Inventor's Life

So during the rush of trying to finish my most recent accomplishment (Yay! Master of Science!!) I went for a bit of a nature hike. This is the same hike that was featured in my previous post here . More to the point, this hike was such a stress relief for me and aided so very much in clearing my head. In fact I probably wouldn't have gotten much done if I had not take a break to go on one or two of these at the height of my stress. I also have been helping my wife with some photo editing with Gimp  a freeware version of the popular photo suite. Since I originally snapped the above photo in her name, I decided it was a good place to learn and show her how to work her project. So here's the result. A gorgeous flower I found in this massive world. If anyone knows it's species I would love to hear from you. Cheers!

Okay, so this is probably not of any interest other than a good bit of muttering nothing and a spot of fun. here it goes.... Abstraction , [ab*strac*tion]; n. a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance. ORIGIN: abstract, latin abstractus, "drawn away" Confirmation , [con*fir*ma*tion]; n. additional proof that something was believed (some fact or hypothesis or theory) is correct. ORIGIN: latin con- (with) + firmo, "to firm or strengthen" What's the difference between the two ideas? Now, I've had some downtime so don't hate; but, occasionally I do like to ramble, as I'm sure your all aware. These ramblings extend beyond my normal oral rhetoric and into something more akin to a, "thought experiment." So I ask again, "what is the difference?" I believe it to be one leads to another (abstraction to confirmation), but this cannot happen without the second being there (confirmation to abstraction). To me ...

Actually this is a good update. I'm now proud to say I've finished the "rough draft" of Chapter 4: methods. This chapter was a jaw dropping 20+ pages of mathematical set, analysis, and simulations. It features several illustrations of free body diagrams, DH parameters, and frame space models. Not to mention that it covers topics of 3 different robotic systems. And a cherry on top! It has a beautiful set of equations with expansions and n degree generalizations. Something like that, I'm proud, get off my back! Cheers. 

So today isn't such a bad day,  just a hectic one. I'm a bit worried and I know that I should be working nonstop on my thesis; but, I've got to have the chance to eat and refresh my mind. Btw, I now have roughly twenty-four hours until a preliminary copy of my masters thesis is due. It's OK though, no really, it's okay. My take on the situation is from one of my favorite novels "T he Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy " and that is "don't panic." That and 42. Speaking of numbers and mathematics, I believe I've finally cracked the formula for my theory of quasi-static loading! It only took a few years and a giant looming deadline but I think I did it! The solution turned out to actually be a hybrid theory of statics and kinematics that can be simplified to a series of summation and a single 6x6 matrix. Now just for that pesky writing... Cheers!

Hmmpfff! Since I've been working oh so diligently on my Master's thesis I have not made a post in quite some time. As a matter of fact, I may receive some flack once this post goes public. In my defense I see this medium for writing as a departure from the mundane, a creative outlet if you will. For a change of pace where I can write a touch of a prose without the hampering of "formal" dialog. It truly is tiring to think of a certain purely logical topic for extended periods of time. Even more so when it extends beyond simple daydream of thought experiments and into a formal communication. That all being said, I got caught red handed. Back to the grind. Cheers!

Squishy Robots. Pros: Soft, Delicate, and full of possibilities. innovative air pocket design and actuation. Cons: requires separate controller at the moment. limited force and torque capabilities? I'm actually rather interested in soft body robots as of late. What's really interesting about these robots is how "gentle" they can be. You don't necessary have to worry about these taking your arm off or even really doing serious damage to the environment when operated. It's a brilliant concept and one that is only recently being realized. The whole system relies on a series of air "bladders" that when inflated or compressed provide the robot with a form of actuation or movement. Through the use of the bladders an infinite work space could be considered as one is not restrained with the kinematics of rigid structures. Moreover it currently has many challenges. The main challenge that I see is controlling the system to a point that ...

Since it's impossible for me to have a new project everyday, I've decided to start what I like to call "Blue Sky Dreaming". This essentially is me rambling about cool ideas and thoughts that might get the mind ticking and possibilities flowing. However, Keep in mind that this is in all actually just being silly and throwing things out there into the cosmos. (Hence blue sky dreaming) I haven't been able to sleep well the past.. Week. I've decided that while I'm laying in bed maybe I'll "dream" of cool physics principles and applications of understood phenomina. I am not a physicist, but who cares. Call me out on it. Magnets, How do they work?! Let's get some basics with our friend Wikipedia . Ignore most of that and focus on the well know fact that magets can generate electric currents and electric currents can generate magnets. Exciting right? I was thinking about applications obviously. What would happen if we put two electromagnet...