Tournament Results

WE DID IT! We won first place in project at our Regional Tournament on Saturday at Saint Thomas More High school! We are also one of eight teams moving on to State!!! YAY, the excitement level shows on all our smiling faces! We weren't sure we could do it, but with teamwork, hard workers, and enthusiasm, we made it!

Afterwards we celebrated with a team meal at Culver's!

Now we are busy preparing for the State Tournament which is coming up in just a few weeks. With 100% perfect scores on our project, and very low scores on our robot, it is clear to us where we need to improve.

We also have a good lead with someone who is interested in actually implementing our teams innovative solution to our project for this year! Everything is looking hopeful and bright.

We have our tournament pictures posted on: http://picasaweb.google.com/GraciousProfessionals/2010RegionalTournament

~Madeline

Kinex Medical Field Trip

Kinex Medical hosted our team for a field trip. We learned about CPM machines and how they work.  We even got to try out three different generations of the knee machines. We told them about our Innovative Solution and they thought that the idea can work!

More Past Meetings

I missed blogging about a few more meetings.

During one particularly exciting meeting, We started the meeting with a fun activity. We raked up some piles in the coach's yard! With with a bit of teamwork and fun, we got the job done in about ten minutes.

Throughout other meetings, we have practiced with several teamwork exercises, worked on our skit, designed and redesigned the robot, and had fun!

On Monday, our team presented to our sponsor, Watertech.

Tomorrow, Thursday, we will be taking a tour of Kinex Medical, a CPM machine supplier. Looking forward to that!

~Madeline

Brainstorming

This is our team's decision making process:

Brainstorming: All comments welcomed. No criticism given during this time. Out of a 'crazy' or 'whacky' idea can come the best one! Don't stifle creativity here. EXAMPLE: Last year, a team member humorously suggested bumper car lanes on the freeway/ We all laughed and ended up with bumpers as our real project!

Consolidate: Similar ideas are grouped together on the white board.

Discussion: Very quickly it became obvious that one or two ideas realy shined! 'Crazy' ideas were removed from the whiteboard and we decided on our path to persue.

Decisions: If more than one idea needed to be considered, we researched each topic and then came back together for further discussion. Each person's ideas and research was heard, duscussed and considered before a decision.

Respect: Because each person's idea was heard, discussed and considered, no one felt hurt when their idea wasn't chosen. Everyone wanted the best idea that would work for the team.

Below is a picture of this process on a marker board:

Wednesday's Meeting

On Wednesday, October 20, We had a productive meeting. After looking at, and discussing the research team members had done since the meeting  before, we broke up into subteams.

Spencer finished work on our team robot. HURRAY! Just a few finishing touches remaining.

The robot programming team, which consisted of, Curtis, Alex, Teddy, and mentors Tyler and Daniel, worked with the newly finished robot, and were able to successfully program one of the missions from the mission board! A few tweaks here and there, and the program is ready!

The project team broke up into two groups this time. One group, consisting of Madeline and Josh, worked on ways to present our project to the judges for the project interview. Several ideas were generated. The other project group, consisting of Daniel worked on designing a binder for our team. We will use the binder at our pit display table, and we will have another for the judges at the competition.
We closed the meeting with a brief review, of homework assigned earlier in the meeting.

Progress is being made and everything is looking hopeful.

-Madeline

Saturday's Special Meeting

On Saturday October 16, we had a special meeting to create some pit handouts for the tournament, and some special handouts for our pit table. Some continued work on our team robot. Family members were invited to this fun meeting. The more the merrier!

Here is a link to pictures of this meeting:

http://picasaweb.google.com/GraciousProfessionals/2010FamilyFun

-Madeline

Pictures of Past Meetings

In this blog, I have included a link to pictures of meetings that I missed blogging about. During some of these meetings,

• Tyler, Teddy's older brother, and a graduated member from this team, came and worked on teaching our programmers some important programming skills. Tyler was with our team for two years, and while on, he was the head programmer.
• Alex and Madeline thought up new ideas for our innovative solution for this year's research topic and made models of their ideas which they brought to a meeting to share.
• The robot building team started fresh on the robot design.
• A LEGO box intended for our pit display was repaired after suffering damage.

Here is the link to the pictures of these meetings:

http://picasaweb.google.com/GraciousProfessionals/2010MeetingPics

-Madeline

Past Meetings

I have missed blogging about a few meetings. Below is a list of what happened during those meetings.

Since the last Blogged meeting we have,

• worked an FLL table at Rediscover 4-H. Follow this link for pictures of that day http://picasaweb.google.com/GraciousProfessionals/2010Rediscover4H
• had special Saturday build time meeting where we worked on making our handouts for the pit area at the tournaments and made some special items for our pit table.
• gotten much farther on our research project
• taken apart and rebuilt the robot
• worked on learning more programming skills
• and had loads of fun!

-Madeline

Friday's Meeting

T.E.A.M. FIRST Aid has been considering and researching two project ideas.  Today we were on the verge of giving up on our favored one.  Beginning the meeting with reports on research done since we last met, our discussion exposed major issues with some of our innovative solutions. However, we pressed on and generated fresh innovative solutions. The project enthusiasm returned. Some super cool ideas were brought up. We can't wait to see how they turn out!

Next we broke up into groups. Alex and Teddy worked on improving their programing skills. Daniel Copeland, and Tyler, who is Teddy's older brother and a former team member, mentored Curtis and Spencer in programming, and devised possible ways to accomplish different missions on the board.

Madeline worked with Jessica on thinking through a list of supplies needed for our team's great pit idea. Next, Madeline worked on updating the blog while listening to what Daniel, Tyler, Curtis, and Spencer had to say about the robot missions.

Lastly, we reviewed our homework to do before Wednesday's meeting and closed the meeting.

-Madeline

Team Photo

Meet TEAM FIRST Aid.

Wednesday's Meeting September 29

At the beginning of our meeting today, our team split up into individual sub teams. We split up into a programing team, a robot building team, and a marketing team.

The programing team, consisting of Curtis, Teddy, and Alex, worked on learning to program the robot to follow a black line. Curtis, who is the head of the programing team as he is an experienced programmer, mentored Teddy and Alex. After some critical thinking, Teddy and Alex made a successful program with little assistance!

The robot building team, consisting of Daniel, Spencer, and Josh, worked vigorously on building an arm for the robot that will accomplish several missions on the mission board. They also worked on adding the ultrasonic sensor. They made great progress.

The marketing team which consisted of Madeline and Jessica, worked on writing a letter to send out to companies in hopes of getting their sponsorship. Later, after finishing the letter, Spencer showed us a letter he had written for the same purpose. It was great! Now we have two different style letters to pick from.

The progress we are making is looking promising.

-Madeline

Picasa Link

Here is the link to pictures of our team on the Picasa website.

http://picasaweb.google.com/graciousprofessionals/

-Madeline

Wednesday's Meeting

We had received an assignment on Monday to talk to friends and relatives who have biomedical engineering as a part of their life. Since then, Curtis talked with his grandma who is his "inspiring person". His grandmother had two knee replacements, and she suggested a few problems and solutions with her surgery.
  
One of the problems was with her CPM machine. This machine continuously bends and straightens her knee to keep it from sticking in one position. She had to lay in her bed all day with her leg strapped to the machine. However, she could not unstrap the Velcro in times when she needed to move, such as going to the bathroom. Because the machine was holding her leg in place all the way up to her hip, being in her sixties and still recovering from surgery, she couldn't raise herself to reach the straps. This prevented her from moving anywhere without assistance with the Velcro. This proved to be quite a hassle, especially at night.
  
During Curtis's interview, his grandma expressed that what she wanted was a way to unstrap the Velcro with out needing assistance. She suggested something to lift her to a sitting position might work, so she could undo the Velcro if she needed to get out of bed.

Yesterday, our team brainstormed ideas to accomplish this, or another way of enabling her to unstrap her leg without assistance. We thought of a few ideas.

1. Have a sort of seat belt strap instead of a Velcro strap, so she could just press a button with a cane to get herself out.
2. Have a very precise cane with a claw on the end to be able to grab the Velcro.
3. Have a remote to automatically undo the strap when needed.
4. Have a device to lift her to a sitting position, enabling her to unstrap herself.

Next we discussed each idea and what ideas might work well together. Although the lifting device might be nice, we found a few things that may not work with it, and so decided to see what else we could come up with. We discussed different options with the cane idea, but in the end, decided that it wouldn't solve all of the problems as well as we had hoped. Already having a remote to adjust the movement of the leg, adding a button to undo straps, shouldn't be too hard to add on. After further discussion, we decided that the seat belt strap idea paired up with the remote idea, would be the best solution.


We're looking forward to Monday's meeting when we hear what results other teammates get from their interviews with their "inspiring people." We plan to pick our final project on Monday as well.


-Madeline & Curtis

Monday and Wednesday's meeting

At our Monday and Wednesday meetings, we shared some of the research that each team member did since the meeting before. Each team member added to the conversation if they knew something about the topic that they wanted to share. Here is a listing of body systems/parts and potential problems we researched, shared and discussed:

• Heart
• Joints 
• Glands
• Bones 
• Immune system

As we talked about our topics, we discovered that we could do further research. We hope that one of these interesting topics will be the base of our Team Project for the FIRST LEGO League competition. 

On Monday we spent time looking at the missions on the board.  We enjoyed deliberating about each mission and the possible ways we could have a robot accomplish the challenges. And we noted some obstacles we need to watch out for on the board. Some very interesting and intriguing ideas were introduced and examined. We generated ideas to solve potential problems that the robot might struggle with on the board, such as sharp turns the robot must accomplish.

On Wednesday after our research sharing time, we gathered around the board once again to consider possible robot body, robot arm, and attachment designs. We analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of using different wheel sizes, skids and treads. Josh, a new member to the team, received lessons from Curtis, an experienced member, on how to have the robot follow a black line.

-Madeline

This Year's Kickoff Meeting

At our Wednesday meeting, we shared the research that each member had done as an assignment from the Summer meetings. We read through and discussed the project for this year so we could fully understand it. Then we brainstormed ideas on what to research to get started on the project. Next, we grouped all of the brainstormed ideas into topics. Each team member then chose the topic they wanted to research for homework to do before the next meeting on Monday. The last thing we did before closing the meeting with a meeting summary, was to gather around this year's mission board to see what it looked like, and to begin planning mission strategies.

-Madeline & Curtis

Looking Forward

We are all excited. Tomorrow will be the kickoff meeting of this years FIRST LEGO League challenge, "Body Forward". The missions may be challenging, but our team will confidently conquer any that stand in our way.

- Madeline and Curtis