Running in ZJU
As an activity runner, finding a place to run in Zhejiang University, Zi-Jin-Gang Campus was one of my concerned. However, after a few days of exploring the campus, I found that the concern of mine was rather unnecessary. Zi-Jin-Gang Campus is more than 10 times bigger than SUTD, even a few days of running was not enough to cover every corner of the campus. Moreover, Zi-Jin-Gang is only one of the few other campuses that Zhenjiang University has. Which encourage the adventurous side of me to find take different running tracks. This allowed me to explore the different corners of the campus uncovering new shops or interesting landmarks that the campus offers.
However, due to the industrial areas in China, the skies are usually foggy and the air quality unfavorable. This has made me appreciate the fresh air which Singapore has and made me realized how I took the simple necessities for granted.
Paper Origami
When thinking about paper origami, generally people first thought would be a piece of paper folded into a complex shape. This shape would be able to mimic the physical appearances of the everyday object or animals.
However, in the first lesson of the Design Thinking and Expression Origami Robot, we were exposed to the combination of the origami with Arduino and solenoids to introduce another depth to it. This introduced ‘life’ into the origami, allowing us to implement a certain interaction as though it was the actual object or animal.
We were also taught various methods of the fold and were exposed to other unique shapes of the origami. These enabled us to create even more special movements. Some example of some unique origami was the 小龙虾 (Xiao long Xia) and an owl.
We were then tasked to be come up with a set of movement for different origamis within our groups. My team started with an origami flower. The first expression we displayed was of a ‘Shy’ flower. We showed this expression by programming the flower to slowly open up and quickly close once it shows too much of itself.
Next, we mimicked a ‘Happy’ expression by having the flower opening and closing at a rapid pace. We were able to obtain this movement, by increasing the speed of opening using the program of the ‘Shy’ expression.
Overall, the first lesson at Zhejiang University (ZJU) was an enjoyable experience. The method of teaching was different than what SUTD had. After this course, I believe I would be able to incorporate the new learning approach we developed at ZJU with the usual methods during our time in SUTD. Equipping me with a wider set of skills to enrich my learning journey.
Special Thanks to those in the Photo
