11th February 2011

MASSIVE UPDATE:

Wow, so busy that I haven't had much time to update my blog.

Ok, RE first. I didn't get my 3.5k! Had to make do with 3k for the basic costs. So far, the spending has been under 2k but that's probably because we haven't actually done anything. The rough spending breakdown is listed here:

2x$390, X1-RCU

4x$125 Motor Drivers

2x$10 Power Splitter

2x$100 IR ball

6x$20 Sheet metal

Thats about all I can remember, totaling up to $1600. I have this feeling that this RE project will be holding the record for some time for the largest amount spent in the shortest time. As for the progress, it has been going along quite well actually, with one base more or less cut into shape. We are still checking out how we can cut 90 degree bends though, and hopefully we can find somewhere that we can borrow a laser cutter for a low cost. Will try to get some pictures soon, since I have finally made the effort to dig out my camera charger.

I don't remember posting about FLL too. The results were actually better than expected, with all teams getting an award from our school. My team won the gracious professionalism award which was completely unexpected. We are even on consideration to represent Singapore during the World Festival along with the winning team (4 members), another guy from another team from our school, and one more unknown person. IF we get into the finals though, there would be another problem- the US trip is days before the mid-year exams. Considering some time for jet lag and the long hours preparing for the competition (apart from the extremely high cost, rumored to be 4k), we are kind of dead for our exams. Nice to know that they think highly of us though, so I'll update back once I get confirmation.

Oh and this was probably one of my most occupied Chinese New Year. Since we had Singapore Math Project Festival (SMPF) presentations to complete, we were required back in school for additional practice lasting about 9 hours. The starting expectations given when we signed up for this competition was that we would just have to brush up on out presentations and report submitted for our research education project last year but we were wrong. We were forced to do a massive overhaul. But over time, it just got better and when the going got smoother, our spirits rose-a little. Its almost perfect now, and it should be, since our presentation is tomorrow.

Just when I thought I could relax for the rest of the Chinese New Year, I realized that I had to do the class shirt! I got that done in under an hour though. Although I don't really have much experience in designing shirts, I did 3. Not really of the highest quality though, as you can see here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1690140008264&set=t.1080640987 , http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1690109447500&set=t.1080640987 , http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1690063726357&set=t.1080640987.

And just today, there was merit trial which was more or less boring. I got to meet some guys from Nanyang though and I think that really increased our chances of getting something for Robocup next year. The few photos that I took will be going up on Facebook soon so I'll post the link to the album here. Be sure to check back soon!

Will continue posting if I have updates/ realised I missed out on something but for now, bye!

*hit count: 260+ (so slow, need to update more frequently)

FLL Run 1

Hey guys, first time uploading a videos so I have no idea how this is going to turn out. Nothing much in this video though, Just shows my FLL robot completing the first run (inserting the bone bridge). I hope that I will be uploading the second video soon because the second one is way bigger. Did I mention that the base design has yet again been changed? After all the builds with the NXT wheels, I have officially decided that tracks will do a way better job in terms of accuracy so I went with the tracks. The results have been positive so far, with the accuracy being extremely good until some heavy weight goes on it. That means more runs and more videos to upload. The upload is done already so this is going onto the blog first. Thanks

Back to blogging

Hey guys! Sorry about the long wait for the FLL updates. Was feeling very tired yesterday and it is pretty much the same today although I will just make an effort to post since it is too early to be sleeping. Essentially, I did another rebuild, which is just so characteristic of me. Here are some photos since I did bring my camera to the lab.

Wow I have finally finished uploading the photos after such a long time. This thing has taken much time to build and much effort thinking of how to charge and change the battery so the programming progress is slow. However, the bone bridge is complete as well as the syringe. The bone is now aligned but the cast is not applied yet because I am doing the pacemaker and patch first. Unfortunately, that is still under works so once the first part is complete, I'll upload the videos. Thanks guys and I would really appreciate if you would share your ideas with me.

Also, somewhere along the time when I was missing in action online, this blog has reached a 100 visitors. Excellent stuff there and thanks so much for supporting me.

Ear Pump Pro

Hey all, I finally replaced that old, defective LG default ear piece (from my GT540) with a Sonic Gear ear pump pro bought at the electronics fair held at Suntec over this weekend. Awesome sounds considering I have been using an out ear earphone ever since my old Sonic Gear ear piece died on me. This one comes with travel adapters including a splitter (so that two people can listen from the same source), an airplane adapter (which I have not figured out what its for), a carrying case (which actually looks quite stylish) as well as 6 extra rubber tips of different sizes. Oh and not forgetting the ear piece itself. For the specs, anyone can just check it out at http://www.sonicgear.com.sg/?id=2&bcid=3&pcid=29&pid=231. Instead, I will just share my own experience. The first thing I realized when I plugged these things in was the rubber tip's ability to block out ambient noises. Although it is not completely sound proof, it was definitely better than average. Next, I turned on the volume and at once noticed that the sound was not as solid as I had expected although the drivers are admittedly quite small. However, sound quality is clear and can be heard on the lowest volume on Windows with my wall fan turned on to the maximum settings. Overall, I would recommend those who are on a tight budget and those who travel often to get this ear piece. However, audiophiles will find that this pair would not fulfill their gadget lust.

By the way, I don't think 'audiophiles' and 'gadget lust' would qualify as tech-jargons but i'll just explain them to avoid any misunderstandings. Audiophiles refer to a specific group of people who are bent on getting their music in top quality and would probably scrutinize the technical specifications and cross-reference it to their in-brain database before purchasing a particular product. A common characteristic that can be used to distinguish them would be their willingness to spend exorbitant amounts of cash to get that dream sound system. Gadget lust refers to the craving of a particular person for new technological gadgets.

More about my personal life, I am finally going to work on my FLL robot tomorrow! Hope everything comes out fine. I am currently charging my camera and hopefully, I will remember to pack it in tomorrow so that I can upload some shots of it.

Blogger seems to have a technical glitch. I am adamant that I saw 3 page visits from Malaysia. However, it is 1 today. Interesting hit disappearance.

FLL 2010-2011

Hi people! Good to know that my blog is getting at least some hits. Today's post will be about my team's FIRST Lego League preparation so its going to be rather dry. So the initial robot was pretty much a first draft, 2 motors facing down at 90 degrees mounted onto an NXT facing towards the playing field and a third motor mounted onto the NXT straight. The reason behind the NXT facing downwards (which looks really weird) is so that I wouldn't have any problems with the 3rd motor mounted low which would aid the lowering of the bone cast. Then I started the programming which got extremely irritating to start the program. Secondly, the low center of gravity, which was supposed to be a good thing, made the robot weigh down too much, scratching the field and caused the rotations to be inaccurate. So me being me, I chose to rebuild and went back to my signature NXT mounted sideways robot which I had finished on Monday. The cast fitting could be quite a problem even though I mounted the motor downwards as seen in my last test. I will be working on it soon, probably tomorrow once I get permission from my parents to go back to the lab. So now for the hard part which is the attachment building and the programming which I suspect would turn out to be a fully hard-coded program. I will try to upload some photos too and possibly videos if I get anywhere near points on tomorrow. Meanwhile, nothing interesting really happened over the weekends. One thing that I'm really angry with right now is LG's incompetence. I sent my phone (GT540) in for servicing about 2 weeks ago and the got it "fixed". Or at least their definition of fixed. Whenever its turned on, the camera would be activated and the buttons are really loose. Conclusion? back to the service center. Anyway, I am really happy that for once, I'm not doing my holiday homework on the last day and I have actually started so kudos to me. I will have to leave now but I'll update this soon. Goodbye!