Hello blog! This week marks a month in China here at Zhejiang university, and it really came as a surprise to me when I realized that this is my 5th blog entry and I have been here for over a month.

Throwback to first week

This week was the presentation day for the origami robot project that we embarked on for the first month here at the international design institute. This project reminded me a lot of 03.007 project, using Arduino boards and the sensor to bring a level of autonomy and user feedback to origami products which would be either wise be a stagnant product. Looking back at this one month journey so far, I feel very satisfied that I had the opportunity to learn Arduino IDE after going through the Digital World module which allowed me to look at how to create different actions and feedback based on the inputs and outputs from the algorithm that we are able to create. I felt very satisfied with knowing that I better understood the code that was being written and how to better tweak it to suite our needs. The myriad of sensors that were given provided me with the opportunity to trial and learn how the sensor received its inputs and what outputs will be return back to us in the serial monitor of our display.

My group Origami Robot Presentation

For my group’s project, we decided to create a platypus after many iterations of the design of our project. This project was a very good learning journey for me as the non-graded curriculum gave me the learning opportunity to try out new sensors and equipment that may not be immediately relevant to the project but is a good learning process, nonetheless. Therefore, I’m able to explore the functions and combine the usages of different sensors of the Arduino kit and further develop my skill with the Arduino kit. In addition, I had the time to learn the Arduino IDE and challenge myself to create the code from scratch instead of the usual tactic of copying codes wholesale from online. Therefore, this is how I feel that DATE gave me opportunity to grow and develop skills that are not taught in the classroom.

Banner promoting the exhibition

In addition to the academic rigour, this weekend, i managed to explroe the surrounding area of Xihu area. We started out at Zhejiang university campus Yunquan campus, going through the ridge lines that surround the lake where we could see amazing views of the city and the lake itself. It was great escape away from the tourist filled area of Xihu, having to hike through the trails which were relatively clear of excessive foot traffic.

View of Hangzhou City

 

View of Xihu
At the peak
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