Sarah’s Weblog

Class last Thursday dealt with complexity. As an engineer or entrepreneur, complexity can be applied to many things daily. For example, when needing to explain a project to a potential sponsor, how complex the project is explained affects how little or how much money may be provided. Also, if my boss was to come up to me and ask what I was working on, throwing in complicated engineering words wouldn’t get my point across. As an engineer or entrepreneur, complexity can be displayed verbally [as previously mentioned], and physically [through models]. Without complexity, life as an engineer wouldn’t be as tough as it’s cut out to be, and therefore nothing would progress; engineers wouldn’t get frustrated, and then mistakenly find out new things. Complexity is a necessity!

Tuesday’s class focused around aircrafts was enjoyable.  I’ve learned more about airplanes, considering I didn’t know that much about airplanes and all the types.  The models [toys] that we were able to look at/play with during class were a great 3-D element.  What came to my mind was the plane from the movie “Flightplan.” The plane in the movie is very high on the technology spectrum, and seems to be one of the future [if not now].  I found the discussion pleasant considering our question, such as ‘Could you hear yourself scream if you were moving faster than the speed of sound?’  That question, along with others, led into a great discussion that kept moving.  I think we’re finally getting the point of discussion!

Barnes, N. & Zelinsky, A. (2008, June). Robotics Research in Australia: a national perspective on the needs, themes, and major groups. IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE , 15, 2, 89-95.

As the title suggests, this article pertains to the robotic research going on in Australia.  Since Australia is an island and doesn’t have a huge population, the unused space provides room for research [which is dedicated to robotics].  Locations and current research topics are discussed; for example, Monash University researches swarm robotics, tactile sensing, and chemical trail sensing robots.  Australia’s robotic research has much biological inspirations.  As previously mentioned, Monash University researches robots; they are addressed multisensor synergies on humanoids, as well as robotic odor sensing.  Also, the UQ has the most developed walking humanoid robot in Australia.  Research about incorporating teams of robots is focused on the Robocup Competition, but branches off to decentralized data fusion and underwater robots in underwater sensor networks too.

At the last seminar meeting, we learned about materials and how to produce them.  This affects my daily life, as well as everyone else’s daily life, because we use products that are made from polymers, metals, ceramics, and composites.  For example, plastic is a polymer, and I personally use plastic everyday through the use of a toothbrush, hairbrush, some jewelry, etc.  Also, ceramics are commonly used through potter, as well as metals through kitchen appliances and such.  Knowing how to produce such materials is useful for if I wanted to start up a business or apply such production methods towards a new idea.

For this assignment, I decided to find 5 websites:

Linear Time Invariant (LTI) System: http://cnx.org/content/m0048/latest/

Although this site looks overwhelming with the amount of mathematical equations/calculations shown, the gist of the site is to apply the concept of LTI with a periodic input.

Laplace Transform: http://www.intmath.com/Laplace-transformation/Intro.php

This online book concentrates on the Laplace Transformation through the process of introducing the inventor, what it is, and how it works. Following this information is a section on how to apply the Laplace Transformation.

Proportional, Integral, Derivative (PID) Control: http://lorien.ncl.ac.uk/ming/pid/PID.pdf

The PDF introduces the concept of PID control, and increases the complexity as the paper progresses. Multiple PID algorithms are provided, along with examples, and the “PID rules of thumb.”

System Performance: http://www.tweakxp.com/performance_tweaks.aspx

This list provides links on how to “tweak” your Windows XP for better efficiency (performance); although the focus is on computers, similar ideas can be applied to other appliances.

Programmable Logic Controller (PLC): http://www.eod.gvsu.edu/~jackh/books/plcs/chapters/plc_intro.pdf

This PDF file is focused on what a PLC is, its history, operation, and application. It even provides practice problems (and answers), in case you want to test your knowledge.

Yesterday’s class [ June 24, 2008] was full of information about different ways of learning and such. The presentation of the information was done in an orderly fashion, but it could have been improved in such a way that it is more enjoyable. Instead of straight out reading from the powerpoint, one could possibly summarize the current powerpoint slide? Also, I felt that the discussion element could have been “up to par”. There was not much discussion, but I figure the reason is because we were all a little uncertain or shy of ourselves. I personally felt a little shy, and neither had much to say nor knew what to say. However, since yesterday was the “first” Honors Seminar of learning, I feel that it will improve over time.