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!