Sunday, November 8, 2009

Griffin Robots Rock!

ffin Robot TEAM SMART Transportation Version4d

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7 comments:

  1. UnknownNovember 10, 2009 at 9:03 PM

    Great Rishub, Congratulations to you and the team for the fine performance and acieving second place. Keep up the good performance. LOVE Nana.

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  2. SKPNovember 16, 2009 at 3:15 AM

    I really liked the presentation! I liked all the explanations and your vision of the car. I would like to see more detail about what are some possible ways to manufacture cars, though.

    Saurabh

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  3. UnknownNovember 22, 2009 at 8:39 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. AnonymousNovember 22, 2009 at 8:43 AM

    I looked at the presentation and video on the blog site. Tell the team ... well done! My only critique is that the flying car will probably be regulated by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). I realize that the team was probably thinking in the near term about "no traffic", but if this does become a reality, we will probably see traffic that is seen in Star Wars as an example. Currently, I believe that helicopters are ok to fly up to 500 feet in urban areas and fixed wing aircraft above 1000 feet. I am not sure on this. But, I think it is the general concept. Anyway, the team may need to take a look at these regulations and determine how the aircar would fit in or would regulations need to be changed to adopt such a vehicle.

    Does the team actually have a concept that they are designing? Will they make this out of Legos? Please let me know.

    Sincerely,
    Edw. W. Clancy III, Mitsubishi

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  5. AnonymousNovember 22, 2009 at 8:44 AM

    Here is my feedback
    1. The concept is interesting. However the idea of converting solar energy into hydrogen fuel and using the same is something that will take several decades to refine (not in our lifetime). Auto companies have been working on hydrogen fuel vehicles for the last 10-15 years and they are at least 10-15 years away from developing a production ready hydrogen fuel vehicle (again not for mass production). The biggest challenge with an alternative fuel to gasoline or diesel is the infrastructure for the alternative fuel, safety and the range the alternative fuel vehicle can deliver.
    2. Let me give you an example of an alternative fuel vehicle: Battery Electric Vehicles. Major Auto Companies have been working on battery electric vehicles for the last 20 years but due to limitations of the battery technology, delivering reasonable range with a single charge was always a big issue. Only recently they have been able to use LiIon batteries that are used in cell phones and laptops which deliver significantly higher energy density than Lead Acid batteries. However cost of those batteries is still a very significant issue. Inspite of Auto companies involvement with Battery Electric vehicle, a mass produced battery electric vehicle is at least 7-8 years away. Anyone developing a alternative energy concept for automobiles needs to think about the timeframe to commeralize the technology, cost, infrastructure and government involvment/subsidies to provide necessary incentives to buy these kind of vehicles.
    3. Again the concept developed is transformational. However the team needs to think about the various factors that make the current automobile attractive. Having done that, evaluate the concept developed against those factors. Refine the concept so that it can deliver many of the benefits delivered by today automobile. The team has done a good job in identifying some of the issues with current automobiles and the infrastructure supporting their use.

    It's getting late, so I have to quit for now, If your son and his team have any questions, please have them forward the same to me.

    - Tushar Vashi, Ford

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  6. AnonymousNovember 23, 2009 at 4:40 PM

    Your team had a polished presentation...I was glad to hear that you also used the music at the beginning as a metaphor :-) Judges love to see enthusiasm and sometimes a straight powerpoint doesn't convey this as well as other formats. Ajith said he might make a model...it would be good to have an example.

    Major suggestion: Make sure everyone knows what EVERY word on the power point means...not just one student. Judges COULD ask one person a question...it's great to share the presentation, but every member of the team should be able to respond to any question. "Paradigm" "GIS"

    Questions I had related to weight of batteries that you might be using and how that would figure in to the feasibility of lifting it off the ground; what happens to handling when propellers are rotating into new positions

    Do you guys know how far people are in the development of prototypes?

    Good luck on the 12th!

    Mrs. G.

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  7. AnonymousNovember 29, 2009 at 6:49 PM

    Hey everyone. Our meeting with Mrs. Germeraad went very well. Here are a few things she suggested we do at the next competition

    - She recommended we have a prop of a basic model of our flying car when we present to the judges
    - She recommended that we should always be on our best behavior in case of a surprise check-ups or other officials who may be walking around.
    - She gave an incident of one of her Robotics groups that went to a local competition and starting trash talking about other groups they were competing against. She mentioned that we should cheer on the other groups as well as ourselves so that we may get extra points for good sportsmanship
    This is a brief summary of what she told us. Feel free to add any other things I may have forgotten.
    Sanjay

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