First Lego League Cargo Connect - Expert Interview, Spike My Blocks

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Expert Interview

Our interview with Cindie on 20/10/2021 went really well. She is a Customer Relations Specialist at DHL Global Forwarding and she looks after large air and sea freights of a whole range of customers who ship into Australia.

According to Cindie, here are the major reasons behind wrong weights in Bill of Lading:

Pure human error when entering numbers into the system
Lazy shippers purposely avoiding extra costs by reporting lower weights

However, there will be less dishonesty in the future because Australia has implemented regulations to impose fines for every incorrect container weight that is more than 1 tonne from the reported weight.

Processes are also in place to spot check containers to obtained verified weights.

Shipping terminology we have learnt from this are listed here.

Full interview details are in the Innovation Project Research documentation.[/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”6054″ animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”50%” max_width_mobile=”default”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]

Spike My Blocks

[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”6062″ animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” constrain_group_2=”yes” alignment=”” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default” margin_left=”10″ margin_right=”10″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” left_margin=”20″ column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”3/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]As our program gets longer, the difficulty to read and understand it also increases. Below is an example code where it tries to perform line following at 2 different places in the code. What that means is you will start to see repeated code (code that looks exactly the same).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][image_with_animation image_url=”6059″ animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][vc_column_text]In the above code for completing M08 Air Drop, there are 2 sections of code that line follows between a 70% reflection and 35% reflection. The first occurrence drives for 3200 degrees outbound towards Air Drop mission, while the second occurrence drives for 2700 degrees to drive home from Air Drop mission.

There are a few problems with repeated code:

Overall program becomes too long
It becomes hard to read and understand
It takes a new team member a long time to understand
If a bug exists in that section of code, the same fix needs to be done to every repeated code

Therefore, it is good practise to identify repeat code and extract this into your own Block code that you can identify and call multiple times. The below snippet is an improved version of the same code from above. The change is a newly defined My Block called “LineFollow”. It takes an argument (additional information that is provided to the newly defined My Block) of how many degrees to rotate the wheels.[/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”6058″ animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][vc_column_text]

Spike Variable

23 + a

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”4/5″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]In mathematical calculations, variables are used as placeholders for numbers. The example on the left has the variable “a”. The “a” can hold any number: 1 or 36 or 28,467,111.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”3/5″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]The same applies when we talk about a variable in coding.

There are a few reasons why we use variables when coding:

To give a number or a value meaning (eg NumberOfRotations)
To dynamically change the value stored in a variable (for example, as we loop through a counter, the counter value will increment from 1 to 2 to 3…)
To make code easier to read and understand
To help with debugging by making the values visible

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”2/5″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”6064″ animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]Compare the 2 programs below which have the exact same functionality. What are the pros and cons of each?[/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”6063″ animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][vc_column_text]

Team Exchange with Project Bucephalus

[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” text_align=”left”][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”6055″ animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” constrain_group_2=”yes” alignment=”” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default” margin_left=”10″ margin_right=”10″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” left_margin=”20″ column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”3/4″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]Our meeting with Project Bucephalus went really well. It was a fun session and they were very insightful giving lots of creative ideas to our Innovation Project problem.

What we got out of the meeting were:

think outside the box
don’t do what might already be out there
be different and creative in our own ways

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text]I am so glad we had the meeting with them. It definitely gave us the nudge to head in the right direction with our own ideas.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

Innovation Project – New Direction

Since our meeting with Project Bucephalus, we have voted on a new “problem” to solve that relates to reducing the number of containers from falling off ships.

Problem: Low accuracy in twist locks being correctly locked
Goal: To improve the efficiency and accuracy in checking and identifying unlocked twist locks
Solution: Drone hardware and software that can recognise the lock positions of a twist lock

Introducing[/vc_column_text][nectar_gradient_text heading_tag=”h1″ color=”extra-color-gradient-1″ gradient_direction=”horizontal” text=”Chief Checker 2.0″][vc_column_text]It is THE solution to all container ships that will save the stevedores hours of work so they don’t need to do manual checking.

Presentation Ideas

We will present our Innovation Project through a skit. Multiple crews are on board a container ship traveling across the ocean when they are hit by strong waves and several hundred containers become unstable and fall into the ocean.

The dialogue between crew members discuss how containers weighing 30 tonnes can come lose and the recent news about Chief Checker 2.0 that Team Optimist Prime created could have prevented the disaster.

Ways To Debug

[/vc_column_text][image_with_animation image_url=”6072″ animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][vc_column_text]When your code doesn’t do what you want it to do, then it has a bug in it. The word bug refers to errors in your code. Sometimes it is hard to identify where the error is coming from and the process of finding the error and then fixing it is called “debugging”.

There are several ways you can use to locate where the bug is in your code:

Use variables to display system values
When you turn system values into visible information, you might just find that what you think is the value, is in fact something totally different.
Use sound to help indicate where it is up to in the program
Use periodic sound for every x number of times through the loop
This helps indicate how fast the system is processing your commands
Use lights (the pixel output on the SmartHub) to display information
Utilise wait blocks to slow down code
Divide and conquer
Break your program into 2. Run the first part of the program only to see if it is behaving as expected. If it is, you have identified the bug is in the first half of the program, and you can divide and conquer again to narrow down exactly where the problem is.

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Homework

Draw drone, remote control, and scanning diagram for Innovation Project solution. This needs to be well labelled. (JSo, SH, AT)
Description of how the drone works (JSt)
Write script for Innovation Project presentation (AT)
Research how to make the drone waterproof to work in wet weather (LH)
Test LineFollow My Block and understand how it works
Download the latest Launch1 code and incorporate your mission activation code into Launch1 code.

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