MEETING SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

The meeting on September 2, 2015, started off with introducing mentors and previous members of the team that will help and do their best to contribute more this year. Everyone part of this team started out presenting findings that have sparked their interest in this project. There were many things said about what they have learned and what they hope to bring this year. This research was intended for members to discover their interest and hope to choose a part where they fit comfortably. After presentations, I announced an upcoming event on Saturday, September 19th. September 19th is the 43rd Annual Silicon Valley Electric Vehicle Rally & Drive Electric Week where we will present the model size superway. Once the announcement is done, Ron Swenson and the previous team help give a brief tour around the building to show what has been done and needs to be done.

After the team broke into the areas where they see fit. Within the areas, we broke into sub groups that are responsible for different parts. I went to the 12th scale model and the subgroups were created involving control systems, solar panel, the design of the model, and few more. Out of the sub groups, I decided to join the solar panel group because that's where my interest lies. There is much needed improvement for the model scaled solar panel system. According to Dr. Furman, the summer group tried but did not complete a working solar panel system. I am also thinking about joining another sub group to work on the cabin design.

In my subgroup, I got a chance to talk to Ernest, who was part of the summer team. He mentioned how the Korea team neatly organized the board and the model bogie system but not so much on the solar panels. Professor Burlingame added that there is no possible way the small size solar panel can absorb much to power the model scale. With that information, it puts into perspective on how much solar panels we need to power the model and what can be worked around it. During my time of a short brainstorming, I was thinking about a mini station where it can charge the model bogie while the other one is moving. The goal is to have more than two model sized bogies in order to implement the safety measures we are aiming for. Within my subgroup, there wasn't much brainstorming with each other yet but I do plan on brainstorming better ideas next meeting.