cooperm

My Fusion Course

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    Sercan Alagöz

    Planetary Exploration Project – Part 1

    This is the first part of the Planetary Exploration Project (PEP) we have begun to work on. This section of the project involves choosing a planet or celestial body that we could hypothetically live on, and identifying opportunities or challenges we might face there.

    My group decided to choose Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, for this project. Titan is quite unique, as it is the only known moon in our solar system with a substantial atmosphere. It is also the only celestial body besides Earth that is known to have liquids on its surface, having clouds, seas, rivers, and lakes, made of hydrocarbons like methane and ethane.

    Living on Titan could provide some excellent research opportunities, as it would not only provide an excellent outpost to research Saturn, but the methane in Titan’s primarily nitrogen atmosphere is somewhat mysterious to scientists. Sunlight continually breaks down the methane, but it has not deplenished itself over time, like you might have expected.

    Instead, the methane in Titan’s atmosphere seems to be replenishing itself to counteract the sunlight breaking it down, and the exact cause is currently unknown, although a few theories are being discussed. If we were living on Titan, we would be able to research this strange replenishing methane in the atmosphere.

    Some of the main challenges we would face on Titan include the lack of oxygen in the air, and the lack of easily accessible liquid water on the surface, since the only surface liquids on Titan are hydrocarbons, which I mentioned earlier. While Titan does have a liquid water ocean underground, it is approximately 55-80 km below the icy surface, meaning that short trips to refill water supplies might not be possible without digging out a tunnel and having machines or devices pumping water up to the surface.

    However, we did realize that there is a way to get breathable oxygen, through electrolysis of the ice covering Titan’s surface. If we manage to electrolyze the ice around where we would live to get oxygen, this would provide us with a way to have breathable oxygen. Thinking ahead about this, we could build some sort of sealed area on the surface that we live inside and fill with oxygen.

    Electrolysis could also provide us with a source of fuel, which could be used for traversing Titan, or anything else that we want to do while living there. Being able to have a source of fuel would allow us to have heat in our buildings, and provide electricity for any devices or power systems we may have.

    If we are going to live on Titan, we need to consider how we would traverse its surface, and what issues or implications there might be for building vehicles. The first thing that comes to my mind is how there is no oxygen currently in Titan’s atmosphere, which I mentioned earlier, so any vehicles would either need oxygen tanks for passengers, or a sealed seating area that can be filled with collected oxygen.

    Another implication I thought we might come across is that since Titan’s surface is solid ice up until about 55-80 km down, we would have to consider how to create a vehicle that would be able to function on this ice. Meaning that if we had a vehicle with wheels, we would need to make it able to traverse on an icy surface without slipping. This would be most likely accomplished through making the wheels larger or covering them in spikes, similar to winter tires you might see cars using during winters.

    Most of the information gathered about Titan comes from probes and spacecrafts sent close to Saturn’s orbit, such as the Voyager expeditions, but some data has also been gathered by the Hubble Telescope. According to NASA’s page on exploration of Titan, the following were sent on missions to Titan in order to observe it: Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2, and the Cassini spacecraft with Huygens probe.

    I did not use AI in any part of this project, but the sources I did use are below in APA format.

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    Sercan Alagöz

    Robotics

    For this project, we had to build something with Arduino. We used Arduino UNOs to create a project that made something physically move, so something like a buzzer wouldn’t be accepted. For this project, I did not employ the use of AI.

    Since I do not have very much experience with Arduino, I decided to do a simple project, just having a mini servo hooked up to the Arduino UNO on TinkerCAD, and coded it to spin slowly, switching directions every now and then.

    This circuit works by having three different cables between the Arduino UNO and the mini servo. The first tells the servo it’s supposed to spin, and the second supplies it with power. Finally, the last cable taken the ground current and sends it back to the Arduino once it has gone through the servo first.

    For this circuit, you need two different parts, as well as 3 or more cables. The two parts you require for this circuit are an Arduino UNO and a positional micro servo.

    Once you have all these parts, and you’ve put them together to form the circuit, you’ll need to upload the code to the Arduino UNO. Now, if you’re building this circuit physically, you’ll need a few pieces of software as well as a connector cable that links your computer to the Arduino. However, if you’re creating this circuit in TinkerCAD or some other virtual software, you only need the actual code.

    The code for this simple circuit is below, and is comprised of two main parts: The setup, where you establish all connected devices, and the loop, which is the actual code the Arduino is running. 
    #include <Servo.h>

int i = 0;

int j = 0;

int k = 0;

Servo servo_3;

void setup()
{
  servo_3.attach(3);
  
}

void loop()
{
  for (i = 0; i <= 120; i+= 1) {
    servo_3.write(i);
    delay(50);
  }
  for (k = 120; k >= 0; k-= 1) {
    servo_3.write(k);
    delay(50);
  }
}

    If you want to see an example of this circuit running, here is a recording of it in TinkerCAD.

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    Sercan Alagöz

    CAD

    For this project, we had to design something using OnShape, so I decided to create a simple water bottle. For this project, I did not use AI to help me.

    This water bottle is a simple hollow cylinder with a more complex lid. The lid is designed to fit on top of the cylinder in a way that prevents it from falling off to the side as well as preventing spillage while attached.

    One of the first things I did for this assignment was to sketch out the radius of the cylinder, as well as the inner circle that is going to be hollow. Above that, where the end of the cylinder would be, I added a small ring for the lid to fit around.

    The next step for the cylinder was to extrude it. First, I extruded the ring that formed the cylinder and adjusted the depth of the extrusion. Then, I added a base by extruding the inner hollow circle of the cylinder about 1/15th the depth of the original cylinder. Finally, I extruded the small ring at the top by 1/10th of the original cylinder’s length.

    For the lid, I followed the same steps, creating a sketch, extruding it, and creating more sketches and extrusions as I went along to create a more complex shape.

    Once both parts were complete, I opened an assembly and placed both parts together. I used a mate connector to see if they fit, and then set up an animated mate that shows how the lid goes on.

    Once this was done, I created a drawing in OnShape and inserted various angles and views of the two parts into it. I used the measurement tool to show the exact measurements required to recreate the parts.

    In this drawing, I added a BOM, or Bill Of Materials. For this, I decided to make both parts out of stainless steel, due to its durability and lack of microplastics.

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    Sercan Alagöz

    Coding

    For our first project, we had to build something in Python using our coding skills. For my project, I created a text-based adventure game. That means that it is essentially a video game that is played by reading the sentences on the screen, and inputting some text to decide your actions.

    The code is split into two main parts, which work together to create the game. For a simple explanation of how the code operates, view this flowchart:

    The first section is made up of a lot of text, which is used to describe the locations to the computer, including things like what it should say when the player arrives there, the directions the player is able to travel from where they are and where they lead, and any items the player can pick up in that location. This information is used in the next section, which is the main loop.     
    locations = {
    "forest": {
        "description": "You are in a large, expansive forest. As you walk, you can hear the sounds of animals that live here.",
        "options": {
            "north": "lake",
            "west": "village"
        }
    },
    "village": {
        "description": {
            "default": "You arrive at a quiet village, populated by the locals of this land. Leaning against a nearby fence is a cluster of unlit torches.",
            "torch": "At the village, a person approaches you. 'Hello there. I lost my ring over by the lake. If you find it, could you bring it back to me? I'll reward you greatly.'",
            "ring": "At the village, a person approaches you. 'Ah, I see you have my ring. If you return it to me, I will give you this treasure map.'",
            "quest_ring": "Returning to the village, you walk around for a bit. You see various people going about their jobs, and chatting with other locals."
            },
        "options": {
            "east": "forest",
            "north": "mountain"
        },
        "item": "torch"
    },
    "lake": {
        "description": {
            "default": "You come upon a serene lake. You notice a ring sitting by the shore.",
            "ring": "You come upon a serene lake."
            },
        "options": {
            "south": "forest",
            "west": "mountain",
            "east": "river"
            },
        "item": "ring"
    },
    "mountain": {
        "description": "The ground begins to slope upward, and as the trees start to open up, you see that you are on located partway up a large mountain.",
        "options": {
            "south": "village",
            "east": "lake",
            "up": "mountain_peak"
        }
    },
    "mountain_peak": {
        "description": "You continue to climb up the mountain, and the ground begins to flatten out beneath your feet. Looking out towards the horizon, you see the wide expanse of land spread out before you.",
        "options": {
            "down": "mountain"
        }
    },
    "river": {
        "description": "As you follow the river, you see a school of fish struggling to swim through a small section of rapids.",
        "options": {
            "west": "lake",
            "east": "cave_mouth"
        }
    },
    "cave_mouth": {
        "description": "Still following the river, you come across large boulders forming a cave mouth on the south side of the river.",
        "options": {
            "west": "river",
            "in": "cave"
        }
    },
    "cave": {
        "description": {
            "default": "Inside the cave, it is almost impossible to see. You stumble forward in darkness.",
            "torch": "You light your torch and enter the cave. Looking around, it is difficult to see, but you can make out the shape of the cave wall by the light of your torch."
            },
        "options": {
            "out": "cave_mouth"
        }
    }
}
    The second section makes up the core loop that runs the actual game. This loop includes printing the description of the location the player is in, listing the directions the player can travel, and asking what the player would like to do. If the location includes it, this section of the code also tells the player if there is an item that is nearby that they can pick up, then ask if they want to grab it. 
    inventory = []

current_location = "forest"


# Functions for code

def lake_ring():
    print(locations["lake"]["description"]["default"])
    if "ring" not in inventory:
        take_ring = input("Do you want to pick up the ring? (y/n) ").lower()
        if take_ring == "y":
            inventory.append("ring")
            print("you picked up: ring")

def village_ring():
    print(locations["village"]["description"]["ring"])
    return_item = input("Do you give the ring back? (y/n) ").lower()
    if return_item == "y":
        inventory.append("treasure_map")
        inventory.append("quest_ring")
        inventory.remove("ring")
        print("You handed over the ring.")
        print("You received the treasure map.")
        if "torch" not in inventory:
            print("Leaning against a nearby fence is a cluster of unlit torches.")
            take = input("Do you want to pick up the torch? (y/n) ").lower()
            if take == "y":
                inventory.append("torch")
                print("you picked up:")
                print(item)
    
def ask_direction():
    global current_location
    print("You can go: ", ", ".join(locations[current_location]["options"].keys()))
    choice = input("Which direction do you want to go?: ").lower()
    if choice in locations[current_location]["options"]:
        current_location = locations[current_location]["options"][choice]
        print()
    else:
        print("You can't go that way. That direction either doesn't exist, or is still in development.")


while True:
    if "item" in locations[current_location]:
        item = locations[current_location]["item"]
        
# dealing with locations having multiple descriptions
    if current_location == "cave":
        if "torch" in inventory:
            print(locations["cave"]["description"]["torch"])
        else:
            print(locations["cave"]["description"]["default"])
    else:
        if current_location == "village":
            if "ring" in inventory:
                village_ring()
            if "torch" in inventory:
                if "quest_ring" in inventory:
                    print(locations["village"]["description"]["quest_ring"])
                else:
                    print(locations["village"]["description"]["torch"])
            else:
               print(locations["village"]["description"]["default"])
               if "torch" not in inventory:
                    print("Leaning against a nearby fence is a cluster of unlit torches.")
                    take_torch = input("Do you want to pick up the torch? (y/n) ").lower()
                    if take_torch == "y":
                        inventory.append("torch")
                        print("you picked up: torch")
        else:
            if current_location == "lake":
                if "ring" in inventory or "quest_ring" in inventory:
                    print(locations["lake"]["description"]["ring"])
                else:
                    lake_ring()
            else:
                print(locations[current_location]["description"])
    ask_direction()
    If you want to try it for yourself, the complete code is found here. I used CodeHS to run this code, but other programs will work, too. 
    locations = {
    "forest": {
        "description": "You are in a large, expansive forest. As you walk, you can hear the sounds of animals that live here.",
        "options": {
            "north": "lake",
            "west": "village"
        }
    },
    "village": {
        "description": {
            "default": "You arrive at a quiet village, populated by the locals of this land. Leaning against a nearby fence is a cluster of unlit torches.",
            "torch": "At the village, a person approaches you. 'Hello there. I lost my ring over by the lake. If you find it, could you bring it back to me? I'll reward you greatly.'",
            "ring": "At the village, a person approaches you. 'Ah, I see you have my ring. If you return it to me, I will give you this treasure map.'",
            "quest_ring": "Returning to the village, you walk around for a bit. You see various people going about their jobs, and chatting with other locals."
            },
        "options": {
            "east": "forest",
            "north": "mountain"
        },
        "item": "torch"
    },
    "lake": {
        "description": {
            "default": "You come upon a serene lake. You notice a ring sitting by the shore.",
            "ring": "You come upon a serene lake."
            },
        "options": {
            "south": "forest",
            "west": "mountain",
            "east": "river"
            },
        "item": "ring"
    },
    "mountain": {
        "description": "The ground begins to slope upward, and as the trees start to open up, you see that you are on located partway up a large mountain.",
        "options": {
            "south": "village",
            "east": "lake",
            "up": "mountain_peak"
        }
    },
    "mountain_peak": {
        "description": "You continue to climb up the mountain, and the ground begins to flatten out beneath your feet. Looking out towards the horizon, you see the wide expanse of land spread out before you.",
        "options": {
            "down": "mountain"
        }
    },
    "river": {
        "description": "As you follow the river, you see a school of fish struggling to swim through a small section of rapids.",
        "options": {
            "west": "lake",
            "east": "cave_mouth"
        }
    },
    "cave_mouth": {
        "description": "Still following the river, you come across large boulders forming a cave mouth on the south side of the river.",
        "options": {
            "west": "river",
            "in": "cave"
        }
    },
    "cave": {
        "description": {
            "default": "Inside the cave, it is almost impossible to see. You stumble forward in darkness.",
            "torch": "You light your torch and enter the cave. Looking around, it is difficult to see, but you can make out the shape of the cave wall by the light of your torch."
            },
        "options": {
            "out": "cave_mouth"
        }
    }
}

print("Welcome to my text-based adventure game! In this game, you are given a description of where you are and what you can do. You are also given a list of locations you can go to from your current location, given to you as directions. When given directions that you can travel in, you have to type in your chosen direction, only including the name of that direction as given to you. Have fun!")
print()

inventory = []

current_location = "forest"


# Functions for code

def lake_ring():
    print(locations["lake"]["description"]["default"])
    if "ring" not in inventory:
        take_ring = input("Do you want to pick up the ring? (y/n) ").lower()
        if take_ring == "y":
            inventory.append("ring")
            print("you picked up: ring")

def village_ring():
    print(locations["village"]["description"]["ring"])
    return_item = input("Do you give the ring back? (y/n) ").lower()
    if return_item == "y":
        inventory.append("treasure_map")
        inventory.append("quest_ring")
        inventory.remove("ring")
        print("You handed over the ring.")
        print("You received the treasure map.")
        if "torch" not in inventory:
            print("Leaning against a nearby fence is a cluster of unlit torches.")
            take = input("Do you want to pick up the torch? (y/n) ").lower()
            if take == "y":
                inventory.append("torch")
                print("you picked up:")
                print(item)
    
def ask_direction():
    global current_location
    print("You can go: ", ", ".join(locations[current_location]["options"].keys()))
    choice = input("Which direction do you want to go?: ").lower()
    if choice in locations[current_location]["options"]:
        current_location = locations[current_location]["options"][choice]
        print()
    else:
        print("You can't go that way. That direction either doesn't exist, or is still in development.")


while True:
    if "item" in locations[current_location]:
        item = locations[current_location]["item"]
        
# dealing with locations having multiple descriptions
    if current_location == "cave":
        if "torch" in inventory:
            print(locations["cave"]["description"]["torch"])
        else:
            print(locations["cave"]["description"]["default"])
    else:
        if current_location == "village":
            if "ring" in inventory:
                village_ring()
            if "torch" in inventory:
                if "quest_ring" in inventory:
                    print(locations["village"]["description"]["quest_ring"])
                else:
                    print(locations["village"]["description"]["torch"])
            else:
               print(locations["village"]["description"]["default"])
               if "torch" not in inventory:
                    print("Leaning against a nearby fence is a cluster of unlit torches.")
                    take_torch = input("Do you want to pick up the torch? (y/n) ").lower()
                    if take_torch == "y":
                        inventory.append("torch")
                        print("you picked up: torch")
        else:
            if current_location == "lake":
                if "ring" in inventory or "quest_ring" in inventory:
                    print(locations["lake"]["description"]["ring"])
                else:
                    lake_ring()
            else:
                print(locations[current_location]["description"])
    ask_direction()

    AI was utilized in the creation of this project. To see how I incorporated AI into creating this project, click this link to see the full transcript.