13 Plans for a New Year

We're all making New Year's resolutions. I have a few personal ones of my own, but they have nothing to do with this blog. This being Yet Another Mechanical Engineering Blog, I will focus on my engi-nerd-hack-robot-ing goals for this year, or at least the coming IAP (January semester) and Spring semester. 

0. Tune Up Cruscooter

It's a dirty hot mess. Needs major rewiring. And a working brake. 

1. Build a semi-autonomous Quadrotor

WAY more details about this coming soon. This will be one of my first projects of IAP.

2. Build a Bi-copter/Tiltrotor. A la V22 Osprey. 

Something I've been wanting to do since I saw the attack choppers in James Cameron's Avatar. And something I tried to do last year when I knew nothing. Now I know a little something, and building a quadrotor will help give me an intuition for flying things. 

3. Win MASLAB.

It's a ballsy goal. But hey, I'm a freakin' engineering diva.

4. Finish MelonChopper

Cannot wait til I can drift this thing in the snow :p

5. Learn to weld steel.

So I can build Certified Legit vehicles. For cheap. 

6. DeltaBot.

I'm going to have the coolest thesis ever ^_^.

7. Write an Instructable on manipulator robotics.

I've learned a lot in the past few years, time to spread the love. But first...

8. Design and build a ~7-DOF robotic manipulator. A la KUKA arm.

I've been controlling these bad boys, now it's time to be a Mechanical engineer for once. 

9. Pay attention to TurtleBot.

Of my children, I've been giving a lot of attention to TinyArm and none to TurtleBot, and I don't think TurtleBot can handle neglect much longer :c. Time to turn that around. I owe Shane a SLAM map of the IDC before he goes off into the Real World (c). 

10. Get TurtleBot+TinyArm playing together.

I still hold myself to the dynamic duo, TurtleBot and TinyArm, getting me a soda. Maybe now that TinyArm has learned how to talk, and with the release of ROS Groovy Galapagos I'll finally make it happen. 

11. Learn ROS. Like really learn ROS.
Willow Garage released its sixth distribution of ROS today, Groovy Galapagos. It's cleaned up a lot, and is apparently easier than ever to use. It'll happen when I try and get TurtleBot+TinyArm to get me soda. 

12. Learn C++. Like really learn C++.
See above.

13. Get a summer internship.
I cannot spend another summer at MIT UROPing. I need to see the world. See what industry is like. I need experience. I need to make a difference. I'll probably apply in the next few days...