Press Release

A VEXciting New Experiment

Contact Information:

This article is written about the young Dustin Brandl, 17, a senior at the Marine Academy of Science and Technology. He hails from the Farmingdale, NJ, which is a part of the Freehold Regional Sending District.  He is partnered with CJ Bzozowski, 17, on the VEX Robotics senior project.

Introduction:

The Systems and Engineering II class offered at the Marine Academy of Science and Technology, Sandy Hook, NJ, has a multitude of projects presented before the class of 2012 that opted to be a part of this class.  This article focuses on one project and student in particular, Dustin Brandl and the VEX Robotics.  For this class, the VEX Robot must complete a set of challenges, both terrestrial and aquatic.  The terrestrial challenge includes relocating the eggs of the endangered piping plover; the aquatic challenge includes a series of challenges based off of the Coast Guard challenges.

Body:

Project Description:

The VEX Robotics system is designed to create an interesting opportunity for students learn about science, technology, engineering, and math, STEM.  The VEX Robotics system not only encourages STEM skills, but it also encourages more personable skills such as teamwork, problem solving, and leadership.  Brandl’s individual design brief is to design and construct all of the electrical components in order to successfully meet the criteria for each challenge.

The first terrestrial challenge for the VEX Robotics to complete is safely move the eggs of the endangered piping plover.  The second set of challenges for the VEX Robotics teams was designed from the Coast Guard Academy STEM challenge.   Another member of a different VEX team constructed a challenge course to test the groups’ ability to solve problems and work together to achieve a goal.  The set of challenges include placing a ball through a hoop, tugging a friendly vessel, planting a buoy, and sinking an enemy vessel.

The most important STEM calculation, by far, was the buoyancy and stability.  If the final product is not able to float or stay stable in the water, the team then has just wasted a lot of the school’s money and must pay it back to the school.  Buoyancy is found with three factors that were available to these students.  These are mass of the robot, density of the robot, and density of the surrounding liquid.  If the liquid’s density is greater than the robot’s density, then it floats; if not, it sinks.

The final product is expected to be shown at building 77 on May 10, 2012.  The final product should be able to complete all of the challenges listed above as efficiently as possible.  The challenge being displayed will be the water challenge; the viewers of the presentation should expect the final product to place a ball through a hoop, tug a friendly vessel, plant a buoy, and sink an enemy vessel.  Also, one can expect a presentation recapitulating the work, time, and effort that was put into this project.

Mentor Involvement:

Brandl and Brzozowski had a few professionals to help them along the way of construction.  These people helped the VEX duo throughout the way of construction by answering any questions that they had.  Some of the things they needed to know were the types of propellers to use, how to calculate buoyancy, and how exactly gear-ratios work.  Another important issue that the mentors addressed was the waterproofing of the electronics.  Brandl decided to test out balloons and plastic wrap.

Summary:

            Brandl and Brzozowski have dedicated their senior year to this project.  They researched VEX robotics and robotics in general.  They created different ideas using VEX pieces and their own ingenuity in order to complete the tasks set before them; these included moving the eggs of the endangered piping plover, placing a ball through a hoop, tugging a friendly vessel, planting a buoy, and sinking an enemy vessel.  The final presentation of the robot will truly a VEXperience one would not to miss.

Mentor Contacts MP3

Mentor Name: Michael John Badger
Contact 1: July 15, 2011
Phone meeting with Michael John Badger. This meeting was a 3 way call that lasted about 30 minutes. CJ’s mother introduced Mr. Badger to CJ and me and we further introduced ourselves later in the meeting. We discussed our expectations for the class and upcoming project. Christopher Brzozowski and Dustin Brandl
Contact 2: July 20, 2011
Sent:Good afternoon,
Attached is our systems engineering project/presentation. We look forward to working with you.
Thanks,
CJ and Dustin
Contact 2: July 20, 2011
RecievedCJ and Dustin,
You were very active during the last school year. Your newsletter was informative and interesting. Based on evidence of your creativity, enthusiasm, and introduction to the engineering disciplines, you appear poised for a memorable and productive senior year.
Request your thoughts on what value to a customer your robotics project will provide. Does the robot help her in some way? Does it retreive items underwater and bring them to the surface? Does it clean pools? Does it retrieve lost items which have a Bluetooth or other unique transmitting device enabled (e.g., lost cell in the house, car keys, or garage door opener)?
Mike
Contact 3: September 9, 2011
Sent:

Hello Mr. Badger,I hope you had a great summer. We just got back into school and we are required to have your phone number, email, employer, position and job description for our mentor fact sheet. The sooner you can send me these the better, hope to hear back from you soon. Thank you for your time. - CJ and Dustin

Contact 3: September 9, 2011Recieved:
CJ and Dustin,
Name: Michael J. Badger, P.E., MBA
Phone: 732-737-4414
email: michael.john.badger@verizon.net
Employer: Program Executive Office Integration (PEO I), US Army
Position: Deputy, Executive Director, System of Systems Engineering and Integration
Job description: The lead for overall execution of the combined engineering, business management, acquisition and pricing approach to development and acquisition of PEO Integration systems under development. Supervisor of personnel to meet program priorities and ensure those efforts are properly integrated. Overseer of reviews and approver of the associated execution plans and schedules, ensuring the optimal mix of in-house and contract work, and ensure appropriate collaboration with external organizations (Office of the SECDEF/Department of the Army, user requirements community, testing community, Army laboratories) to meet or exceed all goals.
Regards,
MJB
Contact 4: September 29, 2011

michael.john.badger@verizon.net writes: >Chris and Dustin, > > What is the status of your project? Have you developed the inital >concept and specifications? > > Regards, > Mike Badger > >

Contact 4: September 30, 2011Sent:
Hello Mr. Badger,
So far we have taken inventory of our VEX robotics sets and have been working on our project blogs. The Blogs contain information on the Specifications, Limitations, project status, Background Information, and much more on the project. We will send you the links to these blogs as soon as we get approval from our instructor. Our project now is to design an aquatic vehicle that accomplishes certain challenges and a terrestrial vehicle that will gather endangered Piping Plover eggs without breaking them or disturbing the surrounding environment. We will keep you updated as we move along. Thank you very much for your time.
- CJ and Dustin

Contact 5: Contact: October 19, 2011
SentHello,
Here is the link for the blogs we have been working on in class http://brzozowskivex.blogspot.com/
Right now we are working on our alternative solutions and will have images of what we want the product to look like up soon.
Thank you for your time
- CJ and Dustin
Contact: October 19, 2011
Recieved:CJ and Dustin,
I looked through the postings on your blogspot. Interesting. It will be good to see which design you settle upon.
Mike Badger

Mentor Name: Naga Kunduru
Contact 6: September 11, 2011Sent:
>On Sun, Sep 11, 2011 at 2:01 PM, Christopher Brzozowski <[
>mailto:christopher_brzozowski@mast.mcvsd.org
>]christopher_brzozowski@mast.mcvsd.org> wrote:
>
>
>
>Hello Mr. Naga,
>
>Thank you very much for volunteering to mentor us during this school
>year.
>We would like to speak to you soon about our project. Please let us
>know
>when we can reach you. In the meantime, our school requires your email,
>phone number, employer, position, and job description for our mentor
>fact
>sheet. We look forward to hearing back from you. Thank you for your
>time.
>
>- CJ and Dustin
Contact 6: September 13, 2011Recieved:
Naga Kunduru <nkunduru@gmail.com> writes:
>Hi CJ, you can call me on my cell (848-702-7021) between 6-9pm in the
>evenings.
>Here is my info for your school's mentor fact sheet:
>[ mailto:nkunduru@us.ibm.com ]nkunduru@us.ibm.com
>201-266-7658
>IBM
>Technical Business Analyst
>Job Description:
>Identify and define requirements for the use of technology to improve
>Mortgage processes and systems. Analyze and document technical
>requirements of client’s unique lending/servicing enterprise and map
>those requirements within the context of IBM's Impact Lending Suite
>software solution. Act as the liaison between the business and
>development and provide a business and systems analysis service to
>clients. Balance technology and business issues as well as communicate
>appropriately with both technology and business experts.
>
>- Naga
Contact 7: September 29, 2011
Sent:Hello Mr. Naga,
Thank you very much for sending us the information for our mentor fact sheet. Please note, any phone calls or personal contact must be approved by our teacher ahead of time. We will be in touch with you soon. Thank you very much for your time.
-CJ and Dustin


Email :
Contact 9: November 1, 2011
BarBaros@aim.com
Discussed the background of the project, sent our blog information, and the mechanical and electrical aspects of the project. 

Contact 1: November 14, 2011 Face to Face for about half of an hour
Discussed the mechanical and electrical aspects of our project with Mr. Barrall. We also went over the basic idea of our project, and the tasks we hope to accomplish in the near future. We discussed what we have finished already and what we will soon be working on. He described what he did before he was retired and expressed his intrest in robotics. 

Contact 11: November 22, 2011 Face to Face for the class period
Mr. Rubiano, an alumni from this school, returned here to this class. He discused with my partner and me different techniques he used to construct his VEX robot last year.   He mainly focused on the hull aspect of the VEX robot.  He instructed us on how to make the hull as light as possible.  We tossed around ideas of how to

Contact 12: November 30, 2011 Face to Face for the class period
He showed us how exactly the different motors and servos connected to not only the framework but also to the drive shafts which then in turn spin each different apparatus.  He discussed with us different ideas on how we could create propellers out of pieces of the VEX kit. 

Contact 13: December 3, 2011 Face to Face with Mr. Heller (from Hobby Masters in Red Bank)
He showed us differenet propellers, which he had in his shop, but none of them seemed large enough to move the VEX robot.  We bought one propeller in order that we may test it on our VEX robot, and see how well it performs.  He suggested a propeller with a radius of three inches, but they did not have any in stock.  We will return when they do.

Contact 14: February 12, 2012

Received: from Mr. Barrall

From your picture it looks like a small gear on the motor is driving a large gear on your claw arm. If you put a large gear on motor and small gear on claw arm, the arm should move faster.

Contact 15: February 23, 2012
Sent:
Hello Mr. Barrall,
We have encountered a minor problem with our robot. One challenge is we have to throw a ball through a hoop, but the claw will not move fast enough to actually "throw" the ball; it merely drops. We were wondering if you had any ideas that would allow us to throw the ball. Attatched is a current image of our robot.
Thank you,
CJ and Dustin
Received:

CJ and Dustin,

Some things to think about:

1. The farther the claw is from the pivot point the faster it will travel

2. Gears can be used to speed up the output of a motor

3. A slow motion can be used to store energy in something like a rubber band or spring and then suddenly released

Contact 16: February 26, 2012

Sent via facebook:

Peter Arriaza,

We are having some trouble because we do not know how to safely use the motors in an aquatic location without altering the motor itself. Do you have any suggestions for us?

Thank you,

CJ and Dustin

Received via facebook:

Hey guys,

I didn't have to do an aquatic challenge last year, but I may have an idea.  Try using balloons to cover each motor and use super glue to seal the ends.  This should make a watertight seal. Let me know how it works.

Peter.

 

Contact 17: Date: February 10, 2012

SENT

Hello Mr. Badger,

We have been moving along with our VEX Robot. We are creating propellers for the back of our VEX Vehicle. What type do you recommend? The Vehicle is about 10 by 14 inches and is no more than 5 pounds. We also have to be able to maneuver around corners. Thank you for your time.

CJ and Dustin

Contact18: Mr. Kunduru

Date: February 10, 2012

SENT

We have been moving along with our VEX Robot. We are creating propellers for the back of our VEX Vehicle. What type do you recommend? The Vehicle is about 10 by 14 inches and is no more than 5 pounds. We also have to be able to maneuver around corners. Thank you for your time.

CJ and Dustin

Contact 19: Mr. Rubiano

Date: February 12, 2012

SENT

Hello Rob,

We are moving along with our VEX Robot but we now need to add propellers to the back. Is there any type/size you recommend? Thank you for your time.

Contact: Mr. Rubiano

Date: February 14, 2012

Hey Guys,

Any size between 3 and 5 inches should work. You might also want to consider using the wheels that come with the kit as propellers. You can spread clay through the gaps of the wheels and angle it to get a propeller like motion. Good Luck.

- Rob  

log 30

Today, my partner and I worked on a new solution to throw the ball.  We came up with a catapult.  We will use two structure pieces with mesh netting to hold the ball.  A motor with a high gear ratio will be used to move the structure.  There is a blocker that will stop the arm's motion and the ball will accelerate foward.

log 29

"People make systems work; Systems don't make people work" - Mr. Grabler

bona pas quo- "the good shepard"

log 28

Today was the start of a four day week and the end of a four day weekend.  My partner was absent; therefore I had to work alone. I finished both of the mechanisms for the propellers, and changed around some of the motor ports.  I attempted to throw a ping pong ball with the claw, but in the end, it failed.  We now need to find a new mechanism to launch the ball.  Maybe spring loaded launcher? Rubber band? I must discuss this with my partner...

log 27

DA has purchased new safety glasses which he keeps in the CAD land. We dawn the glasses before we enter the Systems Lab. This week, we have been working on our propellers. At the start of the week, we searched on the internet for different types of propellers and their corresponding prices.  These websites included amazon, ebay, and various RC websites.  Tuesday, we set up a place for the propellers on the aft end of the VEX robot.  We had to move an existing plate foreward in order to create a place for the battery pack which be attatched via zip tie.  Wednesday, we set up the chain and sproket kit that will spin the propellers.  The smaller gear will be attatched to the propeller and the larger gear attatched to the drive shaft connected to the motor.

Log 26

This week, my partner and I did a lot with fine tuning on our VEX robot.  We added stoppers on all side of our gears in order to ensure total stability.  We changed the gear ratios in order that we ensure total control.  We started to discuss how we can set up the propellers and make them spin fast.  We discussed either chain and sprockets or multiple gears.  We also thought about two propellers on each side.