Exploratory Passion Paper
Description: For the class Gateway to University Honors we were instructed to investigate something that we believed we were passionate about and spend time investigating three major questions: What?, So what?, and Now what?
What?
Passion is an extremely powerful term. In the face of this categorization, some people question their actual drive behind activities that they may feel are only just hobbies. However, I feel intrinsically drawn towards robotics and quite comfortable identifying it as my major passion in life. Robotics is an incredible field that features interdisciplinary cooperation in the creation of innovative technology. Although robotics is still a developing field it is rapidly evolving and extremely diverse in topic and application. From nanobots to manufacturing arms to prosthetics and so much more, robotics is constantly finding new ways to integrate itself into everyday life.
So What?
My primary interest in robotics was sparked at a very young age through my expansive LEGO’s collection. My collection ranged from Star Wars to sports and anything in between. I gained an appreciation and a desire for creating magnificent structures from both instructions and my own imagination. It can be said that part of my passion for robotics has developed from the fantasies of Hollywood in movies such as iRobot, Terminator, and Iron Man. Apart from the super hero context and vilification of machines that may surface in these films, I deplore labels of these incredible feats of technology as science fiction. Personally, I would prefer to explore the imagination to continue to drive towards these innovative concepts and new enhancements. My passion for robotics has proven quite significant in my decision making process as I have chosen to revolve my academic major here at the University of Cincinnati around pursuing this dream. As my introduction came from building with LEGO’s, my fascination is more drawn to the mechanical side of robotics, although I am considering taking on a computer science minor to allow myself to fully contribute to the field of robotics. I firmly believe that robotics is the next frontier that when explored will propel society into a new era. I believe this can be accomplished by combining the magnificent power of robotics with the wondrous nature of the human body in the more specific field of cybernetics.
Now What?
As I further my education and my experience I would like to immerse myself in all that the field of robotics has to offer. I have already joined the University of Cincinnati’s robotics team and am taking steps to be an active and engaged member. Although there is obviously no cybernetics portion of the team, I have found a great amount of enjoyment in participating with the “Quad Squad” (as I like to call it) portion of the team. Our first project which is currently in the final design stages is the creation of a smaller quad copter that will have a camera mounted in the center console. After this introductory project, we have plans for larger hex and octorotors that will be able to perform more versatile air procedures such as carrying larger cameras or autonomously searching a parking garage for a car with a certain license plate. So far, this has been a wonderful experience in getting involved with robotics and beginning to learn and hone some of the basic skills of an engineer interested in this field. Since robotics is a growing field, it is difficult to articulate what opportunities may be available to me upon graduation; however, as I tend to think about it, the work in robotics generally falls into the two categories of research and development and applied robotics. Applied robotics would be anything relating to a consumer product (such as robotic vacuums) or manufacturing equipment (such as robotic arms). Research and development is more tuned to trying to develop new ideas and products that push the boundaries of what can be done with technology. Although I am not exactly certain which of these two categories cybernetics would fall into, I am confident that if I can continue to pursue my passion with robotics that I will be happy with whatever I end up doing in life.
What?
Passion is an extremely powerful term. In the face of this categorization, some people question their actual drive behind activities that they may feel are only just hobbies. However, I feel intrinsically drawn towards robotics and quite comfortable identifying it as my major passion in life. Robotics is an incredible field that features interdisciplinary cooperation in the creation of innovative technology. Although robotics is still a developing field it is rapidly evolving and extremely diverse in topic and application. From nanobots to manufacturing arms to prosthetics and so much more, robotics is constantly finding new ways to integrate itself into everyday life.
So What?
My primary interest in robotics was sparked at a very young age through my expansive LEGO’s collection. My collection ranged from Star Wars to sports and anything in between. I gained an appreciation and a desire for creating magnificent structures from both instructions and my own imagination. It can be said that part of my passion for robotics has developed from the fantasies of Hollywood in movies such as iRobot, Terminator, and Iron Man. Apart from the super hero context and vilification of machines that may surface in these films, I deplore labels of these incredible feats of technology as science fiction. Personally, I would prefer to explore the imagination to continue to drive towards these innovative concepts and new enhancements. My passion for robotics has proven quite significant in my decision making process as I have chosen to revolve my academic major here at the University of Cincinnati around pursuing this dream. As my introduction came from building with LEGO’s, my fascination is more drawn to the mechanical side of robotics, although I am considering taking on a computer science minor to allow myself to fully contribute to the field of robotics. I firmly believe that robotics is the next frontier that when explored will propel society into a new era. I believe this can be accomplished by combining the magnificent power of robotics with the wondrous nature of the human body in the more specific field of cybernetics.
Now What?
As I further my education and my experience I would like to immerse myself in all that the field of robotics has to offer. I have already joined the University of Cincinnati’s robotics team and am taking steps to be an active and engaged member. Although there is obviously no cybernetics portion of the team, I have found a great amount of enjoyment in participating with the “Quad Squad” (as I like to call it) portion of the team. Our first project which is currently in the final design stages is the creation of a smaller quad copter that will have a camera mounted in the center console. After this introductory project, we have plans for larger hex and octorotors that will be able to perform more versatile air procedures such as carrying larger cameras or autonomously searching a parking garage for a car with a certain license plate. So far, this has been a wonderful experience in getting involved with robotics and beginning to learn and hone some of the basic skills of an engineer interested in this field. Since robotics is a growing field, it is difficult to articulate what opportunities may be available to me upon graduation; however, as I tend to think about it, the work in robotics generally falls into the two categories of research and development and applied robotics. Applied robotics would be anything relating to a consumer product (such as robotic vacuums) or manufacturing equipment (such as robotic arms). Research and development is more tuned to trying to develop new ideas and products that push the boundaries of what can be done with technology. Although I am not exactly certain which of these two categories cybernetics would fall into, I am confident that if I can continue to pursue my passion with robotics that I will be happy with whatever I end up doing in life.