Capstone Project: Marble Sorter

Initial Ideas/Prototypes:

Another idea consisting of three pistons that would retract due to the reading from a photoresistor.

Another View:

Scrap that, we're starting off fresh:

Here's the begining of the end:

It fell apart.....

 Here's our final solution before wiring it up. The wood and metal are seperated in the begining due to size and then ultimately weight. The remaining glass marbles are subjected to a beam of light and a photoresistor that is programmed to read different values that are paired with a certain bin.

Some of the wiring and setting up the compression chamber

 The Final Product:

This project has been my favorite so far. Having such loose guidelines and just an ultimate goal gave us a lot of freedom as to how we were going to approach it. Our team sifted through various ideas during the process and ultimately developed an apparatus that involved both simple machines and electronic components.

Central Air System

Here we have created a simple solution to monitor the temperature and controll it.

Open and Closed Loop Systems

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.
- When using the reheat function on a microwave, the sensors require input from the temperature of the food to determine whether or not the food is heated to an appropriate temperature or the loop needs to be continued until the desired range is reached.

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.
- An AC system would be triggered by the feedback it gets from the environment. If the temperature is too warm, the system will engage and the AC will turn on while the system loops over and over again, acquiring readings from the thermostats. Once the desired temperature is reached, the system will disengage.

Variable Functions

Conclusion1. Decsribe how you micht modify the Plus command so that it can reset a variable block to 0 within the program.
You would open the properties for the command and change the data input for the value and set the starting value to zero.
2. What might an industrial or manufacturing engineer need to count or keep track of? Describe one example.
They would most likely need to keep track of the amount of products created. For example, if a company is making microchips and they are created on an assembly line, having a machine that counts the amount of times a process is done and compares it to a final counter at the end of assembly would ensure that effeciency was at its maximum

Branch Functions

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

Branching functions allows one to create more intricate programs and include set requirements and standards that the program must execute before finishing. You can implement switches, counters, or sensors that will expand the possibilities of the programs use.

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

A doorbell is normally and open switch but by pushing down on it, the switch is closed sending the signal and resulting in the bell.


3. Describe an everyday application of a normally closed switch that has not been given as an example.
A car alarm is an example of a normally closed switch that only activates once the system is opened.

Flow Charts

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

- It is used to show the necessary steps to take in a process. To compare it to a road trip, one would have to follow the steps (roads/turns) but in case of an obstacle (road closing/accident) they must be able to have a fall back plan or a branch that will ultimately take them to their destination.

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

1. Wake Up

2. Shower

3. Eat breakfast
4. Get dressed
5. Bike to school (7:45)
6. Go to class
7. Lunch (11:55)

8. Bike back to school (12:30)

9. Bike Home
10. Do Homework

11. Go to bed

Game Changer

1. The "Moneyball" approach was a science that took statistics and numbers from a players career and plugged them into algorithms. Mainly, they were concerned with on base percentage. During its time is was overlooked, however it proved to be one of the most important factors of the game.

2. OPB = (Hits + Walks + Hit by Pitch) / (At Bats + Walks + Hit by Pitch + Sacrifice Flies)

3. Design is a deliberate blend between art and science formulated to reach a desired intention.

4. Design Process
i. Begining scout scene when they are talking about finding new players and Billy Bean keeps bringing them back to the central point of what the original problem was.
ii. The fact that Billy first started out with acquiring three new players to make up for their lost players OBP, however then switched to completely his original idea to devising a complete makeover of the team.
iii. Through watching film, they skouted potential players for qualities that many times were overlooked. They also used it to adjust playing strategies. 
5. Leadership
- a plan or drawing produced to show the function/workings of something before it is built/made.
i. Vision & Direction
ii. Alignment/Management
iii. Commitment

6. Leadership in Moneyball
i. Billy Bean stepping up as the GM and having more interactions with his players, helping them develop.
ii. Billy Bean ignoring what skouts and critics say during meetings and firmly sticking to his proposed plan.
iii.Bean hiring Peter Brand automatically on his own gut for the best of the A's organization

7. A's Winning Record: 76 - 51

8. Winning Ratio: 1.5 to 1

9 Winning Streak: 20 wins

10. Odds of winning 20 games in a row: .0000356

11. This definitely shows that there was a science involved, because with those odds, there was no way the A's could pull off a 20 game winning streak with luck alone.

12. Billy did sometimes take advantage of the art side of management. It's seen clearly when he trades Giambi due to his outlandish behavior. Stats are very important, but if you have a wild, uncontrollable player, it could potentially hurt the team more than the benefit of his stats.

13. Moneyball was written by Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short, The New New Thing, and The Blind Side. His books all follow the theme of the evolution of a game, process, or something that is used in everyday activity or economics.

Basic Programming - ROBO Pro

Here's my ROBO Pro program that turn waits for an input, in the form of a switch in this case. Once the statement is True, the motor turns on for 3 seconds, off for 1 second, on for 4 seconds, and finally turns off as the program ends.