Blog Format Change!

Hey everyone,

I've changed the format of the blog, so now instead of having to scroll through all the blog posts you can view each project in its entirety at its page. You can find the project page list on the right hand side of the blog. Hope this helps!

i3 Internship Progress

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to post an update on what I've been doing as an intern with the i3 program. As of now my friends and I have been an intern with the i3 program for three months. In addition to Alex Lin, I recruited another friend, Phillip Reeder, who is an avid coder. Our task is to construct devices that the program can take to schools and use them to encourage students to become more involved in computer sciences. Our first project was to finish the construction of a home-made synthesizer. The base was already there, so all we had to do was re-wire the electronics. Below are a few photos of it.

After we finished that, we were given the project that will most likely take the rest of the school year to complete: the construction of a miniature "smart house". What is a smart house? Smart houses actually exist today, in various forms. What generally defines a smart house is a central computer that can control various aspects of the house, from air conditioning to locking/unlocking doors to playing music. We took this a step further, and planned to create an app that we can control the miniature house through. In addition, we planned to add a few more automated features, all controllable from the app:

-Controllable, RBG lighting

-Automated opening/closing interior doors

-Exterior motion-sensitive security lighting

-Locking/closing door

-Controllable water feature (fountain)

-Retracting staircase

-Garage door

-Voice recognition system

-Descending blinds

Initially, the plan was to prototype this all on an old dollhouse that the program had from previous years, before buying a much larger and nicer one or the final project. Below are a few pictures of the house.

The first thing we did was to insert a second ceiling above the first floor, providing us with a way to hide the electronics we were putting in. Next came the relatively easy task of adding the lighting, which we did using one-color, small LEDs. For the final project we will have RGB bright LEDs. My friend Phillip worked on coding the app while I worked on implementing our ideas in the proof-of-concept model. Below are some pictures of the LEDs installed.

Next we began prototyping the blind system. In the final project, we plan on using garage door style blind systems to lower and raise the blinds, which will slide into the gap between the two ceilings. This was the prototype, so instead we just used some card stock and folded it so it folded up into itself upon being raised by fishing line connected to a servo, which is shown below.

Next, we worked on the retracting staircase. Again, due to our limited resources and rudimentary platform, we weren't able to integrate this idea as smoothly as it will be in the final project. The staircase essentially splits in two pieces, one raising to cover the opening to the second floor, with the second rotating beneath the floor of the first floor, a panel sliding over it to conceal it. Our prototype is shown below. 

The prototype was approved and we moved on to finding a suitable model house to work with. We quickly realized that none of the houses offered online suited our needs. They didn't have enough room to include all of our mechanisms and there wasn't any way we could conceal it all. So we decided to design our own! I love designing, so I took the lead on this, and did a quick mock-up of the house we intend to build, shown below.

We will be making this out of wood and acrylic, which we will laser cut using Georgia Tech's facilities. The laser cutting device will give us a precision we have meet worked with before. I will be making the templates on SketchUp. 

Smart Armor Update

Smart Armor
View Full Build Thread Here

Hey everyone,

I have finished the construction of the armor itself, and am now working on incorporating the Heads Up/Helmet Mounted Display into the helmet. Unfortunately, I don't have a better photo than the one below as of yet, but here are some pictures of me and some friends goofing around on Halloween! And yes, I do know Mandalorians generally don't carry Lightsabers!

                           

Smart Armor Update!

Smart Armor

View Full Build Thread Here

Hey everyone,

Over my fall break I resumed work on my armor, and over the past few days I have come leaps and bounds towards finishing the project. Hopefully it'll be finished before Halloween rolls around!
Yesterday I finished cutting out all the pieces and put a starting coat of paint on everything. One of the more difficult parts to work on was the gauntlets. There were no templates available for these, so I decided to design my own. The first thing I did was to determine the general dimensions of my forearm, which I then split into corresponding regions, in the shape of triangles (triangles are a lot easier to work with than rectangles in this case). By splitting my arm into triangular regions, I was able to tailor the gauntlets to a very exact degree. Below is a picture of the final template for the gauntlets.

After I finished cutting and shaping everything, I dropped by Home Depot and grabbed some spray paint. I wanted to go with a sort of stealthy gray and red look. Unfortunately, Home Depot did not carry any matte dark gray, so instead I purchased an array of paints that I hoped, when combined, would get me the look I was going for. This all turned out for the best, as you can see in the photos below. First off, I dusted everything in a light gray primer, which allows the paint more purchase on the plastic. Next off, I covered everything in a very light coat of "hammered metal" paint, which resulted in a light gray. After that, I dusted everything in an extremely light coat of dark brown, which gives the armor the mottled appearance you see below.

After hammered metal, before brown:

After brown:

Today, I woke up and began applying the red highlights. Unfortunately, it was raining outside so I could not get pictures of the process; I was dashing back and forth trying to keep everything dry! Below is the result.

Tonight I will be attaching the armor to the suit itself, so stay tuned!

Computer Desk

Hey everyone!

Earlier this week I was approached by a friend who is an avid coder and wants to build his own computer. What made this special is the fact that he not only wants to build his own computer, but he wants to integrate it into a desk, turning a piece of furniture into something that one can interact with. He asked me to assist in the design and production. The idea is to have a slim, simple, yet appealing desk with cutaways in the surface, covered by glass, to reveal the computer components beneath, which will be backlit by dark blue diffused LEDs, giving a nice soft blue glow to the parts beneath. In addition, we will be including a swinging keyboard that can be concealed beneath the desk when the computer is not in use. Here's the first concept design (apologies, I mocked it up in about ten minutes so it's really rough) where you can see the basic design and where the computer parts will be visible.

Returning to the i-3 Experience!

I am extremely excited to tell everyone that Alex Lin and I will be returning to the Georgia Tech i-3 program this year, not as students, but as interns. I absolutely loved participating in the i-3 experience last year and wanted to continue to be a part of the amazing program. Recently I contacted Chanteal Edwards, one of the program's administrators, about returning as a volunteer.  It's official: Alex and I will be designing base curriculum and fabricating prototype robotics projects to be used for the summer camp. We will also be working on a special project used for recruiting more students. Anyone interested in attending should follow up on the link is below. I Can't wait to get started!

Link: i-3 Program

HMD Update

HMD Update

View full thread here: HMD Display Thread

Just wanted to update everyone on how the armor is coming! The Sintra came in and I've been cutting and shaping it for the last month: here's the armor and the helmet so far, as well as a color scheme idea:

GT CEISMC Engineering Camp

Hey everyone!

It has been awhile. Over the summer, I participated in a camp at Georgia Tech for aspiring engineers.We built quadcopters from a kit made by a GT graduate student, which was very cool . But I have to say the best part of the camp was the challenge that was given to each group: we had to build a racquetball launcher that could compete in contests such as accuracy, range, and speed (maximum balls shot in one minute). The machine had to be set off from a distance and we could not be touching the structure itself when it fired. While there, I learned how to use a laser cutter, a laser engraver, and a water jet, which was a phenomenal experience.

For the project we were given a limited budget which we would use in a materials auction. The auction was a blast, with groups competing for materials and trying to remain under budget. We ended up with two sheets of steel, polypropylene, scrap wood, and, most importantly, an elastic band.

My friend, Alex Lin, who I have worked with before on a UAV, was in the camp with me, and we formed a team consisting of us and two other campers. We decided on a crossbow design using an elastic band. We split up into two groups: the designers and the constructors. Due to my proficiency with 3D modeling, I was one of the designers. I was tasked with the general design of the crossbow, the design of the triggering mechanism, and a stand for the machine. My partner would assemble the pieces, mark the screw points and measurements, and send them on to the other half of our team to put together.

At first, I planned on using the polypropylene as the main component in a structure that would slide and lock together in an elegant method. Unfortunately, the machine that we needed to cut the polypropylene with was not large enough to accommodate our designs.  This resulted in a complete scrap of the design. Instead, I designed the body made primarily out of wood. My personal touch to the crossbow was the stand for it and the trigger used to fire it. I designed these completely independent of the rest of the team. We hoped to win the accuracy and distance competitions, so to maximize our chances I designed a system that allowed us to aim our shots fairly consistently. The mechanism is pictured below, and is a sheet of polypropylene cut in a quarter circle with holes cut in it at specific degrees. This allowed us to insert a dowel through the bottom of the crossbow to aim it. We determined the approximate range mathematically, using our rudimentary knowledge of kinetics. Surprisingly, the final range was relatively close to our estimates. This was a great learning experience, as it taught us to be resilient after our first design failed.
Below are some pictures:

Construction:

The competition:

I got my picture made with Buzz:

Checking our distance:

Buzz even decided to show up at the competition to give it a shot!

Our team receiving our awards:

We were even interviewed about our experience at Georgia Tech!

In the end, we ended up winning the accuracy and distance competition as well as The Best Technical Quality Award. I had a lot of fun and learned some useful new skills!  It was a great experience!

Architect Shadow

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to shadow architect Jeff Juliano, AIA, for a day at his Atlanta firm, Collins Cooper Carusi. For the past few years, I've been bouncing between architecture and mechanical engineering as a career choice; I have already shadowed a mechanical engineer, Lynda Herrig at Newcomb & Boyd, so I thought it was time to see firsthand exactly what an architect does. While shadowing, I learned about how to merge harmonious, creative, environmentally-responsible design with a client's budget, as well as how to draw a straight line.

The day was extremely interesting. I actually attended a project meeting where the contractors updated the clients on the status of a project. It amazes me how much an architect has to coordinate, from the construction itself to the photography of the final result. At the end of the day, we drove to Athens, GA, to tour the newly completed University of Georgia Honors Program residence hall that Jeff designed. It is amazing to think that he designed nearly the entire structure, from the custom light fixtures to the wrought iron balustrade. It was a absolutely beautiful building and an enlightening and inspiring experience to visit the site with the project's principal architect.

Check out their website: Collins Cooper Carusi Website

I.R.I.S. Hovering

Hey everyone,

I just realized I forgot to put up a video of our final product hovering, so here it is!

AT&T Arduino Competition

Today, we participated in the AT&T Arduino Competition at the corporation's Midtown Atlanta headquarters, where more than twenty projects were presented, including ours. We presented the I.R.I.S. project as well as a  hovercraft we designed earlier in the year. The other projects ranged from a Smart House to an automated dog food dispenser. At the competition, we were forced to make a few last-minute additions, as our mathematical models did not work in a realistic situation. We added two more balloons to the model, simply tying them onto the frame. This provided more than enough lift, and we were able to lift off the ground. This was another learning experience, as we realized just how much the distribution of weight across the frame matters; the drone kept drifting to one side due to uneven distribution. Fortunately, we were ready when the judges came around to us, and demonstrated both I.R.I.S. and the hovercraft successfully to them.

After they finished, we all took a lunch break (pizza) and waited for the results. After about an hour or so, the judges returned and much to our surprise and delight, we took home the first place trophy!

Our hard work paid off, and we learned a lot. Throughout the process, we were constantly improving, and continued to do so right up to the competition. I felt like I learned a few core principles that I can apply to my future projects. One is to constantly test your designs. You don't want to wait until the last minute to make sure everything works as you planned. The next is to organize your systems. Without compartmentalization and organization, not only will your project look like a mess, but if something goes wrong with the wiring or some other mechanism, it will take you forever to determine what's causing it and where it's located. The final, and most important, is resilience. Our project constantly had problems and setbacks, and it would have been very easy for us to simply give up and drop the entire thing out of frustration. But we endured, and came out better for it.