Week 1 - Hector Martinez


    My first day here, I was nervous to jump right into coding, building circuits, and understanding the programming the software needed to work. Professor Young does a good job in presenting his thoughts on circuitry and what each component does. Although there are various words that I have no clue what they mean, professor Young makes it to where even a beginner understands the basic function of every part that goes into play, from mother board to the coding language. We then recieved our SparkFun Inventor Kits and got more of a hands on feel for connecting electrical parts. I got to screw on the RedBoard on the plate and stick the breadboard onto it as well. Then, we downloaded the Arduino software on our desktops and plugged in our RedBoard, uploading our code and makig sure we had an output and the correct port. 
    We began our first porject on the board, which was Circuit 1A: Blinking an LED. Here, I first learned about resistors, polarity, and how to follow a circuit diagram. After connecting everything, copying the code provided onto the Arduino software, verifying, and finally uploading it, I got light. After this, I wanted to continue building more projects and circuits. I soon learned about a potentiometer and what it does, which varies the resisitance of voltage depending on the position of the knob. I finished off the day but building the digital trumpet, which includes using components like the potentiometer, piezo buzzer, and push buttons. 
                                                   
    On day two, we continued to play and figure out the parts of the SparkFun kit, and I ended up building the Simon Says game and toured the OEDK. Our guide was a Rice University senior majoring in Biomedical Engineering, and she was telling us about the various functions of the facility, as well as programs, clubs, and events students get to participate in. I was very interested in the metal cutting machines as well as the clubs and competitions the students go to and present their work. What I found the most facinating was the fact that many different engineering majors can come together to make a project.
    Throughout the week, we were taught the basics of coding and introduced to dfferent languages like C/C++/Python. Professor Young gave us more information on how digital health is used today and how different components work in the medical field.
    Overall, I am eager to learn more and put my knowledge into action.

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