Capstone - Marble Sorter

What a year it has been! From figuring out peoples weight to building marble sorters, it was a blast! For most of the year I worked with two gentlemen, Drew Findley and Jordan Summers. They have been great to work with and I wish them the best in their futures. While we were creating, we costructed a marble sorter of the ages, after some trials and tribulations. I believe the pictures below help explain... (the caption under the picture describes the picture) 

The starting of something great...

On the road to success... 

 Another angle of the road to success...

Mid-build crisis...

 Renewed hope...

                                                         Mid-build crisis number two...

                                                               Success in the near funture...

A picture of success... yes, it was reached...



A close up view of the final success...

Thank you Mr. Olson for a great year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mercedes-Benz

Can you see anything? (other than shrubbry)

As an advertisement for their new F-Cell hydrogen fuel cell powered car, Mercedes undertook a new form of display...none at all. What the video on this link and you will "see" what I mean.

http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/invisible-mercedes-brings-james-bond-technology-life-171557818.html

Game Changer

1) What was the “Moneyball”approach that Billy Beane and Peter Brandt applied to the Oakland Athletics 2002 season? Was it an “art” or a “science”? What single statistic did they boil their value consideration down to? (In class research/discussion)

Billy Beane and Peter Brandt took an all new approach to baseball. Instead of looking at the player through scouts and guessing the rise of a star, they looked at the statistics (mainly on base percentage) of each player and built a team that would get on base. The Oakland A's had the smallest amount of money to work with in the MLB, they were a $30 million team while they were up against teams like the Yankees, a $120 million team. By use of "science" the Oakland Athletics became a winning team, eventually breaking the winning streak by winning 20 games in a row.

2) What is the equation used to calculate OBP? (In class research/discussion)

The equation used to calculate OBP (on base percentage) is:
                (Hits + Walks + Hit by Pitch)_________
(At Bats + Walks + Hit by Pitch + Sacrifice Flies)

3) What is design? (In class research/discussion)
The definition of design is an open ended idea. In lueu of that, I have decided to provide a few general definitions. Here they are:
Noun - A plan or drawing produced to show the look and function or workings of a building, garment, or other object before it is built or made.
Verb - Decide upon the look and functioning of (a building, garment, or other object), typically by making a detailed drawing of it.
Synonyms - noun: intention, scheme, draft, project, purpose; verb: plan, project, scheme, intend, draw, sketch.

4) Describe 3 situations where movie characters (intentionally or not) applied a step from the PLTW 12 Step Design Process. Explain both the (a) situation as well as (b) how the step is relevant:

1 - As the scouts were brainstorming to try to chose star players to fill the spots of the three stars they lost, Billy Beane was concerned that the scouts were not focusing on the problem. He continued to try and get the scouts to define the problem and then solve the problem.

2 - As the Oakland A's where gaining a winning team, Billy Beane cut Giambi due to his bad team moral. Along with Giambi, other changes were made in the team line-up as time went on. Beane was exploring possibilities in the team, considering further development of ideas. He used knowledge gained by the Moneyball technique to make his decisions.

3 - Peter Brandt's idea to use the Moneyball tachnique was revolutionary to the world of baseball. Billy Beane saw the possibility of creating a winning team with the small budget he had. This selection of approach was locked into place when Beane and Brandt overroad the ideas of the scouts and put together a team within their budget that had a better chance of winning than before.



5) What is “Leadership”? List the three aspects of leadership that we come up with in class. (In class research/discussion)

The definition of "Leadership" can be worded differently to everyone. Here is one definition. "Leadership" is the act of providing guidance and direction to anyone in need. Someone who has "Leadership" capabilities not only can, but wants to head a group, team, etc. without having to be forced to. Granted some are "forced" into a leadership position, but that does not mean that they are correctly suited for the job.

1 - Direction
2 - Alignment (managerial)
3 - Comittment (Personal Example)


6) Describe 3 circumstances from the story where a character exercised effective leadership:

1 - The scouts were brainstorming ideas about what players would replace their three star players. Billy Beane continued to providing direction to get scouts to get them to define the problem so that they could solve the problem.

2 - Billy Beane continued to exercise his power by deciding the team players. He, along with Peter Brandt, managed the team. Although Beane made the final decisions, putting the team on the right course to continue their win streak and head into the last for the last game the most prepared they could be. Beane stayed with the team through thick and thin, making decision for the better of the team, not for himself.

3 - Despite all of the critics and all the people who just didn't believe, Billy Beane continued to exercise his techinique. At some points he may have been thinking it might not work, but then he would turn around and say, no, it is going to work. Beane showed that what other people think is not neccessarily correct. The coach for the Red Sox said that being the first at doing anything, whether it is successful or not, is always critisized. The facts may support it, people get stuck in their ways and are not ready for change.

7) According to the movie, what was the A’s record at the start of their winning streak? 

The A's record at the start of their winning streak was 76 : 51 (wins/loses).

8) What does this ratio simplify to (roughly)? The ratio is roughly 1.5 : 1 (wins/loses).

9) How long was the A’s record setting winning streak? The A's had a 20 game win streak.

10) Given the A’s win/loss ratio at the start of the streak (listed two questions above), what are the odds of winning 20 games in a row? Run the numbers. (In class research/discussion)

The chances of winning 20 games in a row is 0.0000346% or 3.5 x 10^-5% chance. In other words, it would take 177.9 years to achieve a 20

11) Based on your calculation, do you think the A’s got lucky or was there something to the Moneyball approach?

I believe that, based on my calculations as well as intellect, that the Oakland A's had something with the Moneyball approach. The streak was based on Moneyball approach because all the numbers prove the statement correct. More games were won, the 20 game win streak, when the technique was put in place. Since no one else used this kind of "technology,"it made it hard for teams based off of star players to fight back. If luck had any part, it is not anywhere near as evident as the numbers are.


12) Did Billy Beane strictly apply the “science” of Moneyball to his management approach? Was there an “art” to his efforts as well? Describe a circumstance where he broke from the Moneyball approach to make a positive change for the team.

For the most part, Billy Beane stuck to the "science" of the Moneyball approach. Although, in a few instances he stayed from the idea. One instance was when he fired Giambi even though he was a perfect candidate for the Moneyball system. Beane fired the player because he had a bad moral that was bringing the team down.

Bonus Question: Money Ball was originally a book. What author wrote the book? What other books has this author written? Is there a theme to his writing?

The author of the original Money Ball book was Michael M. Lewis. He has written many books that have caught the eye of many producers in Hollywood. "Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life" and "The Blind Side" are two of his more famous books. Lewis has recently optioned the rights to "Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life" to Disney inorder for a movie to be made out of it. Michael Lewis seems to have a general theme about his writting. He speaks on life and the hardships and how to handle certain pressures that we face. He also speaks of money in different ways.


It's "Oscar Season", will Moneyball win the Oscar for any of the categories it's up for?
"Moneyball" had a fighting chance at the Oscars, but just couldn't pull through. It had a base of good ideas as well as a great cast that was able to execute the parts nicely. Since this one of the few movies I have seen that were up for the Oscars in Moneyball's category, I do not have a base to rate Moneyball off of. Overall, I believe Moneyball was a good movie that is on the list of "Should See."

Central Air System

As we continue on our programming unit, we completed a program that would control the temperature in a room so that would allow a certain bacteria to grow. This particular bacteria only grows between very specific temperatures. Below is the prorgam we used to achieve this.

Open and Closed Loop Systems

Yet another installment to our log of things programmed. Below is a program for controlling a motor with lights and phototransistors. I enjoy the struggles posed with programming complex systems. Even though the stress is high, the result is definetly worth it. I believe the video helps back up my last statement.The program shown below is the one in the video. Enjoy, I did!

Conclusion

1. Describe an open loop system that has not already been given as an example. Could the system benefit from feedback? Justify your answer.

Microwave is an open loop system because it has no function that allows it to know when the item inside it hot. The microwave runs for the amount of time that was put in, such as 2 minutes. If the microwave could have feedback, the microwave would be able to stop running if there was a danger or stop once what is in the microwave is a certain temperature. It would make the microwave more efficient.

2. Describe a closed loop system that have not already been given as an example. Describe the feedback utilized, and describe why that type of feedback is utilized.

Motion sensors in lights for classrooms and hallways are a closed loop system. The lights turn on when it senses movement and turns off when it senses no movement for a certain amount of time. This system of sensors allow for saving of energy and removes the need for a switch and a tangle of wires.

Variable Functions

Our next phase of the planned goal to reach robotics was variable functions. We learned what they can be used for and how they help a system keep track of itself and run for a certain amount of time or certain number of times. Below are pictures of what we accomplished.

Conclusion

1. Decsribe how you micht modify the Plus command so that it can reset a variable block to 0 within the program.

One would right click on the Plus command to pull up the additionasl information. Then one would click on the box beside "Data input for command value." After the node appears on the left, type in a starting value, which would be zero (0) in this case.

2. What might an industrial or manufacturing engineer need to count or keep track of? Describe one example.

An industrial or manufacturing engineer would need to count or keep track of machines in a production line. Using a variable funcion allows for an accurate way to keep track of the number of times a machine does a certain task. If a machines job is to pick up a bottle cap and put in on a bottle, the system would track how many times the machine runs through the loop of picking up the bottle cap and putting it on a bottle. This would also count the number of bottle caps and bottlesthat the machine put together.

Branch Functions

Our journey into functions has gotten more complex. We have moved on to branch functions. Here is a picture of what we have accomplished.

Conclusion

1. Describe why it is important to include branches in programs.

It's important to have branches in a program because they allow for the function to become more complex. It can allowed for loops to occur as well as allow a switch to be added to the function.

2. Describe an everyday application of a normally open switch that has not been given as an example.

An example of an everyday application of a normally open switch is a doorbell. When someone presses the button for the doorbell, it closes the system setting the bell off.

3. Describe an everyday application of a normally closed switch that has not been given as an example.

An example of an everydayapplication of a normally closed switch is a house alarm system. When wiring a house for the alarm system, one would put the wire normally closed. One on the door and one on the door-frame. When the door was opened, the current would be broken, setting the alarm off.

Flowcharting

As we continued to learn about flowcharts in Engineering, we were put to work creating flowcharts for three scenarios. The first and second charts were portraying picking up objects from a bin and sorting them as "Heavy" or "Light." The first chart did three objects while the second chart did ten. The third flowchart was portraying choosing a number from 1 to 10 and getting it to equal zero.

Conclusion

1. How is flowcharting similar to using a map to plan out a route for a trip?

A map allows one to map out the decided route of travel and one would be able to calculate, in best conditions, the amount of time it will take to reach the desired location. Flowcharts are very similar. They layout the planned action, in the order it will happen, and the amount of time it will take. They are both very useful in helping plan out a desired effect.

2. Describe a process that you perform everyday. Develop a flow chart that illustrates the process.

- Wake up (6 am)
- Take a shower
- Get dressed
- Eat Breakfast
- Go to bus stop (7:05)
- Take bus to school
- Attend school
- Catch bus home
- Do homework
- Eat Dinner
- Finish homework
- Get ready for bed
- Go to bed

Basic Programming

Today in Engineering, we continued learning out basic programming and flow charting. We were challenged with the task of making a function that would turn a small motor on and off for certain intervals of seconds. This is a screenshot of what I came up with to complete the task.

Conclusion

1. What is the best way to make sure that all of your devices are in the correct ports of the interface and have been wired correctly?

One can run the system and see if it works, although in a real life situation, something could be short circuited. One can also double check the ports that are listed in the program (such as port M1 for motor) and match them on the interface.

2. Explain the importance of labeling block functions within a flowchart.

Labeling block function within a flowchart help explain what is happening in a flowchart so that the reader can easily understand/follow the process.

Car of the Future

So what is the car of the future? In other words, what appears to be the most promising technology explored by Click and Clack? Justify your response.

Based off of the findings of Click and Clack, it appears that the most promising technology for the car of the future is... electric cars. As of now, Tesla has brought a fully functional fully electric car to the market. The changes that can be made will be made slowly due to cost and our current amount of information about the technology. Even though the technology is not here, the steps that are being taken are steps in the right direction. As time moves on, the future car seems to be more tangeble. Electric cars are more efficient of fossil fuels because they use any. They are just as capable as a regular fuel power car, except for they are not able to travel as far. A major plus to the electric car is that it has zero I missions. In the state the world is now, we are trying to take step to improve the emission condition. The electric car is one of the few know alternatives to fuel that are safe and reliable.

What fields of study/work would support the development of the car of the future. Describe two different ones?

The two fields that would play a major role in creating the car of the future would be computer engineering and electric engineering. The technology that Tesla is using takes a lot of computer engineering in order for the the car to run and work smoothly and effeciently. The electric engineering place just as big a role as the computer of the car. An engineer would find the most effecient way to transport energy from the battery to the parts of the car the require the use of the power. The two fields, electric and computure engineering would have to combine. The computer would regulate the amount of electricity flow and where it goes at the specific time. All of the parts of the cars have to be working smoothing in order for an effecient and safe car is to be put on the market. A lot of research and time is spent perfecting the car of the future.

Smartest Machine on Earth

What is "machine learning"?
"Machine learning" is a branch of artificial intelligence that is concerned with the study of computer algorithms that improve automatically through experience. Watson by IBM uses "machine learning" in order to answer the Jeopardy questions without ever hearing the question before.

How did the IBM team employ that concept in the development of Watson's AI? What advantage did that provide over previous attempts at "intelligence"?
IBM employed the concept of "machine learning" in the development of Watson's AI by feeding Watson thousands of previous Jeopardy questions. They also fed Watson different forms of the same thing, for example the letter A. The letter can have many different forms and shapes.  Instead of letters, Watson is fed different forms of questions, Watson is better equipped to answer a question asked because it can reference the way something is worded, allowing Watson to imply things if needed. With all of the references that IBM has supplied Watson with, Watson is able to access all the information searching for information that relates to the question. It then "weeds out" the least likely, leaving the most likely answer choice. The Artificial Intelligence allows Watson to better find the most likely answer and learn from its mistakes. Watson is able to listen to the answers of his opponents and learn from the way they answered, whether it is right or wrong, and how they answered. In the video, a question is asked about what month a certain holiday is in. Watson answered that the holiday stated was a holiday. An opponent answered the question as a month, getting it correct. After hereing the same style of answer for times in a row, Watson was able to answer the next question, which was the same style, correctly. The "intellegence" that Watson has been given and allowed to build on makes Watson able to gain more information and intellegence the more it answers questions and hears questions answered. Watson has taken AI to the next level because up till now, no other technology could produce a machine anywhere near Watson.

I've often mentioned the term "Empirical Scepticism". What does that mean? How does that relate to the concept of Machine Learning? How does this relate to your life?
"Empirical Scepticism" is an attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity either in general or toward a particular object based on observation and/or experience. This relates to Machine Learning because Machine Learning is learning based off of previous information/experience. This relates to our lives because we live from experience, whether it is our own experience or other's.

Engineering Ground Zero

What different "trades" (types of construction work) are featured in this video? Name at least three.
1. Concrete
2. Landscape
3. Glass work
4. Piping
5. Steel
6. Electrical
7. Stone work
8. Coating
9. Thermal insulation
10. Firefighting facilities
11. Water facilities

What aspect of the project is most interesting to you? Why is that?
All of the ideas and innovations were interesting and inspiring. I found that the thoughts behind all of the work was very miticulous and new. Every aspect of the work being done rivaled each other for greatness, emotionally as well as in an innivative sense. The memmorial itself was an amazing idea, especially since it spoke to those effected and those who witnessed the event as well as everyone else. The building that is to the World Trade Center has, I believe, a very unique and tranquil design. The overall atmosphere of the environment pays great tribute to those who lost their life in the tragic attack. It seemed that everyone working on the site was giving their all for the cause. In other words, all aspects of the project were interesting to me because the reasons for the project had much meaning and the engineering that was used was innovative and impressive.