Little Bits and Laser Cutter

By: Truc Ly

For this third sixth weeks, my team and I chose the computer science module, where we worked with micro controllers called littleBits. Computer Science is the practice of supplying needs and solving problems through programming. The littleBits are microcontrollers, inside each little bit are a variety of controllers that are programmed with instructions. First, we tinker with them a little bit, trying to see how they work.

Our challenge is to build something that would have littleBits completing the task. It could be art or anything. It can move, or simply light up. My team thought about building a train that would move with a motor, but we tried and didn’t work out, so we just make the train light up and honk when press a button.

The process of making the train was very challenging, we messed up countless time, but didn’t give up. We used the laser cutter to cut out the parts of the train. The cardboard kept burning, and we wasted a lot of time. Sometimes, I thought that we should come up with another idea that would easier. But eventually we got it, because my teammates were being patient with the train. They assembled the main part and it turned out very well. My job was to assemble the littleBits . I had to think about each part of the littleBits would be, and work it out from there. To be honest, I didn’t really have a super organized plan, like I used to. I have no idea how the train is going to turn out.

This is the inside of the train caboose, and you could see how the littleBits connect together. But in the end, the train turned out very well, and you could move it by pulling a little string that’s attached in front of the engine. I enjoyed this challenge very much, and feel relieved that it is finally complete, after all the hard work my team put in building the train.