Author: Ethan Nowery, Email: nowery@unlv.nevada.edu
Date Last Modified: 08/02/2024
Note these are two different tests, not two different views of the same test.
This week I been spending time learning to use the Telemax manipulator. This is the Dexterity portion of my research project this summer. I would also be using Spot's manipulator, but it is broken and currently only stays open 100%. It was like that when I got here though, I didn't break it. My project includes testing mobility, visual acuity, and dexterity for robots. The first video is just a grabbing task that I came up with to get familiar with Telemax's arm. I grab a 'T' shaped object, lift it out of the box and set it on top. I then return it to the original position in the box and repeat as needed.
The second task is a linear dexterity task that Adam came up with. It consists of a linear rail at the top and bottom and a 5-sided omni in the middle. There are 5 holes on each component, 15 total. The operator of the robot takes a long slender tool (I am using a screwdriver) and tries to insert the tool into each hole. For the two linear rails, if the tool goes all the way into the hole, it is worth 5 points. If the tool does not go in but touches the metal, that is worth 2 points. For the omni the goal is the same, but the points are 10 for completely getting the tool in and 4 for only touching the metal. The angled portions of each linear rail and omni are at 45deg to give another level of difficulty.
I have not met a new person this week. Most of my time has been spent working on my final presentation and recording any videos that I need to put into the presentation.
I'm not entirely sure if this would be considered a NIST cultural thing or not. An observation that I thought was interesting is that during our orientation on the first day here, we were told not to post anything on social media or to take pictures/videos of any of our projects so that we dont accidentally 'leak' some new material. I completely understand this. When I got to my mentor, Alex, and his project leader, Adam, they both told me the opposite. They actually encouraged taking pictures and videos. They also gave me an abundance of brochures, pamphlets, and manuals to bring home with me. Also, we just got an email this week about publications coming out of NIST need to be approved first by an Editorial Review Board. This makes sense as well. There just seems to be a different attitude towards our research depending on who you talk to. That is the purpose of NIST though, to share their findings with the world. So, nothings really a secret here, at least not that I've been told about.
As my internship is coming to an end in a couple weeks and I return home, I am reminding myself to not take moments and experiences for granted. This trip has been amazing, and I have done so many things that it's hard to even recall everything. When I go back to Vegas, I hope that I can still go out and experience life and different things. I just need to not take life so seriously and remember to enjoy the little things while they last.
As mentioned above, my project this week has been to learn how to use Telemax's manipulator. So far, I have a couple hours of experience and will continue to learn. I will also run more Spot trials through the course and collect more data from that.