(x) Observation for the day
Day 1
It was good that most of us are on time and we took a shorter time to settle down compared to previous camp we attended. From my observations, most of us are more attentive and took down notes. However, after the sessions, I felt that the questions asked were not of high quality, and not well though of. Some asked irreverent questions that will not value add to the session. Furthermore, some asked with an informal tone, which is not appropriate in these situations. I thought that we should be more formal and respectful as the speakers are professors who are researching at a very high level. As schoolmates, I should consistently reminds my friends to observe situational awareness to solve the problem.
Day 2
During the session, we completed our task much earlier than expected. It was good that we spend our time wisely, using the remaining time to complete our task. However, during the session, our noise level was quite high and there were some argument throughout the process. I felt that we should be more considerate to others as there are others in the lab, working on their project too.
(I) Plenary Sessions
From the session entitled Importance of Water - Dirty and Clean, I learnt that water is important as it affect the societal & economic development. Consumption of water and energy must be reduced. We could not afford to use a lot of energy to produce clean water. That will contribute to global warming. The irony is that we often compromise our water resources. We need to protect our water resources for economics development. In Singapore, we need to augment our limited resources. What we did in Singapore was to increase catchment area, water reclamation, water desalination. Use of technology is also involved to breach barriers in one of our reservoirs. We are also focusing on building Eco-City which will increase amount of clean water and beautify the environment.
In the session named Revolution of Microelectronics Technology, my key learning point is that electronics enables life to be better. There are Microelectronics Technology could be interlinked with Biology, Radio, Auto, Info, Nano, Water, Audio, Video and Energy.
In the session about Innovative Breakthrough in Technology, the main key learning point is that Nano-Technology is very powerful. As the atoms have a very small size, they have a larger surface area compared to particles that is larger for the same volume. With larger surface area, there will be a higher energy level.
In IT for Animation session, I learnt that IT could help to speed up and fasten the process of making an animation. For example, IT could help us to auto color our characters, complete in between frames. Mathematics are also involved in the production of the animation. Geometric Modeling will be required to move and rotate the characters. Law of Physics will be need to show the dynamics of fire, water and fabric movement.
From the session called the Disappearing glaciers, rising sea levels, and why gravity is even more important than you think, I learnt how gravity affect sea levels. Sea level will not be the same everywhere. When there is a mass on the crust, there is a gravitational attraction. Thus, the sea surface will be higher as the water is attracted to the mass. The solid surface will be lower. When the mass is removed (when the glacier melts), there will be less attraction and the sea surface will decreases, the seawater will flow away from the mass. The solid surface will increases. Use of technology will allow us to observe how mass flow.
B) Deepest impression...
The plenary session that leaves the deepest impression on me is Disappearing glaciers, rising sea levels, and why gravity is even more important. I feel that this session was much more interesting and relevant for me, compared to other session. Even though I know that global warming contribute the rise of sea levels by the time I graduated from primary school, I did no take the initiative to ask or find out what is the science between it. Based on what Professor Emma said, the further away it is from the glacier s, the greater the sea rise. Since, our country is quite far away from the glaciers, we will be greatly affected. Thus, I feel that it is necessary for us, the citizens to know what kind of problems our country will be facing and this session will be relevant to us.
(II) My Personal Reflection
I choose this project as I think that it will be relevant to me. For last year's ADMT Project - The Environment, our group choose to tackle recycling, separating our waste. Our solution was to have a rubbish chute for HDB that has dividers for different types of waste. This will make it more convenient for the residents, being able to recycled in their houses. They will not need to go to the recycling bins shared by other residents too.
My role in the group is to lead the discussions. We faced a few challenges throughout the two days programme. The first challenge we faced is that the IR sensor are not working very well, it could not sense the object in the feeder. It could be due to the fact that some of the objects are translucent and the surface of the object does not reflect the IR accurately. Thus, we change the IR sensor into a Through beam sensors. The second challenge we faced will be that the water bottles and the aluminium often get stucked at the bumper. Thus, we adjusted the speed of the bumper and add another guide made of a plastic sheet.
Through this project, I learnt that designing an working mechanism requires a lot of time. I also learnt that constructing an working mechanism required a system.As an individual, I benefited as I learnt about the different types of design and something about how mechanisms work.
