Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2015 - (Page 28)

ESAP Three Weeks tha by Hodaya Propp I n my freshman year of high school, I had a great time competing on my school's FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team. When the season was over, I wanted to keep going, so I started thinking about summer programs. My two older brothers had participated in the robotics program at the Engineering Summer Academy at Penn (ESAP)-formerly known as SAAST, Summer Academy in Applied Science & Technology-a few years before, and one of my teammates from school had gone more recently. They all thought it was a great program and encouraged me to apply. After reading about the program online, I thought it would help me hone my skills in electronics and coding in particular, while gaining more experience in robotics design and engineering in general. I applied and learned of my acceptance about a month later. When I arrived at the University of Pennsylvania in July, I found myself among a crowd of people who were just as excited about robotics as I was. One of our teaching assistants gave us a tour of the campus and showed us where we would be working for the next three weeks. Her eyes lit up as she described the things we would be doing and learning, and the excitement in our group was palpable. I knew I was in the right place and couldn't wait to get started. Learning in 3D The next day, my robotics classmates and I went straight to work. In the morning, our main instructor, Dr. Jonathan Fiene, gave a lecture focusing on CAD (computer-aided design), mechanical design, mechatronics, and electronics. In the afternoon, we got to apply what we learned: using SolidWorks, a CAD program, we each laser-cut a luggage tag. This was a typical routine for the next week: a lecture in the morning 28 imagine and a hands-on project in the afternoon, which we completed with the help of our teaching assistants, who were all Penn students. In the evenings, we sometimes studied for quizzes or completed problem sets, all of which reinforced what we'd learned and provided the foundation for what we'd do next. Our projects each emphasized one aspect of robotics. For example, a project focusing on programming required us to program a small car to follow a line (which might sound simple, but, even with the help of the teaching assistants, it still took most of us until the evening to get our cars to operate perfectly). For a project focusing on design, on the other hand, we used CAD and a 3D printer to create a small race car that met certain design specifications. We had a printing time limit of 30 minutes, so we had to consider different elements such as the infill of the design and the number of layers used for the car's body to create a design that was both viable and fast to print. Putting the Wheels in Motion About halfway into the program, we were assigned our major project that included challenges in electronics, programming, and design. We were separated into teams to create a tank that would fight the other teams' tanks by firing shells at them or score points by firing at beacons. We had access to the laser-cutting machines and the 3D printers to build our tanks, which had to be functional within a certain size limit. My teammates and I decided to divide the responsibilities: Daniel would focus on the electronics; Eyan, on programming; and I handled the hardware. We decided to use flywheels to shoot our shells. We figured out that smaller flywheels, which spin faster, could shoot the shells farther. IniSept/Oct 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2015

Circuit Training Electrical Engineering at CTY
Turning Brainwaves into Action Meet ARTIE, the robot activated by thoughts
Robotics in the Real World How robots are helping us explore space, overcome disability, and so much more
My First FIRST The climbing robot that taught me to aim high
Adventures in Botball
So Much Fun, It’s Inhuman Destroying the competition in combat robotics
Born to Build The making of an engineer
The Engineering Summer Academy at Penn Three weeks that launched my future
Music in the Woods Six weeks at Tanglewood
Big Picture
In My Own Words Daniel H. Wilson, author of Robopocalypse and Robogenesis
Selected Opportunities and Resources
Off the Shelf Review of Obert Sky’s Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo
Word Wise
Exploring Career Options Interview with NASA robotics engineer Jaakko Karras
One Step Ahead Be fearless
Planning Ahead for College Express lessons in financial aid
Students Review Dartmouth College
Creative Minds Imagine Poetry contest winners
Mark Your Calendar
Knossos Games

Imagine Magazine - Johns Hopkins - September/October 2015