Week 3 @ Microdynamic Systems Lab

In the third week I used programming in Python to design three patterns of a string of LEDs that shows the mode of the robot to which the LEDs are attached.

The first mode is "Ready", which tells that the robot is turned on and charged and prepared for movement instructions. The pattern has 36 LEDs emitting dim blue light in the background and 6 "rotating" LEDs emitting bright blue light in the foreground. The pattern is designed by re-editing the "string" of LED's over time and changing the RGB of each LED.

The second mode is "Asleep", which tells that the robot has not been active for a while, currently assumed to be a minute. The pattern is designed so that the LED alternates continuously between bright and dim.

The third mode is "Unbalanced". Because the BallBot robot designed by MSL is balanced on a spherical "foot", or a ball, the robot has to constantly balance itself. When the BallBot has its auxiliary legs down, being tested by researchers, or lost control of its balancing system, the LEDs will flash bright red light to alert nearby people.

Also in the third week I observed a mechanical engineer of the lab milling a Kydex sheet. (Sorry I forgot to take a picture. There is a cool one in the log for the next week)

My third week experience also taught me to be more proactive in seeking explanations for others' codes and solutions to a problem. For example, when designing the "Unbalanced" mode pattern, I was confused for a long time by the original code based on which I edit and add features. I then tried to forget what the original code is and come up with my own. Eventually, I found myself back in the path of the original code and I was able to edit and finish designing the pattern.