I've just gotten home from my week-long robotics program at UT (University of Texas). Throughout the program, I improved my proficiency in C++ as well as learning how to use Arduino. I hoped to meet with a professor, David Eaton, to discuss his expertise in water conservation and pollution prevention to help me consolidate my future projects (and maybe my future career) but was unfortunately not allowed to leave the big group to do so. Even though I couldn't do some of the things I wanted, the program offered many other endeavors I enjoyed; we got a campus tour, as well as a tour of the Department of Computer Science building. I learned about FDM, SLM, and EBM printing, as well as several other techniques used to produce a product with zero-tolerance machining (I was even introduced to the metrology staff and room).

I also got to see engineering applied to the field of medicine: I tried out the da Vinci medical robot, as well as other tools that provide haptic feedback, and explored the applications of those tools, be it future or current. Finally, we saw some projects that yield more to the stereotypical concept of robotics-- we saw the Boston Dynamics dog, Spot, and I even got to maneuver it up and down stairs, as well as around the room. There's some super cool stuff in the field of robotics that I hope to one day be able to contribute to.