Louisiana Delta Summer STEM Camp 2014

Showing posts with label LA Delta STEM Camp. Show all posts

Communication Challenge: Gum Drop Tower

6/16/2014 02:49:00 PM | Labels: communication, Day 1, gum drops, LA Delta Community College, LA Delta STEM Camp, Ryan Pierce

Communication Challenge: One-Way vs. Two-Way Communication

Ryan Pierce, Instructor of Business and Technology for Louisiana Delta Community College, Monroe Campus, gave the second lecture of the day as a follow-up to the first habit of being proactive. His talk introduced concepts relating to adversity and Paul Stoltz's "Adversity Quotient" research. Students took an assessment to gain insight into their will to succeed, perseverance, ability to handle the challenges of life, and the level of responsibility one feel’s to determine their life’s path.

On the heels of this information, came the first team challenge of the camp. Each group was required to build a complex structure made of gum drops and tooth picks but were initially limited to one-way communication principles. Campers took on management, runner, and builder positions and were only allowed to talk down the organizational structure. After some time of this, the lines of communication were opened up to allow two-way communication.

	Gum Drop Structure Challenge
Team 6 - Team Royalty	16pts
Team 2 - Big Kats	14pts
Team 7 - Fire Cobras	12pts
Team 5 - MVP	10pts
Team 3 - Blue Titans	8pts
Team 1 - Silent Sloths	6pts
Team 8 - Time Lords	4pts
Team 4 - CyberNerds	2pts

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LA Delta Community College STEM Summer Boot Camp 2013 Grand Champions!

6/21/2013 03:26:00 PM | Labels: day 5, first place, Grand Champions, LA Delta Community College, LA Delta STEM Camp

STEM Summer Boot Camp 2013 Grand Champions

Team MasterMinds

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Day 5: Final Boe-Bot Challenge

6/21/2013 02:30:00 PM | Labels: Centurylink, day 5, final challenge, LA Delta Community College, LA Delta STEM Camp, STEM career

Final Robotics Challenge

In the final robotics challenge, teams were required to navigate their Boe-Bots towards a target and knock it over using any programming skills and resources from the entire week. Volunteer Judge Rishanta Trundles presided over the final challenge. Winner: Team MasterMinds

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Day 5: "CONNECT" Challenge Re-cap

6/21/2013 01:00:00 PM | Labels: Centurylink, CONNECT, day 5, Dow, group presentation, LA Delta Community College, LA Delta STEM Camp

"CONNECT" Challenge Re-cap

In one of the last challenges of the week, teams developed ideas for a product of the future that would utilize Internet connectivity and presented their ideas in front of a panel of judges. Teams were critiqued based upon clear articulation of product function, target audience and promotional agenda. Effective presentation delivery was also scored. Winner: Cajun Coders.

Judges (left to right:)
Rishanta Trundles CenturyLink,
Mille Atkins CenturyLink,
Brandon Foster Dow,
Ashlee Bell West Monroe High School,
Joey Higuera Engineering Student @ LA Tech

Technocircuits

Geek Squad

Knowledge

Mad Dogs

Cajun Coders

Master Minds

Sonic

The Burning Matrices

Silent But Deadly

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Total Points Distribution at the End of Day 4

6/20/2013 03:21:00 PM | Labels: Challenge 1, challenge 2, challenge 3, Day 4, LA Delta Community College, LA Delta STEM Camp, Point Totals, Scavenger Hunt, Team Names

The total point distribution for the end of Day4 includes Boe-bot Challenges 1, 2, and 3 as well as the current point totals for the Cryptographic Treasure Hunt. Remember, there are still plenty of points available!

TechnoCircuits: 82
Geek Squad: 80
Knowledge: 71

Mad Dogs: 64
Cajun Coders: 61

Master Minds: 61

Sonic: 54

The Burning Matrices: 36

Silent but Deadly: 36

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Day 4: Robotics Challenge # 3

6/20/2013 03:00:00 PM | Labels: Centurylink, challenge 3, Day 4, infrared, LA Delta Community College, LA Delta STEM Camp, LED, STEM

Robotics Challenge #3: Avoid the Road Blocks!

In today's challenge, campers utilized information from the morning's lesson and infrared technology to navigate a series of roadblacks. Volunteer judge Varner Rencher of CenturyLink presided over today's challenge. Team Geek Squad was the challenge winner.

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Day 4: Guest Speaker Penny Earnst Discusses the Benefits of a STEM Career

6/20/2013 01:00:00 PM | Labels: Day 4, Dow, LA Delta Community College, LA Delta STEM Camp, Penny Earnst, STEM, STEM career

Guest Speaker: Penny Earnst of Dow Chemical Discusses the Benefits of a STEM Career

The camp was treated to a special talk during the lunch session as Penny Earnst addressed the group concerning the benefits of a STEM learning and how it directly relates to viable careers at Dow.

Dow is committed to encouraging the youth to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics and currently employs multiple interns from programs like Louisiana Delta Community College's Process Technology program.

Dow's storied history, global reach, and socially responsible commitments illustrate a stable company committed to positive change locally and abroad.

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Day 4: The Arguments For and Against Technology

6/20/2013 12:00:00 PM | Labels: Ashlee Bell, Day 4, impact of technology, LA Delta Community College, LA Delta STEM Camp, STEM, West Monroe High School

Liberal Arts: Debating the Positive and Negative Impacts of Technology

In a thought provoking discussion, West Monroe High School English instructor Ashlee Bell encouraged campers to think about the impacts of technology, both good and bad, on society.

Debate revolved around key questions including: How much technology is too much? Is technology like Google increasing the overall intelligence of our world or is that same technology not allowing us to utilize our brains to solve problems on our own? What would the world be like if computers did not exist and could we adapt if tomorrow they disappeared?

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Day 4: Robotics Navigation with Infared LEDs

6/20/2013 11:00:00 AM | Labels: Chantain Greer, Day 4, infrared, LA Delta Community College, LA Delta STEM Camp, Laura Duke, LED, STEM, West Monroe High School

Robotics Class: Using Infrared Headlights to "See" the Road

Today's hottest products seem to have one thing in common: wireless communication. Personal organizers beam data into desktop computers, and wireless remotes let us channel surf. Many remote controls and PDA’s use signals in the infrared frequency range to communicate, below the visible light spectrum. With a few inexpensive and widely available parts, the BASIC Stamp can also receive and transmit infrared light signals.

Infrared: Infra means below, so Infra-red is light (or electromagnetic radiation) that has lower frequency, or longer wavelength than red light. Students were instructed to use infrared light to illuminate the robot’s path and determine when the light reflects off an object.

The infrared object detection system we’ll build on the Boe-Bot is like a car’s headlights in several respects. When the light from a car’s headlights reflects off obstacles, your eyes detect the obstacles and your brain processes them and makes your body guide the car accordingly. The Boe-Bot uses infrared LEDs for headlights. They emit infrared, and in some cases, the infrared reflects off objects and bounces back in the direction of the Boe-Bot. The eyes of the Boe-Bot are the infrared detectors. The infrared detectors send signals indicating whether or not they detect infrared reflected off an object. The brain of the Boe-Bot, the BASIC Stamp, makes decisions and operates the servo motors based on this sensor input.

The IR detectors have built-in optical filters that allow very little light except the 980 nm infrared that we want to detect with its internal photodiode sensor. The infrared detector also has an electronic filter that only allows signals around 38.5 kHz to pass through. In other words, the detector is only looking for infrared that’s flashing on and off 38,500 times per second. This prevents IR interference from common sources such as sunlight and indoor lighting. Sunlight is DC interference (0 Hz), and indoor lighting tends to flash on and off at either 100 or 120 Hz, depending on the main power source in the region. Since 120 Hz is outside the electronic filter’s 38.5 kHz band pass frequency, it is completely ignored by the IR detectors.

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Day 3: Robotics Challenge #2

6/19/2013 03:00:00 PM | Labels: challenge 2, Day 3, LA Delta Community College, LA Delta STEM Camp, Lamb Weston, tactile navigation, whiskers

Robotics Challenge #2: Whisker Maze

In this challenge, teams used information learned earlier in the day to navigate through a maze of based on tactile feedback through metal antennae. Guest judge of the day Kenny Bush from Lamb Weston witnessed the exciting competition. The team to complete the challenge first was Team Mad Dogs, the winners of challenge #2.

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Day 3: Marketing and Presenting the "Connected" Product

6/19/2013 12:00:00 PM | Labels: Day 3, LA Delta Community College, LA Delta STEM Camp, marketing, presentations, Ryan Pierce, STEM

Liberal Arts Class: Marketing and Presenting the "Connected" Product

One of the challenges that each team has to devote resources to is the development and presentation of a potential product with connectivity and functionality dependent upon the Internet. In the morning liberal arts session, Professor of Business and Technology Ryan Pierce reviewed some technology already in existence that performs these functions, explored topics related to product development, discussed methods of promoting those products, and gave tips on how to deliver a solid persuasive presentation.

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Day 3: Robotics Input Programming with LEDs and Whiskers

6/19/2013 11:00:00 AM | Labels: Chantain Greer, Day 3, input programming, LA Delta Community College, LA Delta STEM Camp, Laura Duke, LED, robotics, tactile navigation, whiskers

Robotics Class: Tactile Navigation and Input Programming with LEDs and Whiskers

Many types of robotic machinery rely on a variety of tactile switches. For example, a tactile switch may detect when a robotic arm has encountered an object. The robot can be programmed to pick up the object and place it elsewhere. Factories use tactile switches to count objects on a production line, and also for aligning objects during industrial processes.

In all these instances, the switches provide inputs that dictate some other form of programmed output. The inputs are electronically monitored by the product, be it a robot, or a calculator, or a production line. Based on the state of the switches, the robot arm grabs an object, or the calculator display updates, or the factory production line reacts with motors or servos to guide products.

Students were challenged to build tactile switches, called whiskers, onto their Boe-Bots and test them. Once tested, the student must also program the Boe-Bot to monitor the state of these switches, and decide what to do when it encounters an obstacle. The end result is autonomous navigation by touch.

The LEDs have a variety of uses, but for this project are best suited as a reporting mechanism, indicating which whisker has been activated

Instructors Laura Duke and Chantain Greer led the teams in this lesson.

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Current Points Distribution

6/19/2013 08:30:00 AM | Labels: Challenge 1, Day 3, LA Delta Community College, LA Delta STEM Camp, Point Totals, Scavenger Hunt, Team Names

The current point totals include the Boe-Bot Challenge: Follow the Line as well as any points groups have acquired through the Cryptographic Treasure Hunt.

TechnoCircuits: 32

Cajun Coders: 28

Geek Squad: 27

Silent But Deadly: 20

Master Minds: 20

Sonic: 20

Knowledge: 16

The Burning Matrices: 15

Mad Dogs: 11

Please remember, there are still plenty of points up for grabs. Keep working hard and having fun!

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Day 2 : Robotics Challenge #1

6/18/2013 04:23:00 PM | Labels: Centurylink, Chantain Greer, Day 2, LA Delta Community College, LA Delta STEM Camp, motion programming, photoresistors, robotics, subroutines

Robotics Challenge #1: Follow the Line

Utilizing the methods and concepts learned from the morning sessions, each team was required to wire and program their robot to follow a black line on a light background. The teams consumed all available time (2 hours) to finish the task and were tireless in their efforts to solve the puzzle. Guest judge and CenturyLink volunteer Rishanta Trundles was on hand to supervise the competition. Team Silent But Deadly won this challenge.

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Day 2: Computer Science Lesson in Cryptology

6/18/2013 12:54:00 PM | Labels: Chantain Greer, computer science, cryptology, Day 2, LA Delta Community College, LA Delta STEM Camp, STEM

Computer Science: Cryptology

The final lesson of the morning hinged on the study of communicating using protocols that afford information security, data confidentiality and integrity, and require authentication. Prof. Greer led this discussion and explored various cryptographic methods utilized throughout history.

The Caesar cipher (or Caesar code) has been widely used because of its simplicity. It is a type of substitution cipher in which each letter in the plaintext is replaced by a letter some fixed number of positions down the alphabet. For example, with a left shift of 3, the letter "D" would be replaced by "A", "E" would become "B", and so on. The method is named after Julius Caesar, who used it in his private correspondence.

The Vigenere cipher is a method of encrypting alphabetic text by using a series of different Caesar ciphers based on the letters of a keyword

A cryptogram is a type of puzzle that consists of a short piece of encrypted text. Generally the cipher used to encrypt the text is simple enough that the cryptogram can be solved by hand. "E" is good letter to help solve cryptograms because most English words end with "E", occurring in that fashion almost 13% of the time.

ASCII is a another character-encoding scheme originally based on the English alphabet. One can encode strings of text based on numerical equivalents. This encoding scheme assists computers in translating human text to machine readable code and vice-versa.

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Day 2: Robotics Programming with Photoresistors

6/18/2013 11:16:00 AM | Labels: Day 2, LA Delta Community College, LA Delta STEM Camp, Laura Duke, photoresistors, robotics, STEM, West Monroe High School

Robotics Programming: Photoresistors

West Monroe High School physics and robotics instructor Laura Duke introduced the campers to techniques in making the Boe-Bot recognize the differences in light and dark materials using photoresistors.

A photoresistor is a resistor whose resistance decreases with increasing incident light intensity; in other words, it exhibits photoconductivity. Photoelectric or light sensing devices are used in almost any branch of industry for control,safety,amusement and sound reproduction and inspection and measurement.

When using these types of resistors, the robots can be instructed to move along a path provided there is enough contrast between the light and dark areas for the robot to recognize.

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