Girl Power

STEM Research Project

This year, the topic for  STEM is robots in our community. Emma brainstormed about different robots we could do the STEM project on. We thought about doing the project on agriculture robots, because where we live, there is a lot of farmland. We tried this topic out, but we had trouble finding information on agricultural robots. Someone who did STEM last year suggested that we do the project on Tsunami DART buoys. Emma thought that that might be interesting, so she started researching the buoys. 

So, I know what you are thinking, how can a buoy be a robot? The inside of the buoys is made up of different types of sensors, so that they can detect the change in water level, or measure earthquakes. The buoy technically still isn't a robot though. It can't move freely on it's own. 

A diagram of the DART Buoys.

While researching, Emma found three main problems with design of the buoys. The tether holding the buoy down has been know to snap and the buoy will drift away from it's position. It can takes weeks even months for scientists to track down the buoys, and at this point they're not collecting any valuable information. So, Emma came up with the idea of attaching a gyro sensor to the buoy. What this does, is let the buoy know what direction it is facing. Along with the gyro sensor, we would add in either solar or wave powered motors to the buoy. With the gyro sensor guiding them, the motors would propel the buoy back to it's position. Now, that the buoy can move freely on it's own, it is a robot. 

Emma has really enjoyed working on STEM. STEM has inspired her to think outside of the box. For example, she had to think of a solution to solve another problem with the buoys being way too slow. She looked at how the buoys are currently operating, and thought "If a cell phone can send information almost instantly, why can't the buoys?". She briefly researched how cell phones work, and came up with a solution. Cell phones are always hooked up to 3 or more satellites. The buoys are only hooked up to one. If at least one more satellite was connected to the buoys, then the buoys would send information faster. 

Emma has also worked with Nate, one of our teammates who had experience creating 3D models. Together, they have created a 3D model of a DART buoy.  Their first attempt was a success. They printed out the buoy on a 3D printer. 

The 3D printer printing out the buoy. It took around 2 hours!

The material we made the buoy out of was a little too flimsy though, and a part on the buoy off. We have since then tried to create a bigger model, but we have had some trouble with  the printer jamming. Overall, STEM has been a really fun experience!

The finished product!