This past week in Open Innovation, Tanner and I worked to produce our first working mechanical lure.  We started by taking our saddered battery opperated motor we finished last week and incorporated it into the mechanism fit to make a circular motion like a boat motor to in turn propel our lure through the water like a fish.  After incorporating this, I worked in rhino along with assistance from Aaron to help in producing a Prop blade for our lure.  After designing the prop, we 3d printed the blade and incorporated it into the motor mechanism to produce an actual working prop motor.   From there we proceeded to design a mold for a lure that would fit the prop motor.  We used rhino to design the mold depicted and cut it into two halves to allow us to place the motor inside the lure.  Although we had complications with the 3d printer that didn't allow for us to print today, we plan to have this printed by next class and fully functional.  Next week, we plan to begin work on our new molds and start reinvading designs to fit these new molds.

This is our project statement: 

The Boxing Robot Project looks ahead to the future, where artificial intelligence is ubiquitous. Instead of people going to the gym, the gym is taken home. Inspired by the movie Real Steel, its purpose is to design a robot that people can spar with at home. This semester, we focus on improving the project in terms of its mechanism, movement, and strength. For mechanism, our project last semester could only move back and forth, doing the simplest punch. However, in this semester, we design a new arm-shoulder system so that it can move along three axes, being able to throw different punches. In terms of movement, we choose to use servos to replace the pneumatic system that we used before. Doing so can make the movements more controllable and accurate, which prevent the robot from destroying itself like it did last semester. Last, as for strength, instead of using the fragile 3D printed materials and cardboard body, we use wood on the majority of the robot, which is firm and can easily take the force as it punches.

Attached are project images & diagrams. There's also a video demonstrating the movement of the arm.

Video and pictures cannot be in the same post, so here's the video

This week, I participated in the midterm review presentations as a guest presenter in the cinemagraph studio. As a result, I only had one period left to work on my walker. In the course of the second period, I tried to fix the issue with the battery drainage issue by using 2 separate motor shields and power sources. Despite my high hopes that this might solve the problem, it did not avail to anything. On the other hand, half way through the period, I found out that one of the batteries exploded and caused a leakage of lead. In respond to this, I decided to change the batteries, but I ran out of time to test out whether this was the source of the drainage problem or not. 

While working on the issue with the electronics, I was also making progress in solving some of the mechanical issues that appeared during my first tests last week. Notably, I changed the configuration of the washers on all four legs to prevent an undesired tightening or loosening of the nuts when the leg is moving. I also changed the way how the legs and motors were secured. Instead of having to add a specific piece to lock the motors in place, I simply inverted the orientation of the screws that were meant to fasten the leg compartments to the superstructure and used them to prevent the motors from moving up and down. By doing so, I improved the functionality of the legs when in motion while adding no further weight to the walker. Furthermore, I also ordered some nylon screws that would be used to reduce the weight of the robot. As for the electronics problem, I arranged a meeting with David via Skype to gain more insight on the matter. 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FiwiESMTUYFsmLLC23mC7bk1nLYTk_LN6mLoe5fCM5E/edit#slide=id.g386fcf5a12_0_5

The fishing lures on the market today are marketed solely based on the fact of efficiency and the overall likely hood to increase ones probability of catching a higher percentage of more mature bass.  However, there are no companies that take into effect the environmental effect of fishing lures.  Every Outdoorsman that has ever spent time fishing can admit to not only losing one but loosing a large quantity of fishing lures while in the act of fishing.  If lures are lost, often fish will eat these lures and die or they will grasp onto to other terrain within the fresh water environment and inflict damage. BioLurescent is the worlds first set of biodegradable fishing lures that still hold the same attractive elements as regular baits or lures, but are completely eco-friendly to help save fish and our environment.  This past semester, we have 3D printed a wide diversity of 3D printed fishing lures  including everything from our biodegradable crank bait, to our motorized crank bait lure and even further to our biodegradable top water popper.   This project has allowed us to cast out a beneficial impact on the environment and reel in some fun while doing it!

This past week in Nuvu studios, my partner tanner and I incorporated the last elements into our crank bait to fully finalize this 2nd prototype.   We incorporated self driving screws as the eyes on the top and bottom of the lure.  This allowed us to easily add on the o rings and gave us a stronger foundation on the lure to better the chance of it keeping in tact after getting several bites.  Along with that, we incorrporated one eye on the top so it would be easier to tie on the line and ensure that the lure wouldn't break off.  Next week we plan to incorporate the separate designs and new molds for our project.  Along with this we plan to begin painting our lures to unleash realism within the water.