Meeting with the Robotics Club

As part of the Inland Empire Robotics club which im pursuing as my mentorship, we periodically have meetings where we discuss the direction of the robot and we also do many other things related to the robotics club and whatnot.

At our last meeting, we sat together to discuss design ideas and jotted them down on a board and discussed the pros and cons of each one. We also discussed programming guidelines and chose roles within the team according to our strengths. Then we also took care of basic housecleaning duties such as setting up the next meeting and figuring out what the team should be doing next. We also had a visitor from another team like ours but the difference was that they were more experienced and they brought a robot to show us what kind of things we'll be doing. I took photos of our design idea board and of the robot.

This is a picture of the robot the more experienced team brought along to show us. It is a robot specifically for display only and they use it to help promote robotics

This is a picture of the design idea board. We came up with many ideas and just drew them on the board before compiling a list of what would be best.

This is the list of the best ideas that we came up with and it includes small drawings to help remind us of what the name meant. This board is necessary for helping decide a final design.

Second Interview Questions

Content: 
The purpose of the second interview is justify your mentor as an expert in the field.  Thus, you will be asking at least 5 questions about their background and/or the background of the organization or company where they work.

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?

My mentors are Taylor Halsey and Joey Uken. They are currently senior students in the Cal-Poly Engineering department.

2.  What five questions will ask them about their background?

1. What is your major and why did you choose it?

2. What kind of work in robotics have you done other than FIRST?

3. What classes did you take and how important were they for working in this field and participating in this competition?

4. What kind of degree do you hope to achieve and how do you think you're going to get there?

5. What kinds of classes are typical of engineering students and which ones are necessary when you're working in robotics?

Blog 5: Project Reflection and Working EQ

So far, you have: completed your summer mentorship, started doing some research, maybe completed the interview and hopefully found a mentor.

Using what you have done so far, answer the following 5 questions (be specific and use examples).

The Pentagon:
(1) Positive Statement: What positive thing happen as a result of what you have completed so far?

A positive thing that has happened so far as a result of the senior project is that i have come in contact with a team of highly educated individuals who work toward a common goal of building a robot. I have met many people whom i will personally get to know better by the end of this year. I have also gained access to lots of volunteer opportunities as well as opportunities for scholarships through a program with my interviewee.

(2) EQ Content:  Pick a piece of research or your interview.  How has it helped you improve your understanding of your topic?

My interviewee and the environment that i interviewed her in has really opened my eyes to the world of robotics and team based competition through her organization. It helped me understand robotics more through the process it takes to work in the field and my mentor has also helped me understand what kind of person it requires to work on a project like robotics.

(3) What has worked for you so far in the senior project?

Nothing really worked well until recently when i was contacted about a robotics team that i had signed up for. Emailing has been a really important and integral part of working on the senior project. Keeping contacts and schedules and dates are also very important during the project. The main thing that has really worked in the senior project is talking to Purther maintains the senior project and knows it as his own child. It has been fantastic to be able to ask Purther questions about the project anytime after school. All in all, the project has been fair to me so far and has been very helpful.

(4) What hasn't worked so far?

Things that haven't worked so far include emailing the governmental websites, calling forestry services, and contacting people. Emailing has been very spotty sometimes bringing me gold, and other times leaving me staring at my email list for hours on end into the wee hours of the night. There have also been instances where i've had trouble finding research that works with my non-existent EQ so i found the first couple research checks pointless.

(5) Finding Value:

•  What is a potential question you would like to study this year?  (working EQ)

My working EQ could be something like "What is the most important factor in winning a FIRST Tech Challenge?"

•  What do you plan to do for mentorship?  If you haven't found a mentor yet, then discuss where you are currently looking and who you are talking to to find it.  

I have a mentorship set up with the event coordinator of a major robotics competition and many sub-competitions. I also am part of a robotics team that has many mentors and i am also currently enlisted under many engineering majors at Cal Poly. This should help me set up many different moments to learn.