Project Proposal
My proposal is to design a partially autonomous terrain robot which moves like a spider. The robot will have only 4 legs with 2 joints on each leg, totaling to 8 joints (using 8 servos to control the joints). I will be using an Arduino to control the robot and will start by prototyping my robot using wooden materials and eventually upgrade to 3D printed CAD parts.
Ultimately, this robot will be remote controlled with a camera and may have autonomous tasks. One example of a task that I would give the robot is to locate and retrieve a cup of orange juice for me. I’ll incorporate AI into my autonomous tasks, either vision processing or some type of graph search like A* for the shortest path to the cup.
In addition, I will be teaching a series of workshops about this terrain robot. I have already gained approval from my local library and will be holding my first workshop on March 8th. I plan to hold somewhere from 5-6 workshops. I have held two workshops already at the library (including a weeklong course). The target audience for these workshops is 5th-8th graders. I would be happy to hold workshops at the Priory as well for the middle schoolers.
Ultimately, this robot will be remote controlled with a camera and may have autonomous tasks. One example of a task that I would give the robot is to locate and retrieve a cup of orange juice for me. I’ll incorporate AI into my autonomous tasks, either vision processing or some type of graph search like A* for the shortest path to the cup.
In addition, I will be teaching a series of workshops about this terrain robot. I have already gained approval from my local library and will be holding my first workshop on March 8th. I plan to hold somewhere from 5-6 workshops. I have held two workshops already at the library (including a weeklong course). The target audience for these workshops is 5th-8th graders. I would be happy to hold workshops at the Priory as well for the middle schoolers.
Project Meaning
Biomimicry, the process of mimicking a biological entity through design, allows us to have a greater appreciation for the environment and our humble role within it. It’s basically recognizing that nature is the most powerful thing in this world, and we should take inspiration from it. While we’ve been developing technology since the birth of mankind, nature has taken billions of years of evolution to develop all of the biological technology we see around us, down to individual molecule interactions. I first learned the concept in around 8th grade when I purchased a book called Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature.
The spider robot has several uses as a terrain robot. For example, terrain robots are used for search and rescue missions, environmental exploration and research. They’re used to squeeze into small locations which humans cannot fit, emphasizing their role as assisting humans, not replacing them. Terrain robots often require a slight bit of autonomy in the case of temporarily lost connections. This robot will hopefully be equipped for autonomous tasks, or at least to travel remotely through joystick. AI robots (not specifically terrain) have an incredible amount of uses, such as assistive robots in homes, manufacturing, and more research!
Not only is this project meaningful to me, but by teaching workshops I hopefully inspire the children I teach in the ways that technology can be used for positives in the world, and to aid humans. Furthermore, free workshops at the library are helpful to children to both get early exposure (especially female students and students of color) and learn STEM when their curriculum isn’t as thorough as the Priory STEM curriculum. The numbers of female students I have had at my earlier workshops have been very promising (somewhere around 35%).
The spider robot has several uses as a terrain robot. For example, terrain robots are used for search and rescue missions, environmental exploration and research. They’re used to squeeze into small locations which humans cannot fit, emphasizing their role as assisting humans, not replacing them. Terrain robots often require a slight bit of autonomy in the case of temporarily lost connections. This robot will hopefully be equipped for autonomous tasks, or at least to travel remotely through joystick. AI robots (not specifically terrain) have an incredible amount of uses, such as assistive robots in homes, manufacturing, and more research!
Not only is this project meaningful to me, but by teaching workshops I hopefully inspire the children I teach in the ways that technology can be used for positives in the world, and to aid humans. Furthermore, free workshops at the library are helpful to children to both get early exposure (especially female students and students of color) and learn STEM when their curriculum isn’t as thorough as the Priory STEM curriculum. The numbers of female students I have had at my earlier workshops have been very promising (somewhere around 35%).