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Thursday, July 31, 2025

July 31st- Reflections on EDW

One thing I noticed that I think was really different from what I usually see in school, is how you could tell that everyone was really excited to be there, both students and mentors, and if you had any questions, or if you just wanted to talk about something, like everyone there would talk to you, and you can tell them that they genuinely were really excited and just wanted to share everything that they did in EDW.

I felt really supported here.  I do robotics, and a lot of engineering classes, but  this gave me a different experience- because every single one of my ideas, even the silly ones, were not only listened to, but supported, and other people added on to them, and that's just something I really appreciated.

None of them to say that for projecting something, for developing something, you don't need to know what you're doing. You just learn by doing literally, you don't need to, I don't know my personal experience. I've done something that deals really, really with coding. I've never coded before. Is it true that Rohan did it okay, but I've also done the part with the Pac Man, which is more simple, but it was cool at the same time, because I learned how to code with  TinkerCad And it's something that, in my case, it's coding. But another case can be some physics law, some something else. 

Another important thing is that when you are school, if you don't know something and there's someone that knows more than you, you usually feel less important, but you feel the other one superior. Here is not like that. If someone else knows more about you, he is interested in tell you what is that subject? What are you talking about? And you don't feel like that's less important. You're just at the same level. And this is quite cool. 

I literally couldn't have said about it. Thank you, Francesca, I do think that one of the projects is that I felt like we were all worried about like working in the same team, because when I was doing different projects, I always felt like I was just working with my restricted team of five, six people.

Here I felt like I was working with 30 other people. I think that everyone was ready to help anyone, everybody else. And I did not feel there was a difference between people. I felt like everyone was ready to love, everyone was going to learn and everyone was going to accept. And I feel that here, we all feel like a big almost like a big family that wants to do something. And I think in some way, we are way more united than our project that we do in Italy or in our countries. And I think that's the most beautiful part, like really the human part is what I like to talk about this project. 

I know I'm not a student here, but I'm a mentor. But I feel like I have to say is that these students, I want to emphasize that these, like, half of these students, they would come up and like us and just ask us, because they have nothing, maybe no prior experience, or, like, little experience in any kind of project that they're working for. And these are same students. They're like, two or three days that instead of asking me how I can do, like, can I just go do this, they'll go into the game. They're actively working on their next part. They're planning everything. 

The smiles on their faces, it goes from  I don't know what I'm doing, to Oh my God, this is actually working! Was incredible. I mean, like, just a shout out, like people like Francesca. I mean, I know you didn't do Python before this, and you did like, all this game stuff that I literally learned last semester of my classes.  Francesco, who had little interest in her like knowledge and coding before, to actually investing himself into his own personal project, to even my own team who had zero working experience, to going into the cage and drilling through straight aluminum. It's like working with metals, and it's completely different experience from just learning from YouTube, to actually building these things in your own hand and experiencing your own creativity .

Ed:

I really kind of sat back this year a lot, here was an opportunity for them to have their imagination matter like you can tell this was not stuff, that Imagination is an important tool going forward. You have to imagine, and here it's built into it that imagination is the beginning. It's used throughout the process here in our schools. It is not the case. It's more about teaching stuff that we already know. So to me, just wonderful to see a celebration of imagination applied using all the tools of those things. 




July 31st- Student Presentations

Transcript by Otter AI.

Chris Mayer- 

i want to keep this short, because the best part about this is the kids. my name is Chris Mayer. i work at the Edgerton Center. i've been part of EDW now for quite a while. the program is actually almost older than most of the kids now taking part in it, but you can see we have quite a multicultural room in here because in the last 10 years or so, this our method of education has gone viral and spread to schools in Italy and Spain and Mexico, and many other places.

I want to give a thank you to all the mentors who've been amazing this summer and helping these projects get across the finish line. You'll hear about their stories and a lot as we go through the presentations. And then I want to give big, big thanks to the guy who started it all, who made this program happen in the first place, Ed Moriarty. Here, I think we're on year 17 at this point, which is a little bit scary. I know I've been in this now for longer than I'd like to admit, but it's been a great time every year.

 Last but not least, also the guy who without wouldn't be without him, none of us would be here. Big thanks to our Edgerton Center director, Kim Vandiver.

Link to video of presentations

The Chairmen






The team, led by Lorenzo, Batu, and Ernest, designed a chair for conference rooms that returns to its place automatically using a camera and Arduino. They faced challenges with stability, switching from caster wheels to more uniform ones and adding fletches to the base. The final prototype used 12V DC motors geared down to 60 RPM. The chair's range is limited by the camera's field of vision, but adding more cameras could improve precision. The team also considered using LIDAR sensors for better obstacle detection.



Mystical Floating Galaxy




MF-G by Perez Aguirre

https://otter.ai/u/JguBSj_R7M-vIbApFXQVGp0Nhvo?view=summary

The team presented their "mystical floating galaxy" project, blending engineering and art with elements like music, lights, holograms, and dedication. Initially, they aimed to create an interactive, visually captivating museum-like exhibit, incorporating cultural ideas from team members from different countries. They faced challenges with levitation and holograms, learning about comparative circuits, balancing, and sensor management. Despite setbacks, they successfully integrated a magnetic levitation system, a Lazy Susan for movement, and an Arduino-controlled audio system that makes neopixels change color and brightness with the music. They enhanced the project with an MIT-inspired dome, Bantam black paint, and a monitor cover to highlight the holograms, achieving a cohesive and finished look.



Brightwheels




THE BRIGHT WHEELS by Francesco Coluccia

https://otter.ai/u/7kvmpK1wvYuvZckb-AXV6eRo9j8?view=summary

The team, led by Francesco, Rowan, and Edward, discussed their POV (Persistence of Vision) display project. They explained the concept of eye light retention, creating optical effects with light. Initially, they aimed to use hydrogen but switched to safer materials. The original prototype, made of cardboard, evolved into a bike wheel project. They faced challenges with sensor accuracy, speed sensitivity, and weight distribution. The final product features an Arduino, LED strips, and a Hall effect magnet sensor. Future plans include improving electronics organization, expanding applications, and potentially applying the technology to helicopter blades.


Tony Stark Glasses





SMART GLASSES by Kaela

https://otter.ai/u/4ycXsCuhps1pR-q9UEmVvPz3OMo?view=summary

Mohamed and Tommy, with Mohamed from India and Tommy as their mentor, presented their project on "Edyth Smart Glasses," inspired by Tony Stark's glasses from the Marvel movies and Meta's AI-glasses collaboration with Ray-Ban. The minimum viable product is a voice-in-traffic smartphone with a microphone and display. They created a prototype using cardboard and lenses, then developed a 3D model with actual glasses, temples, and electronics. The glasses feature a microphone, SD card, ESP32, and AI integration using DeepGram and OpenAI for text-to-speech and smart responses. They faced challenges with Bluetooth and the design of the temples. The project also included coding and electronics work.

The Balloonautics






Balloonatics final presentation by Anastasia Gravely

https://otter.ai/u/PR91pH2sYt0I8UAEO1tuhQoruEc?view=summary

The team led by Emiliano initially aimed to build a hydrogen-powered car but shifted to a hydrogen-powered boat and later to a project inspired by the house in the movie Up. They faced challenges with materials, finding note card paper the best for its lightweight and strength. Initially using multiple latex balloons, they switched to Mylar for durability and better helium retention. They also struggled with attaching the balloons, eventually using straws for better control. The house is powered by two radio-controlled motors using 3.7V LiPo batteries.






 

The team presented a table that projects various board games, evolving from an initial idea of a table with markers to a screen-based system. They opted for Python and Pygame over using a Raspberry Pi for programming. The table, made from two-by-fours and plywood, features adjustable legs and drawers. They faced challenges with a rotating screen and monitor compatibility, ultimately using a used monitor with a custom-made charger. The final product includes games like Catania, chess, tic-tac-toe, and Flappy Bird, with plans to upload the code for replication. They also discussed future enhancements, such as color-changing legs and improved code organization.


The Lazy Team



https://otter.ai/u/pDyRee0WgrwKy564QDoi2RpOmc0?view=summary

Presentación estilo portafolio minimalista moderno para fotografía by Mariana Mora

The "Lazy Team" presented their "folding clothes machine," designed to fold clothes using servos and a camera to recognize items like T-shirts and pants. The machine initially used an Arduino but switched to a Micro:bit for easier coding, features two modes for folding bands and shirts. The team expressed gratitude to mentors and the Edgerton Center for their support. They faced challenges with code persistence but eventually improved the servo performance. The machine, which includes a base for stability, is controlled by three buttons and a AI camera that recognizes the garment and sends signals to correctly fold the identified garment.



Team logo created by their mentor Arpi...


July 31st- Last Minute Preparations

Thumbs Up/Thumbs down--Are you ready?



Amrit...


Viti embroiders the mentor shirts...




The Balloonautics practice their presentation...

...as do the Knights of the Game Table...

 


A woman from the Italian Consulate meets the Italian students....




Last minute repairs to Tony Stark glasses...








A final test for the Lazy Team...



Arpi cheers on the teams...



...off to 4-370!







Wednesday, July 30, 2025

July 30th- Last Day to Build

PROJECT TABLE

Kim gets to test out the system....





PROJECT MF-G:



Impromptu salsa dancing in EDW...


BRIGHTWHEELS:

Hall effect sensor triggering erratic; experimented with IR sensor.



3D-printed holder for LED assembly...




PROJECT LAZY:





Arpi's Lazy Team Logo:





BALOONAUTICS:


TONY STARK:


August 1st- Certificates and Farewells

  Meaning of Italian Hand Gestures ...autographing each other's EDW shirts...