FIRST Lego League Volunteering

For the month of November, as part of my mentorship and my senior project i volunteered with the FIRST Lego League for one of their regional qualifiers; a competition to determine who was going to be going to Lego land to compete. I was part of the setup team helping set up the actual competition arena and the next day I was a stage queue runner for two teams. I became sort of a team coach and organizer. I took care of the teams and made sure they were at the place they were supposed to be at the right times. I also encouraged them as well as making sure they were having a good time. It was an all around good experience for me to get into that sort of competition setting where i would be able to learn more about the competition i would be competing in.

These are photos of the night before when we were setting up the arenas and the pit area to receive the teams when they came the next day.

Us, the volunteers being briefed before the teams came and all things became hectic.

The arrival of the teams as they all searched for a place to set down their stuff.

Here is marina, watching the arenas as the kids set up.

Team Robotworks Y

The Bulldogs

These are the teams that i was in charge of the day of the competition.

The end of the day awards ceremony as well. This is the part where all the teams received awards for excellence in certain fields or in competitive spirit.

EQ

1. I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

• Provide a framework for studies
• Take a stance
• Format

2.  Review the following EQs and

• Tell us if it meets the rule of 3 criteria.
• Tell why it does or why it doesn't

 a.  What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss? 

• It follows rule 1, 2, and 3 in the fact that it does allow the individual to do in depth research on the topic to achieve a final answer. It allows the person to choose a point and argue it backing it up with the research

 b.  What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?

• The formatting of this question is weird. It doesn't give any clue or stance as to what they're trying to figure out. They're not looking for anything.

 c.  What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?

• This follows all three rules. Although it could be a bit more clear on what aspects of hairstyle creation they will be exploring. The formatting of the question is very good.

 d.  How can an Anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?

• The question seems very single answer. It does not allow for extra research and several good answers.

3.  Based on your review of the rule of 3 and your experience with assessing four EQs, please write another draft EQ for your senior project.

• What are the most important factors a First Tech Challenge team should consider in order to win a competition? 

Our first Lego Robot

So when we received our kit, we immediately began fiddling with it. This sunday, we banded together to create a robot that can move, and sense when it crashes into a wall. This has been a great achievement so far. We also played with the parts a lot and i attempted to create a crane on my own.

Robotics Progress

Robotics has been going great and we have made great progress since the last time I gave an update. Some of the main things we have done are solidify a final collection idea method, receive the kit of parts from the manufacturer, and also create inventory along with getting an understanding of what we can do with what we have. I also took many pictures of the club working on things.

This is us as a team planning and finalizing the design only a couple minutes before we received the kit.

This is us after receiving the kit of parts and the immense look of joy on our faces when we heard we had gotten it.

Me and a couple members of Mechanical Assembly banded together to create a built to scale arena like the ones they're going to use when we place our robot in competitions.

I also have many pictures of our designs as well as scans of notes we've taken

Research and Working EQ

1.  What is your working EQ?
What is the most important factor in winning a FIRST tech challenge?

2.  What is a possible answer to your working EQ? Please write the answer in thesis format.  

• One of the most important factors in winning a FIRST tech Challenge is communication with all members and willingness to cooperate and listen.

3.  What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ? 
My most important source that i've used have been my mentor as well as my meetings with my team. The second most important source would have to be the resource site of the competition. They have pushed me to believe that team work is the highest priority in this game.
4.  Who is your mentor, or where are you volunteering, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?

My mentor is Joseph Uken who is with the Cal Poly Engineering and Robotics Club. He is also running the robotics club with iPoly and i'm in the club which makes it pertinent to my EQ. My EQ revolves around our group based robotics project and it involves many aspects of engineering and mechanical work.

Independent Component 1 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

For my 30 hours of independent component, i will attend meetings and group sessions of the robotics club and I will also be working on my own on the robot. I will meet with mentors at least once a week to discuss problems, ideas, and other topics related to the robot and the robotics club. This will provide me with the learning experience as well as the in depth analysis of my senior project. The meetings usually will consist of the entire mechanical group meeting with the mentor of the mechanical department as we discuss changes and ideas for the robot with the mentor guiding us and giving feedback on our ideas as well as teaching us what will, and what won't work. The group sessions will usually be the mechanical department, and I tinkering with the robot and formulating new ideas as well as creating the actual robot. 

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

I will bring photos, as well as physical documentation of the work we did each evening as well as keeping my own personal log of notes for the day. The photos will be of the mechanical department and i meeting and brainstorming as well as working. The log will be of changes we made and troubleshooting we did while working on the robot and my own notes will be on anything and everything i deem important enough for me to write down.

3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

My topic is robotics and the way i'll be able to explore my topic more in depth is by working hands on with robots. I will be working with experts from cal poly in the fields of mechanical engineering as well as software design so i will be in contact with a lot of people who know what they're doing. This will enable me to learn from them as well as work on my senior project when i work on the robot.