Thanksgiving Break: 11/27-11/30

Hey BrickBusters,
Over the first half of the Thanksgiving break, we worked on finishing up our missions, practicing the skit, and practicing questions that judges might ask us regarding our project and robot. We had not completed our missions yet, and only one of the missions was truly completed. However, we had finished the program for the last mission, but there were still issues that needed to be fixed.

11/27: Teamwork building exercise, Practiced skit, younger siblings worked on questions judges may asked, worked on Construction Relocation-Safe Zone
11/28: Practiced skit, worked on song, younger siblings worked on questions judges may ask, worked on props for skit, worked on Construction Relocation-Safe Zone, began Plane-House Lift
11/29: Practiced skit, worked on song, worked on props for skit, added a few lines, worked on Core Values, completed Plane-House Lift, completed Construction Relocation-Safe Zone, worked on Ambulance-Base Isolation
11/30: Practiced skit, worked on song, practiced project presentation, worked more on Plane-House Lift, completed Ambulance-Safe Zone.

So far, the break was extremely productive, and we hope to perfect the skit and missions by the end of the break.

Thanks, and Go BrickBusters!

- Mukund Madhusudan

Lego Meeting Summary:11/02/2013

Hey, Brickbusters!

Today, we started off, by looking at some of the new robot game updates, one of them being- It is okay if other tree branches, except for the East tree branch falls, if the robot does it by mistake. But, for intentional actions the points will be taken away. After looking at the updates, all of us started working on our respective things, like-

• Samarth, Mukund and Srikar worked on the presentation and Mukund also finished the layout of the board, as a scaled model on a document.
• Medini, Suhani and Sriya worked on their robot game mission, which was to push the ambulance and the supply truck into the yellow region.
• Shane and Shaun worked on their missions too- which were the House Lift and Tsunami Waves. Additionally, they also did the Tree Branch mission.

Lastly, we ended the class with a practice over our scripts so far. The girls also memorized some of their parts of the script, WHICH IS AMAZING!

Thankyou, and Go BrickBusters!

Samarth.

Lego Meeting Summary 10/31/2013, Halloween!!!

Hello BrickBusters,
      This was a relatively short meeting but we were able to get a good amount of work done. Srikar worked on making the presentation with Samarth and Mukund. Sriya, Suhani, and Medini worked on practicing the skit to make sure that everything makes sense. Later in the meeting, Mukund and Samarth worked on their missions; perfecting the consistency of the construction relocation and getting the evacuation sign to stand up.

Thanks and Go BrickBusters,
Srikar Tallapragada

10/27/2013 Lego Meeting Summary

Hello BrickBusters,
      In today's meeting we worked in our original groups on various things. Srikar, Shane, and Shaun worked on programming. They worked on picking up the pets. Even though they succeeded multiple times, they were not consistent. Sriya, Medini, and Suhani also worked on programming too. They worked on trying to get the supply truck and the ambulance into the yellow region. In order to do that, they had to find out how much the robot had to move before turning, how much to turn, and how much to move the attachment until it could push the supply truck and the ambulance. Samarth and Mukund worked on the finishing touches to the presentation on wildfires that was started by Srikar and Samarth at home. They were able to finish the entire presentation off. Also, they worked on the script for the skit that we will perform in front of the judges at the tournament. They are part way into that. Now that the project is done, the homework is to think about the programs that Coach has assigned and to maybe create a rough program that might work.

Thanks and Go BrickBusters!!!
Srikar Tallapragada

Meeting Summary: Sunday, October 20

Hey BrickBusters,
Today was a productive meeting during which we focused on the missions. However, we did some additional work relating to the project aspect, including beginning a script for our skit and finalizing the notes.

The girls' group continued to work on moving the truck and ambulance, and they were able to finish the first part of their program for that. However, no missions were completed.

Shane, Srikar and Shaun added an attachment for their mission, and they added a part. Instead of doing just the Tree Branch mission, they will hopefully be able to pick up the two animals in the region as well as knock down the tree branch. However, the success of this aspect is pending.

Samarth and I began programming our mission today, which were Construction Relocation, Evacuation Sign, Base Isolation and finishing in the red region. We were able to successfully complete the Construction Relocation and the Evacuation Sign.

Overall, two missions have been completed in their entirety, while there is one close to being finished and one that is halfway done.

While other sub-groups were using the robot, to maximize time, the other group would work on the project. The girls were able to work on typing up the whole "story" of the Dalles wildfire, while Shane, Srikar and Shaun worked on finishing the facts. Samarth and I have made strong headway into a script for our skit.

Homework:
Girls- Continue to work on the story of the Dalles fire.
Shane, Srikar and Shaun- Finish the fact sheet, should be done or very close by next class.
Samarth and I- Continue to work on script.

Overall, this was a productive class with lots of good work on the missions as well as the project. In future meetings, the distribution of project and mission work will vary depending on the day, but will all add up so both are worked on equally.

Thanks, and Go BrickBusters!

Mukund Madhusudan

Lego Meeting Summary:9/29/2013

Hey, BrickBusters!
In today's meeting, we started off by directly going to the board and understanding the missions. There were some missions that had restrictions,whereas some were pretty straight forward. Then, we all were divided into groups, and each group tried and understand some of the missions that were assigned. This way, the work got faster and then each group explained the missions that they studied to everyone. We also started to plan and arrange the order in which we think we should perform the missions. The groups were as follows-
1-Mukund, Srikar and Shaun who studied the bottom part of the missions.
2-Samarth and Shane who studied the middle part of the missions.
3-Medhini, Suhani and Shreya who studied the top part of the missions.
After looking at the missions, we had a glance at the stemcentric tutorial of Data Variables and Operations for EV3. Unfortunately, we never got time to start the presentations and decided to start them next class. The homework for next class, is as follows-

• Get ready to present about your solution towards wildfires for next class.
• Look at the missions and think as to what accessories can we build in order to accomplish the missions. (You can either look at a mission that you like, or choose from the missions that your group worked upon)

Thanks, and Go BrickBusters!

Samarth.

9/26/2013 Meeting Summary

Hello BrickBusters,
        Sorry this is late. In today's meeting, we basically just discussed about our ideas for different solutions possible to either detect wildfires ahead of time or to prevent damage. We all came up with many great ideas! Some of them included sprinklers that spray water in dry areas, sprinklers that spray Alumina Trihydrate (ATH) in the dry areas in the forest, animal tracking devices,drones, and other detectors.
This is the homework for next class:

1. Research about and work on your solution.
2. Read the EV3 help on data wiring and variables

Thanks and Go BrickBusters!!!

        Srikar

Fire Retardant Link

Hey BrickBusters,
Here are the links I was talking about today:
http://www.hubermaterials.com/products/alumina-trihydrate-ath-magnesium-hydroxide-mdh/flame-retardants-smoke-suppressants.aspx
AND
http://www.hubermaterials.com/products/alumina-trihydrate-ath-magnesium-hydroxide-mdh/flame-retardants-smoke-suppressants/how-flame-retardants-smoke-suppressants-work.aspx

Thanks, and Go BrickBusters!

Lego Meeting Summary: 9/22//2013

Hello BrickBusters,
          In today's meeting, we first started by reviewing what we had learned last time about the switch blocks, and how they function. In addition to this, we learned about the "My Block Builder" tool in the EV3 software, its function (to reduce the amount of clutter). After that, Coach assigned us the job of programming the robot to move back whenever the robot senses the following colors: black, red, green, blue, and yellow. We split into three groups to make the program and test it: Sriya, Medini, and Suhani; Mukund and Shane; Srikar, Samarth, and Shaun. After the programming, we all shared the solutions that we had in mind. Here were some ideas of solutions:

1. Balloon(Samarth)
2. Animal Detector(Suhani)
3. Sprinkler System(Srikar)
4. Tunnel(Mukund)
5. Detector. Firefighters on alert when weatherman announces any thunderstorms during the day.(Medini)
6. Method used to "control" the weather(Samarth)-Can be implemented into our solution

This is our homework for Thursday:

Programming:

• Watch the Stemcentric Tutorial if you haven't already
• Learn about variables/data inputs/my blocks
• Read about and understand the missions. http://www.firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Challenge/NaturesFury/NATURE%27S%20FURY%20Challenge.pdf

Project:

• Research about the current solutions for preventing or stopping wildfires.
• Come up with other solutions possible. List their pros and cons.

Here is another link useful that talks about many wildfires. Coach has also sent out an e-mail.

http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-wildfire.htm

Thanks and Go BrickBusters!!!

Srikar

FLL Meeting: September 19th, 2013

Hey BrickBusters!

Sorry this is late, but here it is.
We had a great debate/discussion on what our project topic should be; the Tillamook Burn or the Dalles wildfire. We debated so much and it was split so perfectly, that, in the end, we chose to research both for our project. This will be beneficial because we will have a wide variety of information to present to the judges, and we will also have two field trips.

In addition to the debate, we learned about Switch Blocks, Loop Blocks, Loop Interrupts, and how to link multiple processes in the new EV3 software. Our homework is as follows:

1.) Research on potential resources for the Tillamook and Dalles fires. Also, look at solutions and come up with a few ideas yourself.

2.) Work on creating a program using the EV3 software with a switch block, loop block and possibly try to run multiple processes at once.

Thanks, and Go BrickBusters!

Meeting: September 15th, 2013

Hey BrickBusters!

In our meeting today, we began to learn about programming with the new EV3 software. Coach had created a small program in which the robot would go onto the small mat, sense the black line, turn around, say the word "black", and repeat. We were supposed to replicate this program. We learned about the rotation block and the other move blocks, as well as working with the new color sensor and the loop. We finished building the EV3 robot, so we were able to program it and use the color sensor. We were all able to successfully complete the program, and we ran them perfectly.

After we completed working with the EV3, we all gave our presentations/speeches on the community or wildfire we chose. Here were the chosen communities:

Medini: Warm Springs fire (July 20th, 2013) : Lighting 

Suhani: Arizona (Yarnell) (20th June 2013, 8324 acres burned caused by lightning

Sriya: Dalles: 3 fires happened (Aug 18-19, 2013): 4700 acres ( buildings damaged): Lightening 3 places. 

Samarth: California (Cedar fire/San Diego Oct 25th 2003): 100000 acres. Human caused. $2 billion damaged. 

Srikar: Yellowstone fire  June 1988- nov 1988, 1.2 acres were burned.

Shane & Shaun: Tillamook fire 1930s

Mukund: The Dalles (same as Sriya)

We took a vote, and in the end it came down to the Dalles fire and the Tillamook fires. Because of that, we will have a debate next Thursday, and here is our homework preceding the debate:

1.) Go through the new EV3 software tutorial video (on StemCentric), and learn the basics.

2.) Prepare for the debate:

Dalles fire: Mukund, Medini, Sriya, Suhani

Tillamook fire: Srikar, Samarth, Shane, Shaun

Justify your choice and be prepared.

Thanks, and Go BrickBusters!

- Mukund Madhusudan

Lego Team Meeting: September 6th, 2013

In this meeting, we had to accomplish 2 things:

1. We had to program the robot to sense a back line and come back (Samarth, Srikar, Shaun, etc.)
2. We had to build a moderately strong chassis with the EV3 for testing on the Robot Game Board (Mukund and Shane)

Building the chassis was fairly easy because of a new part in the EV3. It looks like a square with a bunch of holes in various locations for the pins. We were able to connect both motors perfectly placed 1  

stud apart. After that we added plenty of exterior and interior supports and braces to make sure that, in the occasion the EV3 got stepped on, dropped or tripped over, it would suffer no major damage except  

for a couple of loose pins. After placing the brick, we put on the wheels (with much difficulty).

For programming Srikar, Shaun and Samarth created a program that worked in theory, but malfunctioned due to the distance between the floor and the color sensors. The NXT brick might have been switched with the older version, and compatibility may have been a problem.

To wrap up the meeting, coach showed the team the stuck on parts and pieces on the lard, complete after 3 meetings worth of preperation and building. For next meeting, remember to bring a lot of research in on wildfires.

Thanks, and Go Brickbusters!!!

Shane Puthuparambil

Lego Meeting Summary: 8/29/2013

Hey, BrickBusters!

In this meeting, we had to accomplish a tough decision as a team. All of us were assigned a project, that we had to work upon and present it today. Some people chose hurricanes, tsunamis or earthquakes. But, we ended up with VOLCANOES AND WILDFIRES as our deciding titles for the project. When we couldn't decide on which one to choose, we were then assigned another research project. But, this one is with teams of 4, making it 2 teams. The teams were made as follows-

Shane, Samarth, Medhini and Shaun, who will research more about WILDFIRES. 

Mukund, Srikar, Shreya and Suhani, who will research more about VOLCANOES.

Next, we all were asked, what is our primary interest in. Whether programming, or building or research. After that, we went to the board and started figuring out, as to what are the missions and what can we do first and last. Also, the last object on the board(the airplane, with the tower and pulley) had been figured out. Some reminders for next class are-

• Research with your sub-team on your assigned topic.
• Make sure that you are ready to present too.

Thanks, and Go BrickBusters!

Samarth. 

Lego Meeting Summary: 8/27/2013

Hey, BrickBusters!
In today's meeting, we started off by looking at the project, and what it is. We also went through the project, which is to choose a natural disaster and find a solution as to how people can get saved, while facing that disaster. But remember, we cannot choose anything that is outside the list. The list can be found in the homework email, that was sent out today. Next, we cleaned the board a bit, so that we don't have any difficulties when the robot is at action. Then, we started to arrange the board using the obstacles that we had made. At first, we guessed where do the obstacles go, and then we watched the video, which described the accurate location of all the obstacles.
Some reminders for next class are-

• Think about which disaster you want, and provide a justification, as to why do you want to research on that disaster. It could be as a speech, or a presentation.
• Remember to glance through the document that we looked today. It had the information about the project and the robot game. The link to that is in the mail, the mukund's dad sent out today.

Thanks, and Go BrickBusters!

Samarth.

2.0 Software Link

Hey BrickBusters!

Here is the site for the NXT 2.0 software download: http://service.lego.com/en-us/helptopics/?questionid=2655

Make sure you read the instructions for Windows and Mac users.

Also, if Samarth could scan a copy of his logo and send it to me, that would be great.

Thanks, and Go BrickBusters!

Great Websites for Learning Programming w/ NXT-g

Hello Brickbusters,
While looking for good websites for the team relating to programming, I found...
http://www.stemcentric.com/nxt-tutorial/
...really useful. It has detailed notes about the basic and advanced blocks found in the NXT-g programming tool.

Posted by: Shane and Shaun

Lego Meeting Summary: 8/22/2013

Hello BrickBusters,
            In today's meeting, we reviewed what we had learned in the last meeting about the Move Block in the NXT Programming Software. In addition, we learned about the functions of light/color sensors on the robot, and loops. Then, in the same groups that we worked in the last meeting, we worked on an assignment in which we had to program the robot in such a way that it would move, touch a black line on the mat, and then come back to its original position. This activity helped learn and get used to using the light sensor so we can implement it when designing our robot. Another big thing that happened in today's meeting were that we voted on the Team Cheer and the Team Logo. Samarth's Team Cheer and Team Logo had the most votes, so they "won". In his Team Cheer. everyone lines up by age(youngest to oldest or oldest to youngest; depending upon the way that you look at the line). Shaun counts down to 1 from 3, and then the cheer begins. Shane starts a wave with his hands, and then everyone does that all the way down to Sriya and back to Shane. When the wave is passing from Shane to Sriya, everyone says "Brick!" and on the way back up to Shane, everyone says "Busters!" We are also going to include Shaun's idea into Samarth's cheer, which that at the end of the cheer, we are going to kick or push a foam block that we are going to use as a brick. Samarth's Team Logo was a wall of bricks that has bricks coming out from the center of it. Around the wall are the pictures of all of us. This shows that we all work very hard together to "bust" the wall.

Reminders:

1. If you haven't downloaded the NXT Programming Software yet, be sure to do so. If you have, try to experiment around with it just to get used to the different features.
2. The meetings next week are going to be on Tuesday and Thursday at the same time.

Thanks, and Go BrickBusters!!!,
           Srikar

Lego Meeting Summary: 8/20/2013

Hello BrickBusters,
        In today's meeting, we reviewed what we all had learned last time about gears. In addition, we went into detail about some of the different types of gears including spur gears, bevel gears, worm gears, and belts/pulleys. We also studied the functions of these gears and the purposes in which they serve. Some basic programming was also done today. We got familiarized with the "Move Block" on the programming software. To do this, we split into two groups: Medini, Sriya, and Suhani were one group and Samarth, Shaun, and I (Srikar) were another group. Medini, Sriya, and Suhani were assigned to program the robot in such a way that it will go in a squared path and Samarth, Shaun, and I were assigned to program the robot so that it would go in a triangular path. This really helped us to master the usage of the "Move Block" on the software.

Reminders For Next Meeting:

1. Finalize the Team Cheer and the Team Logo. Draw out the team logo so that we can vote on it.
2. Download the NXT Programming Software on Your Computer/Laptop.

Also, make sure to keep thinking about ideas for the project, Nature's Fury. Post them on the blog are discuss them in our meetings so that everyone will know about it.

Thanks and Go BrickBusters!!!,
              Srikar

Gear PowerPoint Presentation

Hey BrickBusters!

First off, I would like to request Samarth to confirm his GMail email with me. Also, thanks to Shane and Srikar for accepting the invitation to become authors on the blog. If there is something you would like to post, make sure you are logged in to Gmail, and in the top right corner of the blog's homepage will be a link that says "New Post". After you click that, in the next screen that pops up, on the right side, there will be a box that says "Labels". Click that box, and the list of labels will pop up. Click one or more of the labels, so that your post gets categorized. If you have any other questions or concerns, email me at mmukund@gmail.com.

Since we were studying gears last class, I found a link that would be useful for our understanding. The link should open in Preview on Mac, if you don't have Powerpoint. On Windows, the link should open in a PDF Viewer. If you have Powerpoint, the link will open in Powerpoint.

The link can be found here.

Thanks, and Go BrickBusters!

Dean Kamen's 2013 Homework Assignment

Hey BrickBusters,
Here is the link for the video assignment that we discussed yesterday:
http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/dean-homework-assignment

Also, I have invited Samarth, Srikar and Shane to be authors on the blog, so please accept the invitation as soon as you can. If you are confused on how to add labels or post something, email me at mmukund@gmail.com and I will help you out.

Thanks, and Go BrickBusters!

Core Values

Hey BrickBusters!

These are all the Core Values that we are going to use throughout the FLL season. Core Values are the values that you keep whenever you are working on your FLL project, robot or anything else.

FIRST ® LEGO® League

Core Values:

We are a team.

We do the work to find solutions with guidance 

from our coaches and mentors.

We know our coaches and mentors don’t have all 

the answers; we learn together.

We honor the spirit of friendly competition.

What we discover is more important

than what we win.

We share our experiences with others.

We display Gracious Professionalism® and 

Coopertition® in everything we do.

We have fun.

What is Coopertition?

"Coopertition^® produces innovation. At FIRST, Coopertition is displaying unqualified kindness and respect in the face of fierce competition. Coopertition is founded on the concept and a philosophy that teams can and should help and cooperate with each other even as they compete.

 "

"

Coopertition involves learning from teammates. It is teaching teammates. It is learning from Mentors. And it is managing and being managed. Coopertition means competing always, but assisting and enabling others when you can.

 " 

What is Gracious Professionalism? 

"Gracious Professionalism is part of the ethos of FIRST. It's a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community."

"

With Gracious Professionalism, fierce competition and mutual gain are not separate notions. Gracious professionals learn and compete like crazy, but treat one another with respect and kindness in the process. They avoid treating anyone like losers. No chest thumping tough talk, but no sticky-sweet platitudes either. Knowledge, competition, and empathy are comfortably blended.

 "

In the long run, Gracious Professionalism is part of pursuing a meaningful life. One can add to society and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing one has acted with integrity and sensitivity."

Taken from 

http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/gracious-professionalism

These values are key to our success in FLL this year. Memorize and remember them so we can do well and understand these values.

 

Thanks, and Go BrickBusters!

Third Meeting Mat Setup Video

Hey BrickBusters!

Below is the video that I took of the mat that we setup based on the diagrams. Next meeting, I hope to be able to set up everything on the board, as well as find any missing parts.

If you are not able to view the video directly, you can find the YouTube link here

Go BrickBusters!

Project Topic

Hey BrickBusters,

I just wanted to know what topics are you considering for our project? Remember, the topic has to be "Nature's Fury". In other words, make sure your topic idea is related to natural disasters. Medini and I were thinking of doing tornadoes, because one of the most recent natural disasters were the devastating tornadoes that occurred in Oklahoma.

Please comment your ideas below, in the comments section. Also, you can email me at mmukund@gmail.com.

Thanks, and Go Brickbusters!

Good Sites

Hey Brickbusters!

Here are some good websites that Srikar had sent to me:

www.education.rec.ri.cmu.edu

http://www.stemcentric.com/nxt-tutorial/

http://www.nxtprograms.com/projects2.html

http://www.rocwnc.org/Beginning_NXT_Programming_Workshop.pdf

http://firstlegoleague.org/sites/default/files/Challenge/TeamResources/SeniorSolutions/2012Programming.pdf

Thanks, and Go BrickBusters!

1st Meeting Videos

Hi BrickBusters! These are two videos that were taken during our first meeting. Unfortunately, I am unable to upload the third video on this post, so I will try and create a separate one for that video. Go BrickBusters!                

-Mukund Madhusudan                       

Hello BrickBusters!

Hi BrickBusters!

I have created a blog on which we can post all of our work and videos, as well as information, about our team. We can use this blog to share everything with everyone on our team, get more information from our teammates that we may not have known about, as well as post progress on our projects! I hope we have a great time doing FLL! Go BrickBusters!

-Mukund Madhusudan