, and are now adding the claw. We tried many different methods on where to put the claw and decided that the front would be the best. We have written our code, and now need to just fix up the claw a little bit. We did not perform any tests or trials but did elevate the claw. The claw does need more elevation to be able to pick up the golf ball. We started off slow but were able to get back on track with new ideas. Wednesday we will run our first trial, and we are very excited to see how it will go. We will also make improvements/changes to our robot to make it the best possible product that we can make it. I hope for more productive days like today!
09/04/19: Today was a very productive day for us. We had our first trial, and it was almost perfect, but the ball got barely stopped. It was heartbreaking. We added a claw to our design and elevated it. Now we just need to get our robot to move quicker. It was very fun to work on the robot all day and try to improve it as much as possible. We are not nearly done but are very excited to keep working. Hopefully, our next 3 trials will be better! We will have to wait and see! We got times of 9.6 and 8.9 seconds but weren´t able to get the ball in the bucket.
09/06/19: Today we finally got our robot to get the ball in the bucket! It was so exciting and I felt so proud of our hard work and determination. We had a lot of tough spots, but we finally got there and produced a working product. Next class, we are going to improve the robot to try and make it work even quicker. I am very excited to keep working and improving our robot to make it the best possible! Our time was 8.25 seconds, which we are very proud of! It feels great to have a completed product!
Final Design:
Final Product:
Picture of our final product!
Video:
Code:
Our code for our NXT Robot!
Comments: We had our robot move forward, quickly pick up the ball to reduce error. Then, we had our robot move backward at full power at 3 seconds, then rotate 2.5 rotations left. Lastly, we had our robot move forward for 2.8 seconds at full power, and drop the golf ball. Everything went to plan, and we feel that we made the most sufficient code possible for the robot possible.
Performance: I am very happy with how we did. We had so many tough problems throughout our entire process but somehow managed to get our robot to work as we wanted. We had many times where we just could not think of anything, but we kept testing and trying, and finally got it. We got our robot to do exactly as we had hoped and it felt really good seeing it work.
Last August, we started the year off by writing smart goals for our high school year. Some of my goals included: making friends, learning, making the freshman tennis team, and getting a 4.0 or above. I can proudly and happily say that I have already completed 3/4 of those goals and will hope to complete the 4th after I get my final grades. I am super happy and proud of the year I have had and want to continue to keep pushing and trying to be the best me in the coming years and doing that while in the STEM community. I have learned so much over this year, and hope to continue to learn and expand my mind and give myself more opportunities in life. I hope to continue learning to pick a career that best suits me and my interests. So probably something about sports. My smart goals did also include to be less nervous during Bears games, and I can say that did not happen but will be worked on. I am so proud of myself for this Freshman year and want to take everything I learned this year into the coming years of my life! I am so thankful that the SELC gave me the opportunity to be part of their program this year and I am so excited to continue going on fun trips and making fun projects!
Today I had an awesome day and experience at Depaul. I learned about Depaul and their Makerspace and how it is similar and different from the amazing Makerspace we have here at GBS. I learned many new things like what a Makey Makey was and how to use it. It was super fun to code and design a game using the Makey Makey. I learned so much from Depaul´s IRL Space. It was awesome and I hope that I can come back one day. So thank you for the fun and thrilling day yesterday Depaul and the IRL Space. Also, after we visited Depaul we went to the Harold Washington Library, which was just an amazing experience. I enjoyed being there so much. I felt in the short time that we were there that this was a place that I could express my emotions however I want. From music to recording to painting, the library had everything you need. On top of that, they have their own awesome Makerspace where all people can go to and learn how to use Vinal Printers and 3D printers. Also, on the 9th floor, there was a beautiful roof garden which was astonishing to see, which really capped off the whole field trip. I had so much fun on this field trip and want to thank everyone from the GBS and the SELC team for making this happen. I hope that I can go on many more fun field trips like this one!
Earlier this week my partners and I made a Rube Goldberg machine. The Rube Goldberg Machine was super cool and super fun to work on. We went through a lot of problems, but worked very hard to get past the problems we had, which I was very glad about. We used the tubes and electronics to get a ball into a hole as the end goal. We worked very hard starting with making a blueprint, to make a 3D-Model and then constructing the prototype. I am so glad and thankful I was given this opportunity to learn new skills and to work with Sophomores.
Today I listened and watched a video called, “The Super Mario Effect”. The Ted talk was made by Mark Rober, a Nasa engineer. Mark Rober is also a scientific youtuber. He talked about how someone learns more from firstly having a growth mindset, and secondly not making things in life to scary and intimidating. He used the example of a test and a video game with the same concepts and how people view those two things very differently. I think his mindset is not only correct but also relatable. I really like how he sees the good in things. I would really like to watch more of his videos to help me realize different things in life. All in all, I really liked Mark Rober´s Ted talk. I think it is very relatable. In the future I plan to watch more of his videos and talks!
During this week I pimped my pumpkin for halloween. I learned how to code a light and a buzzer with an ultrasonic sensor. I thought it was so cool to make these pumpkins and was very happy that I was given this opportunity. I found it so cool that you could code a buzzer to go off when somebody goes within a certain distance of an arduino. I learned so much from this project and I hope to continue to improve my skills of coding with the arduino. All in all, I really enjoyed this entire project and cannot wait to do more fun projects in the future!
Today I drew sketches from 2.1 and 2.2. I found it very cool to find new ways to make sketches. I added value to my drawing which gave a more real life look which I found very cool. I find sketching a very cool way to show your findings, and see how they look on paper. I really like learning new types of sketches so that I can sketch new findings that I find. I am really excited to continue learning about how to design new and improved sketches.
One invention I liked from the James Dyson Competition was the O-Wind turbine. Turbines are very expensive and there are old turbines that are not easy to use. They are also very costly. So, the O-Wind Turbine was made to help get rid of dangerous wind easy to get away from places, like apartments. All in all, the O-Wind Turbine is very cool and solves a problem to move wind away from places to clean areas and stop pollution.
Ilan Shelest 