Smart Phones! (5.23.11)
I have to say that my favorite innovation ever was my cell phone. I don't know what I would do without my phone. It is practically attached to my hands all the time, and I use it for everything. It's not necessarily the highest level smart phone, but it is something that's come a long way from the beginning of cell phones. Now, the world is recognizing Japan as a leader in smart phones. Despite the leaps made by the Apple company, Japan's phones are being regarded as the leaders in development. The supposed key to Japan's success is its development in isolation. This has allowed the economy to thrive for years. However, the globalizing world is jeopardizing this development. The Apple company is growing, creating a threat for Japanese technology. Japanese society is opting for the less expensive and highly popular Apple products. The most popular area for this shift is in the business society, making certain that the technology will be compatible with that of the rest of the world. It's really interesting to see how much of an impact globalization actually has on the global economy.
Information from: http://www.pbs.org/nbr/site/onair/transcripts/japan_cellphone_innovations_100518/
Electropneumaquarium :) (10.6.10)
Sorry I missed last week!!!! I got sicker than I expected, so I didn't touch my computer. Anywho, I wanted to tell you about my absolute favorite (recent) innovation. It is something that was designed by a mentor on my robotics team (Team Paragon!!!) to help organize our robot during build season.
So. My favorite innovation (other than like a cell phone or something, but I'll get to those later) has to be the "Electropneumaquarium" (mainly Generations II and IV). The electropneumaquarium is a lexan box that holds all of the electronic and pneumatic parts of the robot. The "electro" comes from the fact that it holds all of the electronic components of the robot. The "pneum" is because it also hold the pneumatics (the compressor, better know as the "Framptonizer", and other pneumatic components). And the aquarium is just because generations I and II were clear, square boxes that looked like fish tanks.
This innovation is great for many reasons. One, keeps the wires from looking like spaghetti. "Spaghetti wires" are something that are very common among FIRST robots, mainly because there is little time to spend on making when there is a robot to build. Also, this design makes build season a lot more effective. It normally takes about a week and a half for the mechanical build team to give the electrical subgroup the possible dimensions for the fish tank. They tell us where we can put it, and we design the case based on these dimensions. The third and possibly most important benefit of the electropneumaquarium is the safety it provides for the electrical components of the robot. Instead of being in the trail of sawdust and metal pieces, the wires and precious C-RIO are protected in a controlled environment. This makes sure that nothing will be damaged in the chaos of build season.
I am proud to say that Team Paragon's own Mr. Susca came up with this great idea, and we have improved it every year. It's accessibility is wonderful. We can take it out of the robot and return it in less than 30 seconds with it's quick disconnects and pins. It makes for great building and repair!!
