My Fusion Home For A Year

For this assignment, my group was tasked with building a mode of transportation for 4 astronauts on a different planet. We can use any mode of transportation and come up with a statement of how to test our design. We can’t test temperature or low gravity, but we can test moving the rover and scale to hold enough people. My group chose Enceladus as our planet. Enceladus is a moon in orbit of Saturn that has potential for life on the planet. It has been confirmed that there is water on the planet, and it could be suitable for life. We chose this planet because of the water and terrain that would be easy to navigate. The water allows us to bring fewer resources and possibly move under the ice. We would not have to worry about keeping food cold, and transportation would not have to be diverted because of on-ground obstacles. We also chose this planet because extensive research has been conducted on it. Water is definitely an opportunity. It could host life with a bit of support. Some challenges are that the surface is very cold and hard to live on. Water freezes easily, making it hard to take off and land with rockets. Most of the energy would be used to keep living conditions warm, wasting it compared to other planets. The fuel would have to be something that doesn’t freeze at those temperatures, or something in the design would have to change the fuel from solid to liquid, if possible. We would also have to make the vehicle very durable, since it is one of Saturn’s moons. Since there are so many moons, there might likely be a collision or debris coming into contact with the vehicle. This means we have to strengthen the vehicle to withstand the blast, while keeping weight down. We would have to use a certain metal to meet the criteria. NASA has done an extensive amount of research on this planet do to the amount of water that is being produced. NASA gave us most of the information that we used to both deep dive and choose the planet. We also used some documents written by Scientists that explored Enceladus with new-age telescopes and other thermal imagery to expand our knowledge on Enceladus. The thermal imagery showed spots of a water-like substance and something called the tiger stripes. NASA used a new satellite called Cassini to capture these thermal images. Enceladus was discovered in the 1700s, but our knowledge has been expanded with technology like the James Webb Space Telescope to get higher definition images from a closer distance. Overall, the collaboration of different scientists has given us the information that we have today.

There was no AI used on my part. If my group used it, I am not aware of that.

NASA. (2024, November 4). Enceladus – NASA Science. Science.nasa.gov; NASA. https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/moons/enceladus/

Diamond in the Dark. (n.d.). Airandspace.si.edu. https://airandspace.si.edu/air-and-space-quarterly/summer-2023/enceladus-life

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‌Enceladus in the Infrared. (2020, September 18). NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia24023-enceladus-in-the-infrared/

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For this Fusion assignment, I had to use both TinkerCad and Arduino to build something that moves. We also had to use C++ to code the movement.

I started by looking at TinkerCAD for previous examples of this working. I found one that had all of the components that I needed. I started with a breadboard and an Arduino Uno to relay a signal. I started by connecting the Ground power to the negative terminal, allowing a charge to flow through one side of the circuit. I used another wire to connect the negative sides of the circuit together. Since I didn’t want the motor spinning out of control, I used an NPN transistor to monitor the amount of energy going to the motor by having the collector connect to the DC motor and the emitter connect to the negative input. Since I wanted to control the amount of power running through the breadboard, I used a resistor to monitor the flow of current coming from the 9-volt battery to make sure the breadboard does not overheat. I then connected the negative part of the breadboard to the push button, which was also connected to the NPN transistor. Using the 9-volt battery, I connected the positive side to the positive side of the DC Motor to make sure the motor spins in the right direction. I then connected the negative to the negative part of the breadboard to give power to the circuit.

Code

I was struggling with the code, so I used the code from the previous example that gave me the inspiration for the circuit. The code uses Pin 3 as an input and Pin 5 as an output.

 pinMode(3, INPUT);
  digitalWrite(3, HIGH);
  pinMode(5, OUTPUT);

Because of this, Pin 3 normally reads as high unless connected to GND, like when the button is pressed. In the loop that is programmed, Pin 3 is constantly checked. This means when the button is pushed, Pin 5 is turned on until Pin 3 reads High.

if (digitalRead(3) == 0)
    digitalWrite(5, HIGH);
  else
    digitalWrite(5, LOW);

This makes the push button work and connect to the DC motor in the least amount of code. I tried building this circuit in real life, but I couldn’t get it to work on camera, so I am not uploading a video.

// the setup function runs once when you press reset or power the board
void setup() {

  pinMode(3, INPUT);
  digitalWrite(3, HIGH);
  pinMode(5, OUTPUT);
}

// the loop function runs over and over again forever
void loop() {

  if (digitalRead(3) == 0)
    digitalWrite(5, HIGH);
  else
    digitalWrite(5, LOW);


}

Overall, this project tested my designing and building skills to create a project that would work.

For this assignment, we were asked to create a simple project in Onshape, testing our skills on that platform. We were told to make something simpler, like a skateboard, rather than a functioning NASA-level rocket. With this in mind, I started designing my skateboard. Keep in mind, I hadn’t used Onshape for a while and my skills were a bit rusty.

I started my design by creating a sketch. This allowed me to draw a simple rectangle in the middle of the screen, which would end up becoming the base of the skateboard. I then used the Extrude tool to turn the base of the skateboard into a 3d object. Now I had a 3d rectangle with no curves which was my objective. Using the Fillet tool, I added edges on the base of the skateboard to give it a more accurate representation. I then added another rectangle on the bottom to create the area that the wheels would be attached. I then had to use the Extrude tool again to remove the bottom part of the base to then be able to create the part that holds the wheels. I created another sketch of another rectangle to build the actual wheel base. Using the Extrude tool once again, I created the rectangle in the middle of the skateboard. I then created another sketch of 2 circles in the bottom of the base to create the spot where the axel will go. Using the Extrude tool again, I created a hollow part in the middle of the base for the axels. The base of the skateboard was nearly complete. I still had a weird chunk on the bottom so I hade to create one more sketch and then Extrude to get rid of that part. To create an aerodynamic looking skateboard, I had to use the Fillet tool on the bottom of the base to shave off some of the unimportant material at the bottom that makes the skateboard look artificial.

Moving on to the second of three part studios, I had to create the axels that would connect the wheels to the car. This was very straight forward. All I had to do was sketch a simple circle and then Extrude to the length that I wanted. Since I was going to put everything together during the Assembly phase, I only had to sketch one.

I then started working on the wheels which, as the same as the axels, I only had to draw one wheel using the sketch and Extrude tool. Since I wanted the axle to fit snug into the wheels, I had to create another extrude and have it go all the ay through the tire. I know had a tire with a hole in the middle. I created one more extrude and put another circle in the middle of the tire and extruded up to a length where the axel would fit snug.

Once I had completed all of the pieces, I had to put them together in the Assembly window. Since I had only sketched one axel and one tire, I had to duplicate them in the assembly window. Assembly was one of the hardest parts because I had to line up every individual piece and make sure they all fit together. I then had to create a blueprint of everything that I had made and also a Bill of Materials. I then realized that I just simply lined everything up in the assembly window, which was incorrect. I learned how to use the fastening tool to attach the wheels to the axle. This connected them and had them move together. Then I used the rotate tool to have the axle move into the centre of the skateboard, which would let it behave like a real skateboard. I now had a skateboard that could actually move.

Overall, this project taught me crucial skills about how to use Onshape, which will be crucial throughout the year. This was a fun way to test my skills and learn more about how to use certain tools like the Fillet tool.

https://sgs.onshape.com/documents/8575b607013d299eaa77365d/w/db1dd5b5526939fa2150faff/e/fd6345add22f97fea774c154?renderMode=0&uiState=68e29f826f8e0a00faa8a954

For my coding assignment, I was asked to design a simple code with the help of AI that made a game. For someone with no background in coding, this was a daunting task. I had to start by asking Gemini, “Please guide me through coding.” This was probably one of the hardest parts. Gemini wants to just do everything for you. Once I got it to help me step by step, I started to make progress. This coding assignment took me more time then I thought it would because I thought I knew more about coding than I did, and I didn’t realize how much de-bugging you have to do.

The Code

Before I get into the coding part, I want to say that the most important aspect of this assignment was a user friendly design. I added funny text results and an easy way to enter the number. I also didn’t want the game to crash on a misprint so I made sure that even if a letter is entered, the game wouldn’t crash. I start with import random to tell the code that I am giving it a set of numbers, and it has to pick one. Then I move on to telling it that the “secret number” still has to be picked at random and is between 1 and 100. Using import random and secret number, I was able to create a different number every time.

while True:
    try:
        guess = int(input("Enter your guess (between 1 and 100)If you dare!: "))
        if guess < 1 or guess > 100:
            print("Please enter a number between 1 and 100.")

This would allow the player to try again and not know the answer. I then say enter the code for the actual guessing of the number. I knew one of the hardest parts would be that someone may try to crash my program by entering and letter so I told Gemini to help teach me how to change that. I used the else and break command to keep the input valid and ValueError to give the response if the input was wrong. Then using the greater than and less than signs, I added more text prompts for correct guesses.

else:
            break  # Exit the input loop if the input is valid
    except ValueError:
        print("Invalid input. Please enter an integer.")

When debugging, I realized that I hadn’t adding headings and Gemini helped me fix this error. Then, saying else helped because if the answer wasn’t a number like I mentioned before, I could change the response to make it something that would notify the person to enter an integer. It would also work for if the answer was over 100. Once again using the greater than and less then signs, I was able to add text prompts to tell the player if their guess was too high or too low. Once again I had some help from Gemini on the code mumbo jumbo while debugging this part of the code. Then using the code from before, I looped it so it would run until the player guessed the number. I used a lot of excepts and while because this code had many factors that need to be filled before the end result. The looping part was tricky as well so I tried a few times but then resorted to Gemini to help me out. I defined a function to loop back after every question until the number was guessed. I the had to figure out a way to break that input loop when the response wasn’t a variable and then get back into that input loop.

 if guess < secret_number:
    print("Too low! Juuuuuust a bit outside. Try again.")
  elif guess > secret_number:
    print("Too high! So close. Please Try again.")

print("Congratulations! You guessed the number! Try agian,     if you dare!")

Finishing the code of with print ( Congratulations, one of the few things I remember from when I tried coding when I was 5.

Overall, this coding assignment taught me some critical skills I will need for the rest of the year and how to efficiently use Gemini, which I had never used before. I couldn’t find my Gemini transcripts because I used the Gemini on Colab, so there were no transcripts.

import random

def play_game():
    secret_number = random.randint(1, 100)
    guess = -1

    while guess != secret_number:
        while True:
            try:
                guess = int(input("Enter your guess (between 1 and 100): "))
                if guess < 1 or guess > 100:
                    print("Please enter a number between 1 and 100.")
                else:
                    break  # Exit the input loop if the input is valid
            except ValueError:
                print("Invalid input. Please enter an integer.")

        if guess < secret_number:
            print("Too low! Juuuuuust a bit outside. Try again.")
        elif guess > secret_number:
            print("Too high! So close. Please Try again.")

    print("Congratulations! You guessed the number! Try again, if you dare!")

https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1Xzk_TWiqmGnEsLUq4aROnSVb2wwklXpy#scrollTo=bbfbfe0dhttps://colab.research.google.com/drive/1Xzk_TWiqmGnEsLUq4aROnSVb2wwklXpy#scrollTo=bbfbfe0d

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