Innovations in International Business †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Innovations in International Business. Answer: International Business Environment: Haier Analysis Multinational company can be broadly defined as any small or big company that engages in any kid of international trade (Cullen Parboteeah 2009). Emerging market multinational companies today are gaining top positions in the market. In 2003 the firms that occupied positions in top 2000 companies of the world were from countries like USA, Japan and Britain. But the recent list by Forbes witnesses the change in trend. Most of the companies in the list are from markets like China, Russia, Brazil and India. According to the data five of top ten companies are Chinese (Frynas Mellahi 2015). Haier is as example of successful Multinational Corporation from China. The Haier Group was founded in 1984 in China .Companys headquarters are in Qingdao, China. Current CEO and Chairman of the company is Zhang Ruimin. The company majorly deals in electronic home appliances. It is now worlds leading brand in white goods. Major products of the company include commercial heating and cooling systems, co nsumer electronics, small and big appliances. The companys international expansion began from Indonesia. It entered Indonesian markets in 1996. Today the company is spread in almost all the major markets of the world. Haier is committed to provide high standard product quality, technical specification and after sale customers for developing a good brand image in the overseas market. Haier adopted a strategy for international markets which was divided in three steps. These steps were going out, going in and going up. With its Global brand strategy the company is successful in more than 100 countries and regions across the world (Haier 2015). Strategy plays a vital role in for the success of any firm in international market. A well-developed strategy can bring success to organisation whereas a poorly formulated strategy can result into adverse impacts for the company. Haier had a well-developed strategy to enter international markets. Haier entered global markets not only to earn foreign exchange it entered to build a global brand image. The firm adopted the approach of taking on the more difficult ones first for the same it develop the three step strategy of going out, going in and going in. According to the strategy the firm initially focused on building a brand image by entering the market of developed countries like USA and Japan. Later it entered the markets of developing countries by taking the advantage of good brand image from developed countries market. The last was to become a market leader with highly innovative products. Haier was successful in achieving expansion to international markets very quickly because of its differentiated international acquisitions, cultural integration and mechanism innovation. Cultural integration is the most important aspect for being successful in the globalised market. Cultural integration can be understood as frictions created between different cultures. It affects organisation functioning and is a prerequisite for mutual trust and shared goals (Galpin Herndon 2014). Innovation is another key factor that is responsible for the current market standing of the company. According to Buckley (2012) the main reason responsible for growth of multinational organisation is the shift in structure. The focus is now shifted to technology based goods and more investments are incurred on research and development. Innovation is one of the most essential factors responsible for growth and development of multinational companies. Globalisation can be described as the process which integrates people, processes and government s of different countries. The main driving force for globalisation is international business and international trade (Dreher, Gaston Martens 2008). To be successful in business in todays scenario, every firm needs to have a profound knowledge of its internal and external environment. Firm must be able to analyse different environmental situations that positively or negatively impact the company. Also todays business environment is dynamic therefore forecasting becomes a tedious task for the company. The firm should make efforts to identify various opportunities and threats in the challenging environment to deal with the changes. Identifying the opportunities and threats enable a firm to deal with the threats turn their impact positive, it also helps to grasp the opportunities ahead of competitors. Globalisation has introduced various opportunities and threats for different firms. Various opportunities are discussed that globalisation has presented for Haier. Haier has various opportunities in the domestic market. The current data reveals that favourable policies of Chinese government are improving the living standards of people. This improvement in the lives of people especially rural population will increase the demand for domestic appliances; this is an emerging opportunity for company in the domestic market segment. Another opportunity for the firm is for both domestic and international markets. The rise in the level of pollution and energy consumption is alarming situation in various parts of world. Now people are becoming more aware towards environment protection this has increased the demand for green electrical appliances. US launched a $40 project for Chinas refrigerator manufactures to promote the manufacturing and sale of green refrigerators (CSR China 2006). This type of scenario existing in various countries will create an opportunity for the firms green appliances. This opportunity can be fruitful if the company develops more innovative green products. Globalisation has strengthened economic integration among nations. This integration has resulted into interdependence among various nations around the world. This integration and interdependence has presented the opportunity to the firm to enter into strategic alliance with companies of other countries to gain competitive advantage and strengthen the brand value. The firms acquisition over the Japanese brand Sanyo will present more opportunities in countries like Vietnam. The Governments support to firm is also an opportunity to the firm. Chinese government launched a policy in year 1999 to encourage the local firms to invest in overseas markets. This policy provides all the required support to the domestic firms to enter the international markets (Wang 2016). The integration among various nations have provided the firm with an opportunity to procure raw material and resources from anywhere in the world. This can provide the firm with the advantage of manufacturing cost reduction and increase in profit margins. To grasp this opportunity Haier should make use of the international resources. Along with the opportunities globalisation also brings various threats or challenges for the firm. The major challenges are discussed ahead. The recent emerging threat to the company is rise in the wages of workers in China. According to reports last year average hourly wages in China were $3.6. These wages were 64 per cent high as compared to the year 2011. Thus the trend of rising wage rates does not make production in China cheap anymore. The reason for this is globalisation, now people have access to jobs in various countries and various foreign companies that invested in China are ready to pay higher prices to workers. This trend of rise in workers wages is a direct threat to the company because most of the firms production activities are based in China. This factor will ultimately result in reducing the profit margins for the firm. Another major challenge for the company is fierce competition in both domestic and foreign markets. The main competitors of the firm in domestic mar ket are Gree and Midea. In global markets the major competitors of the firm include giant market players like Whirlpool, LG, Panasonic, Sony and Electrolux. Whirlpool is the company which stands at first position in manufacturing home appliances (Whirlpool 2017). Another big name Electrolux stands for innovative products. It launched first talking washing machine in the market. The company also introduced robotic vacuum cleaner in the worlds markets. These are just examples from two competitors; other competitors are also well established players in the market. Therefore the level of competition is very high in the market. This is a major threat for the company. The next threat for the firm that globalisation presents for the firm is price war. Now every company has access to resources around the world. Every company can get the benefit of low production cost therefore the close price war with the competitors has presented the price challenge for the firm. The next threat that compa ny can face in the global markets is negative impact from countrys image. Countrys image plays a vital role in creating the brand image. The companies from countries like Germany, USA and Japan have a positive impact on brand equity of the company. China does not have that good image. Chinese products are usual perceived to be low quality and low price. This is the threat for companys products in global markets (Yidan 2009). The challenges and opportunities are to be dealt with utmost care in order to survive in the global business environment. The globalisation not only presents challenges and opportunities for the firm, integration of culture also affects the role of manger in terms of communication, negotiation, decision-making, human resource management, and ethical behaviour. Traditional roles of the mangers include the role of leader, negotiator, figurehead, liaison, communication. Today also the mangers need to perform same roles but with a slightly different perspective. The mangers need to make employees comfortable with the change in culture. They are required to effectively manage the organisation in such a way that supports employees to adapt to the changes and number of conflicts of and issues and issues are resolved (Boundless 2017). Free movement of people and products across the globe have made the job of human resource manager more challenging. The role of HR manger which was once confined to recruitment and solving occasional disciplinary problems now involved more strategic functions to manage the people globally. The changed role involved functions such as effectively handling the labour laws related issues in different countries, deciding an attractive pay and benefits plan depending upon the country, recruitment is become more complex as the pool of talent has widened and the most important function is managing the cultural differences effectively. The manger should be able to understand cultures and traditions of various nations and ensure employee satisfaction of employees coming from different cultures (Scottter 207). In the context of business home country can be defined as a place where the business was first established or where the headquarters of firm are situated. The host country refers to the country where the firm has expanded its operations outside the national boundaries (Moeller, Harvey, Griffith Richey 2013). The home country for Haier is China whereas it has more than hundred host countries. There are various differences in the environment of home and host country. Both of the countries affect each other in various ways. Therefore to effectively manage a global enterprise manger needs to learn various lessons. To conduct the business effectively in this borderless world manger needs to learn, that how to maintain relationships with international clients around the globe. The next thing that is required is the ability of manger to navigate through the foreign culture. Having profound knowledge of both home and host country will only enable a manager to effectively mange and resolve i ssues that arise because of cultural differences. Managers need to understand that qualities and skill set that were successful in managing domestic business can prove to be reason of failure in international business. Todays international business requires fluent communication skills and negotiation skills. These are the basic skills that cannot be overlooked. The other skills that mangers require to effectively manage the difference in the home and host country are cultural sensitivity, multilingual and global management philosophy. Cultural sensitivity can be defined as valuing and respecting different cultures. It can also be defined as an ability to work effectively in culture other than your culture (Massen and Kowalewski 2010). Every manger needs to culturally sensitive. Managers need to understand the impact of culture on business relationships. The managers should also learn some of the common cultural practices. They should now how people of different cultures interpret and assign meaning to voice tones and body language. They should effectively imply cultural considerations in negotiations. The next skill that global mangers need to have is being multilingual. Multilingual means ability to communicate in various languages. Managers are already efficient in the language of host country. But while managing global organisation they need to be able to communicate in more than one language. They should at least know the language of their largest client or trading partner. It is also necessary to communicate in such a way that non-native speaks do not have difficulty in understanding (Bisk 2017). The next skill is global management philosophy. Every global manger needs to have global strategic thing thinking. To gain a strategic insight manager must be aware about the whole working of the business on a global level. This strategic approach enables him to make best out of best people around the planet (Clawson 2014). Dealing with the uncertainty is another important aspect for manger , which is very essential for managing complex business organisation (Wengrzyn 2017).Some other common skills that a manger who is forking for different countries needs to learn are humility towards every culture, curiosity and desire to learn and ethics and morality in personal life. The above listed skills and qualities are required for every manager to effectively manage an international organisation. This applies for managers of Haier group too. These skills and qualities can be acquired through the personal experience, learning lessons from other mangers within the same or different company and through professional learning programs designed especially for managers. Knowing about the skills is a different thing but bringing them to regular practice is also very important. The lessons can be brought to practice only by implying them to practical situations. From the above report it can be concluded that globalisation is a process of integration. This integration has resulted in creating a borderless world. The companies are now engaged in doing businesses round the globe. This has introduced various challenges and opportunities for the firm. Now the social, political, legal, economical, technical and environment implications on business are very dynamic. In case of Haier a Chinese firm that deals in electrical appliances various opportunities and threats are identified both in domestic and international markets. These opportunities include rise in living standards of people, rising demand for green electrical appliances, strategic alliances and government support. The threats for the firm include rise in wage rates in china, fierce competition, price war and country image. Today the firm is major player in the market the credit for the same can be given to the well-developed global strategy f the firm. The strategy provides the directio n for working in such a dynamic environment. Globalisation has not only created uncertainties in the business environment it has also leaded to change in the role of a manager and human resource manager. The roles have undergone the transformation in recent decades. Major changes in role are because of cultural integration. Now the mangers are required to manage more complex organisation structures with diverse workforce. To be successful in managing the organisations managers need to learn various lessons. The mangers should clearly understand the interplay between home and host country. The mangers must possess the qualities such as sharp communication skills, good negotiation skills, cultural sensitivity, multilingual and global strategic thinking. References Bisk 2017, International Business Management in Todays Economy, University of Notre Dame, viewed on 22 August 2017 from https://www.notredameonline.com/resources/negotiations/international-business-management-in-todays-economy/#.WZvuYD4jHIV Boundless, 2017, The Role of the Manager in an Evolving Organization, Boundless, viewed on 22 August 2017 from https://www.boundless.com/management/textbooks/boundless-management-textbook/organizational-theory-3/evolving-organizations-32/the-role-of-the-manager-in-an-evolving-organization-184-5510/ Buckley, PJ 2012, Innovations in International Business, Palgrave Macmillan. Clawson, JG 2014, 11 key characteristics of a global business leader, viewed on 22 August 2017 from https://ideas.darden.virginia.edu/2014/01/11-key-characteristics-of-a-global-business-leader/ CSR China 2006, Success: Energy-Efficient CFC-Free Refrigerators In China, CSR China, viewed on 22 August 2017 from https://www.chinacsr.com/en/2006/12/27/946-success-energy-efficient-cfc-free-refrigerators-in-china/ Cullen, JB Parboteeah, KP 2009, International business: strategy and the multinational company, Routledge. Dreher, A, Gaston, N Martens, P, 2008.Measuring globalisation: Gauging its consequences. Springer Science Business Media. Frynas, J Mellahi, K 2015, How did emerging market multinationals internationalize successfully?, Oxford University Press's Academic Insights for the Thinking World, blog post, 17 June, viewed on 22 August 2017 from https://blog.oup.com/2015/06/emerging-market-multinationals/ Galpin, TJ Herndon, M 2014, The complete guide to mergers and acquisitions: Process tools to support MA integration at every level, John Wiley Sons. Haier 2015, Introduction to Haier's Overseas Market, viewed on 22 August 2017 from https://www.haier.net/en/about_haier/haier_global/OverseasMarket/ Heraklen, 2016, New Robot from Electrolux- Electrolux Motionsense, viewed on 22 August 2017 from https://www.robotreviews.com/chat/viewtopic.php?t=19524 Massen, A and Kowalewski, B 2010, Preparing to Serve: Online Training Modules, viewed on 22 August 2017 from https://www.weber.edu/wsuimages/ccel/docs/trainingmods/Cultural%20Sensitivity%201-30-2015%20no%20quiz%20questions.pdf Moeller, M, Harvey, M, Griffith, D Richey, G 2013, The impact of country-of-origin on the acceptance of foreign subsidiaries in host countries: An examination of the liability-of-foreignness,International Business Review,22(1), pp.89-99. Scotter, L 2017, The changing role of human resource management in the global competitive environment, careertrend, viewed on 22 August 2017 from https://careertrend.com/changing-role-human-resource-management-global-competitive-environment-33068.html Wang, H 2016, A Deeper Look at Chinas Going Out Policy, Centre for International Governance and Education, viewed on 22 August 2017 from https://www.cigionline.org/publications/deeper-look-chinas-going-out-policy Wengrzyn, R 2017, Characteristics of the International Manager in Global Organizations, viewed on 22 August 2017 from https://study.com/academy/lesson/characteristics-of-the-international-manager-in-global-organizations.html Whirlpool 2017, Who We Are, viewed on 22 August 2017 from https://www.whirlpoolcorp.com/our-company/ Yidan, L 2009, Strategic Plan for Haiers GlobalBrand Building, viewed on 22 August 2017 from https://publications.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/5764/luyidan.pdf

Meteorite or Puck Hunt Autonomous Mobile Robot

Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Meteorite or Puck Hunt: Autonomous Mobile Robot specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Introduction The creation of the autonomous mobile robot (AMB) project is the most important branch of the unit, HES 1305 ROBOTICS AND MECHATRONICS PROJECT 2. The plan, design, building, programming, testing, as well as debugging the different components of the project, would involve teams which consist of three members. The purpose of the autonomous mobile robot would be to travel through a maze while avoiding going over the wall of the maze. In addition, the AMB would also be required to look for certain types of â€Å"pucks or meteorites† that would be identified by their colours, in a mission, which is simulated, in Antarctica. As a result of the intricacies of the predicted settings, the AMB would be required to carry and place the meteorites or pucks in their respective base camps; they should not be thrown or rolled on the ground. In addition, the robots would not be allowed to get rid of unwanted pucks from the camps, or destroy other robots. The project is in fact a competition pitting different teams against one another. Each team would provide one robot in the competition area to collect as many meteorites and place them in the specified camps. The teachers and staff of Swinburne University provided all the sensors, LEGO parts, software, and actuators. The Method Of Design Design Philosophy One vital building block of artificial intelligence involves creation of a robot that has the ability to function under diverse and indeterminate environments, while under partial supervision. The Development of the Design Being the first time that we are taking part in this type of competition, we decide to work out a plan that would help us develop the autonomous mobile robot in the given surroundings.Advertising Looking for report on other technology? Let's see if w e can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The most important part of the design involved coming up with a solution that would help the robot grab and flip over the meteorite or puck. After that, we had to go backwards with the intention of building a structure that could support all the equipment, actuators, and sensors, in order to produce a practical robot in the contest atmosphere. Design Process Hardware Part – (Name of Team member who handled this part) Handy board Autonomous robot control is usually attained by means of a Handy Board [Martin 2001]. The Handy Board was found to be a battery-powered and hand-held microcontroller board. It was perfect for both educational and personal robotics projects. It was based on the structure and functions of the Motorola 68HC11 microprocessor. Figure I The Handy Board contained the following parts: Processor: Motorola 68HC11 8-bit microcontroller with 2MHz speed RAM: 32KB battery-backed fixed RAM Scree n: 16Ãâ€"2 character LCD display unit Four 1A motors support 6 Servo motor controllers 9 Analog and 7 Digital inputs 16 Analog and 8 Digital outputs Infrared I/O capabilities Serial interface capacities Sound output 11cm x 8.5cm x 5.25 cm (L x W x H – with LCD screen, expansion board, and battery) Figure IIAdvertising We will write a custom report sample on Meteorite or Puck Hunt: Autonomous Mobile Robot specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Handy Board manages Interactive C (IC). The Interactive C is a custom-made version of ANSI C programming language. Interactive C is the most widely held compiler software that is made use of with the Handy Board. In addition, the Interactive C software is a multi-tasking compiler; it has a user command line that is used for dynamic expression evaluation and compilation (Martin, 2001). The IC is sustained by the Kiss Institute for Practical Robotics (KIPR). The figure above (figure II ), demonstrates the running of the IC compiler on Windows XP. Procedure followed for programming the Handy Board using Interactive C Step 1: The Handy Board was connected to the computer using either the Serial Interface or the USB. Step 2: The wall adapter was then used to supply power to the Handy Board. Step 3: Afterwards, the Interactive C compiler software was launched on the computer. Step 4: The board was then initialized with firmware. This was achieved by holding Handy board in a unique bootstrap download mode and then clicking on the download firmware found on the tools menu of the IC compiler software.Advertising Looking for report on other technology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Step 5: After completion of downloading the firmware, the Handy Board beeped, and the Interactive C welcome message appeared on the LCD screen of the Handy Board. This means that the Interactive C is now ready for use. After finishing configuring the system, we are now ready to write the necessary programs using Interactive C IDE software. Then later, we would compile it, and after that download it on to the Handy Board that will run that program. Sensors Each LEGO kit was supplied with the following sensors: Item Quantity Red LED 1 Blue LED 1 Phototransistor 4 Servo Motor 1 IR(Infra Red) Emitter/Detector 2 Micro switch 4 Combined Lego Motor Gearbox 4 Potentiometer 2 IR Range Finder (Sharp GP2D02) 1 Shaft Encoder 2 Table I Out of all these sensors, our interest and use will be limited to Combined Lego Motor Gearbox, Micro switch, Shaft Encoder, Phototransistor, LEDs, as well as IR Emitter/Detector. LED is the short form of a light-emitting diode. Just lik e the name suggests, an LED is basically a diode that gives off light. The difference between LEDs and other incandescent bulbs: LEDs are different from ordinary incandescent bulbs in the sense that they are short of a filament, which burns out. As a result, they do not get especially hot. They are solely lighted up by the motion of electrons in a semiconducting material. In addition, they could last as long as a typical transistor. Advantages: The use of LEDs endows the user with a number of advantages in comparison to the use of regular incandescent sources of light. Some of these advantages include enhanced robustness, lower consumption of energy, longer lifetime, greater durability, smaller size, improved reliability and faster switching (Jones, Flynn Seiger. 1999; Papert Harel, 1991). How LEDs work? Figure III When an LED is switched on, i.e. forward biased, electrons in the PN Junction are capable of recombining with the holes found within the device. As a result, energy is released in the form of photons. Consequently, the energy gap of the semiconductor has some bearing on the colour of the light, or the wavelength of the radiation. This is to mean that doping has some bearing on the wavelength of the Electromagnetic radiation which will be given off. In general, light-emitting diodes are usually made from substrates of Aluminium-gallium-arsenide (AlGaAs). From Electromagnetic spectrum, the wavelength for red is normally between 620 and 750 nm, while that for blue is between 450 and 475 nm. In other words, Red LED and Blue LED means that their doping components are such that the emitted wavelengths range between 620 and 750 nm, and between 450 and 475 nm in that order. Figure IV LEDs have two major uses; visual indicators and light emitters. As visual indicators, they detect the presence of things. When used as light emitters, they are usually detected by other detectors, such as phototransistors and photodiodes. Interestingly, they can be used as narrow band light sensors. Here, they operate in the reverse-bias mode. They act in response to incident light as opposed to emitting light. Phototransistor: Figure V A phototransistor can be described as a transistor that operates differently from common transistors. Unlike common transistors, whose operation modes are under the control of the applied input voltage, the operation mode of the phototransistor is can be directed by light, or the wavelength of the light. The structure of a phototransistor varies from that of a common transistor, at least in two distinct ways; While the phototransistor has a transparent window that allows light to shine on the junctions, ordinary transistors do not have such windows. An ordinary transistor has more surface area than a phototransistor, hence is able to maximize the area of light capture. When the junction is struck by light photons, there is formation of a base current. As a result, the received power is converted into a collector cur rent by the phototransistor. The phototransistor that comes with the LEGO kit has its peak response at 850 nm and its spectral sensitivity is higher than 30 per cent for light radiation that ranges between 6oo nm and 900 nm. The achievement of different gain and frequency of operation (bandwidth) is dependent on the amplifiers, or circuits, formed with these phototransistors. The positive thing that is exhibited is that the frequency and gain response is reliant on the light and its wavelength. Infra Red (IR) Emitter/Detector: The infrared emitter or detector is a circuit that is created using LEDs and phototransistors (Martin, 1994). The purpose of the IR emitter/detector is either to give off or to detect infrared radiation. An extremely fundamental infra red emitter/detector circuit is shown and described below. Figure VI This custom made circuit has one disadvantage; the use of this custom made circuit means that the ambient infra red light would constrain its detecting devices (Martin, 1994). The IR emitter/Detector that came with the LEGO kit had its peak response at 940 nm, with peak sensitivity for about 880 nm wavelengths. The IR Emitter/Detector has found many uses in robotics; it can be used for colour detection, transmitters, motion detection, obstacle detection, and encoders. Shaft Encoder: Shaft encoders can also be referred to as rotary encoders. In essence, it is an electro-mechanical piece of equipment that translates the total amount of mechanical rotation, or angle, into a corresponding amount of current (Sutton Barto, 1998). As a result, knowledge in relation to the amount of current offers information regarding the amount of rotation of the shaft, or the wheel connected to the shaft. In general, there exists, two kinds of shaft or rotary encoders; Absolute shaft encoders These types of encoders are the ones that provide us with information regarding the complete angle of rotation of the shaft. The digital type of absolute shaft encode rs generates distinctive digital code for each different angle of the shaft. There exist two fundamental kinds of absolute digital rotary encoders. These are optical encoders and mechanical encoders. Incremental shaft encoders These types of rotary encoders are the ones that provide us with information regarding the angles or rotations with regard to their previous states. The angles of rotation that are provided by the shaft encoders are in coded form. The two available and most popular methods used for encoding are Gray encoding and standard binary encoding. It is worth noting that for all advanced jobs, which involve the rotation of the wheel, there must be a feedback mechanism that comes from the wheels. As a result, it is vital that the control program is aware of the extent to which the wheel would rotate to with the intention of either altering the speed of rotation of the different wheels, or simply making sure that the vehicle is motionless and no unknown force is acti ng on it. This is basically the reason why shaft encoders are employed. Micro switch: Figure VII A micro switch can also be referred to by its technical name, miniature snap-action switch. As implied by its name, the micro switch is a switch that calls for a comparatively miniature movement of the actuator button, with the intention of producing a relatively large amount of high velocity motion of the electrical contacts in spite of the speed of actuation. Micro switches are popular and their use is widespread. This is attributed to their relatively low cost, as well as high durability. They undergo more than one million cycles; for heavy duty models, this may go up to ten million cycles. There are many places and gadgets that require micro switches for proper functioning. Some of these areas include machinery, vehicles, industrial controls, appliances, and numerous other areas for control of electrical circuits. Some common but particular areas where micro switches are employed in clude the door interlock systems on microwave ovens, safety and levelling switches in elevators, detection of faults in photocopiers, such as paper jams, and vending machines. Miniature snap-action switches are frequently made use of in tamper switches on gate valves of fire sprinkler systems, in addition to other water piping systems. In this application, it is vital to be conscious of whether valve has been shut, or it is open. Combined Lego Motor Gearbox: Figure VIII There are DC motors that were provided in Lego kit. These motors are great for building robots in view of the fact that they are powerful and compact. They normally rotate at thousands of rotations per minute. Nevertheless, most electric motors are in actual fact lacking in torque. In other words, this can be attributed to the fact that they cannot push incredibly hard. If hooked directly up to the motor’s shaft, we can note that it can hardly rotate the wheel, let alone nudge a whole robot. Despite the fact that they have inadequate torque, what they do have in plenty, is speed. In reality, if the shaft is running freely, it can rotate at a rate of numerous thousands revolutions per minute. As a result, this speed is much faster than what one wants for a robot to drive in any case. Therefore, we could do with gearboxes with the intention of trading some of this unnecessary speed for additional torque. Figure IX The LEGO system is composed of a wide range of gears with varying functions (Brooks, 1986). On the other hand, for universal purposes, 8, 24, and 40-tooth gears can be employed. These are the easiest and most efficient to utilize of the group for the reason that their diameters are selected, such that they can be interlocked with one another at standard LEGO distances. Through gear reductions, one is able to translate speed into torque (or the other way round by application of this technique in reverse). Suppose an 8-tooth gear is employed in turning a 24-tooth gear. Given tha t the smaller gear is required to rotate three times in order to turn the large gear once, the axle with the 8-tooth gear spins faster than the other. As a result of this exchange for this reduction in speed, the axle is now able to apply three times as much torque. Consequently, this generates a gear reduction ratio of 3:1. This implies that we are relinquishing a factor of three of speed and swapping it over for production of three times the torque. Lego parts Figure X Each component of the LEGO has its work cut out for it (Overmars. 2000). A number of those components are available and are simply used to join two parts that are not able to be stick together with one another. A number of other parts, for instance rollers, are supposed to hook up the wheels with a few other parts of the robot with the intention of making the wheels move with mush ease. What is more, a number of parts are large in size, which could be utilized as the base of the robot; therefore, we could place man y parts on. In addition, they could be used to connect parts that are relatively far away in distance from each other. A good number of the components that we employed in the creation of our robot were the thick red bars and long red bars that assisted us in connection between the wheels. Into the bargain, we used the big bars that have a large area to make use of it as the base of our robot. Furthermore, we could include on those big bars with the broad areas handy board, the battery, and a number of small components that could furnish a better look to our robot. In addition, we made use of the linking parts to a large extent that is on grey to join the parts which we experienced a few difficulties in connecting them together. Assembly Part – (Name of team member who did this part) Grabbing Mechanism The hardest part of the whole project was finding a solution to the problem of grabbing flip over the puck. So as to come across a superior and realistic arm, we stumbled upon a possible like way out on the internet (Williamson, 1998). The ultimate form of the grabbing piece of equipment has two motors; the work of one of the motors was to spin the arm, while the other motor had to push the meteorite aside. Chassis The chassis had to have enough strong in order to give support to handy board, batteries, and all the other sensors that the robot needed. Figure XI Sensors (Name of team member who did this part) It is worth noting that sensors are the most significant components of the robot (â€Å"How to Make a Robot – Lesson 7: Using Sensors†, 2011). When robots have them, they are able to feel, look at and make out the disparity in their surroundings. To enable the robot to verify whether there existed a puck or meteorite in the vicinity of the loading area, we employed one blue led as well as one phototransistor. The purpose of the blue LED was to give off a light beam that would be used by the phototransistor. There are cases when the beam light would be broken; this means that a puck or meteorite is in the loading region. After verifying this and finding a puck in the region, the function of the second phototransistor was to verify the colour of the puck. Readings ranged from 50 to 185 for the red puck. On the other hand, readings were larger than 200 for blue puck. The function of the third phototransistor was to rummage around for the base light with the intention of finding a way back to the base. In case the indicated value was less than 10, this showed the correct direction to the base. An infra red (IR) emitter/detector was made use of with the purpose of determining the exact location of the base. In case the indicated value was higher than 236, then the location of the black line and subsequently, the location of the goal area was illustrated. In addition, the Infra red (IR) range finder was employed in the verification of the ultimate position of the goal area. Lastly, the 4 micro switches were used to †Å"feel† the obstacles as the robot moved around. Motors and the Motor drive mechanism As a result of restriction on the available materials and constituent parts of LEGO, the drive mechanism was made to order for two motors. Figure XII The steering mechanism of the robot was very heavy. The robot used big wheels at the front, and small ones at the rear. The option of making use of rear small wheels was attributed to minimising friction, as well as having a good manoeuvrability. The robot created had major strength; it was very robust. The robustness of the robot ensured that it continued to manoeuvre in every environment it was subjected to. Conclusion This project report has covered all the things the team worked on in the hope of producing a successful robot. In addition, the report also looked at the constituent parts that were used to create the robot, and how the team employed them with the aim of building a physically powerful and innovative robot that could not be easi ly damaged or broken. In addition to that, the project report offers a number of concise ideas in relation to the Interactive C (IC) program and the Handy board. The IC program was used to program the robot so that it could be able to perform the mission as the team wanted it to do. I believe that this activity was an extremely interesting experience. The fact that were could be responsible for creation of a robot that could do a fine job by holding a verifying, collecting and putting a puck in its rightful place as the required by the task. The only initial challenge we faced was the manner in which we could thrust the arms of the robot into the exact place, and how the team could make them turn. This was soon overcome and the team successfully completed the task. References Brooks. R.A. (1986) A robust layered control system for a mobile robot. IEEE Journal of Robotics and Automation, RA-2:14–23. â€Å"How to Make a Robot – Lesson 7: Using Sensors.† (2011) [WW W] Go Robotics. Availalble from  https://www.robotshop.com/community/blog?page=1 . Jones, J.L., Flynn, A. M. and Seiger, B.A., 1999. Mobile Robots: Inspiration to Implementation. Massachusetts: A K Peters, Ltd. Martin, F.G., 2001. Robotic Explorations: a Hands-on Introduction to Engineering. Massachusetts: Prentice Hall. Martin, F.G.,1994. Circuits to Control: Learning Engineering by Designing LEGO Robots, doctoral dissertation, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, Massachusetts Inst. of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. McKerrow, P.J., 1993. Introduction to Robotics. Boston: Addison-Wesley. Overmars, M., 2000. Lego robots tips and tricks. [WWW] Web. Papert S. and Harel, I. eds.,1991. Constructionism. Westport, Conn.: Ablex. Sutton, R.S. and Barto, A.G.,1998. Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press. Williamson, B., 1998. The Lego: FetchBot. [WWW] Freelug. Available from  http://perso.freelug.org/benw/fetchbot/index.html . This report on Meteorite or Puck Hunt: Autonomous Mobile Robot was written and submitted by user 3-D Man to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Lost Tools of Writing Sample Essay

Lost Tools of Writing Sample EssayIf you want to improve your grade in school, or at least your grade on a test, try the lost tools of writing sample essay. These will help you polish your essay skills and get a great grade!The example that is the classic example is one you will recognize because of the time period and the person it is from. Shakespeare wrote one of the greatest pieces of literature that has ever been written. But he didn't just write something at random and be done with it.In this classic essay he included facts that he was asked to research that would help him write his student paper. You can use the same techniques and tips to be successful as well. The lost tools of writing sample essay will help you get started and are ideal for those who just want to practice writing for one test.First off you need to know what you are doing, and do it right, in order to write a college essay. In the essay you should highlight your major points, use the proper grammar, and writ e about an issue that really matters to you. You should then organize the information and use good planning to get your point across in the best way possible.You should be able to pick up on the tone of your readers and your audience. Do they understand what you are trying to say? The lost tools of writing sample essay will help you and give you ideas on how to keep them informed about your topic.One important part of your essay is to understand how the present-day world works. It is a never ending battle to survive and not everyone is going to make it. Make sure that you address issues and problems that will help you find a way out of a tough situation.A good decision would be to write from the perspective of an expert. When you do that you will be able to understand the audience and have them believe that you are an expert.The lost tools of writing sample essay will help you hone your essay skills and get your essay accepted. And if you are not accepted you will get another chance . It is a wonderful tool for those who don't feel they are good enough to get a high grade and improve their grades.

Community in Two Novels essays

Community in Two Novels essays Community is often thought of as a town, city, or even neighborhood, but community can refer to just about any group who has common beliefs, common values, or some sort of commonality. Families are small communities, and so are schools, churches, and groups with like ideals or causes. Both of these novels concern communities, and how many of the novels' characters interact with communities, both small and large. Communities are made up of individuals, but unless the individuals conform to community standards, or feel comfortable with them, they will have an uneasy relationship with the community, and with themselves, just as these two novels so graphically illustrate. Both main characters in these novels have uneasy relationships with their family, which translate into uneasy relationships within their small community, and thus translate to uneasy relationships with their larger community. In "The Wars," Robert's estrangement from his family begins with the death of his sister Rowena, and his decision to join the army to fight in Europe, as this passage illustrates, "'You think Rowena belonged to you. Well I'm here to tell you, Robert no one belongs to anyone. We're all cut off at birth with a knife and left at the mercy of strangers. You hear that' Strangers. (Findley 23). Immediately the reader understands the depth of the division in the family, and how Robert is struggling with his identity in his small familial community, just as his mother, Mrs. Ross, will struggle with her identity in the larger community where they live after he leaves. Part of successful assimilation in a community is feeling comfortable and that you belong. In this case, Robert feels he has nothing in common with his mother, and so, leaves the family because the member he loved the most is gone. He is searching for himself, meaning in his life, and attempting to discover where he fits i...

A Modest Proposal With A New Critical Approach Essay -- Johnathan Swif

A Modest Proposal, by Jonathon Swift is very much an ironic persuasive essay. He is proposing the eating of babies as a way to help with poverty. Throughout the essay he makes many thought-out yet almost unthinkable arguments that support his proposal. You do however know he doesn't really want people to start eating babies. He is just trying to show a major problem in a shocking way. His arguments for the eating of babies are as follows: it would greatly reduce the number of poverty stricken people (especially children); it would give those same people income when they sold their children; the nation as a whole will have more money because of this new income; there would be more food for everyone (baby might even become a delicacy); people would save a lot of money by not having to support their children after the first year of birth; and finally, it would help out marriages since there would be less stress on the parents. These theories are stated and supported throughout Swift's essay. He uses the structure of the essay to help you get a good understanding of the material he is presenting. The basic structure of the essay starts out with him explaining the problem he plans to help solve, that Dublin is poverty stricken. There are too many beggars with way too many children. Next, he starts to subtly drop hints about his proposal. He explains that he is going to, "Humbly propose (his) own thoughts," and that he hopes they, "Will not be liable to the least objection."(Abcarian, 629) He continues by further explaining some of his proposal's benefits, then in a list fashion states the six main arguments for it. Swift then adds his last few reasons why people should consider h t before he is about to say something horrible. This is ironic because it is not expected. The speaker has just totally changed his tone. The biggest use of irony is situational irony. The whole proposal is absurd and the speaker kn ows it. He is proposing the idea to show the larger picture. That there is no solution to this problem, and no one has any useful ideas. The eating of babies is utterly outlandish which is precisely why he chose it. The speaker of this modest proposal uses irony to create a tension that helps to convey a certain message. That message is that even though this may be a totally outrageous proposal, no one can complain or judge until they have a proposal of their own. Works Cited Fish,Tom. "The Literary Criticism." http://www.cumber.edu/litcritweb/# Lynch, Jack. "New Criticism." http://newark.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Terms/newcrit.html

Worldview Beliefs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Worldview Beliefs - Essay Example This essay demonstrates and shows that what a person looks like at the present does not matter because as we age, our looks also change so that although we may have once been physically beautiful, with time, this beauty is eroded by age and what is left behind is a shadow of what we once were. However, I believe that inner beauty lasts forever because our character and our actions tend not to change as fast as our physical beauty does. An example of this is the way people care for others and one of these is my best friend who has influenced my worldview on this matter. She is a kind, loving, and helpful person and she has the ability to make others feel better, which makes her a treasured friend to have. In conclusion, I believe that the world would be a better place if only all of us could treat each other with respect and tolerance. We should seek to understand and appreciate that people have diverse opinions due to their backgrounds and experiences in life before passing any judgm ent, as this would stop many of the prejudices which some of us have against others. In addition, I am of the opinion that for people to experience greater success in life they have to develop the virtue of perseverance considering that every undertaking has its challenges. In addition, inner beauty, as opposed to the physical outer beauty, is very important since it outlasts the later. Moreover, inner beauty concerns inherent good characters other than the outward impression, which is often deceiving.... Doing so has also helped me to develop very close friendships with people who I would otherwise have not have had any time for and this has ensured that I have developed friendships which have filled my life. It has enabled me to develop the necessary social skills to interact confidently with people from different backgrounds on an equal basis without any feeling of superiority on my part. Many people consider the ability not to give up or perseverance a virtue and in fact, the majority of the world religions encourage it in their followers. Perseverance, from ancient times, has been one of the keys to success and it is very difficult to achieve any level of success without it. I believe that it involves the ability to be committed to a task that one has set for him or herself, to be able to work hard towards it, and to have the patience and endurance to make sure that this task is fulfilled satisfactorily. Never giving up also involves the ability to be able to bear the difficultie s that one is facing calmly and without any complaint because these tend to explain why many fail to succeed in whatever they are doing. A good example of perseverance is the one that the Wright Brothers had when they were attempting to make a flying machine. Many people had no faith that they would be able to make it and in fact, some even tried to discourage their attempts. Despite all this, the Wright brothers became even more determined to achieve their goal, it is this ability of never giving up that made them create the first airplane, and that is why we are able to travel by air today. There are many definitions of beauty but one of the most of these definitions tends to be based on the physical

Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 20

Project management - Essay Example The vision of ASAP entails; realizing a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable Africa, through high quality education. The main objective of the project is to improve the quality of public education in East Africa. In order to achieve its mission and objectives, and work towards realizing vision, the company has adopted effective strategies. The strategies entail seeking the expertise of fulltime and volunteer staffs, and the financial support from international donors. The financial support has enabled ASAP to partner with the community to build schools; for instance, Miririni Secondary School and Chole Primary School. The volunteer program enables groups of Americans to visit during the summer, and assist in building or renovating a school in rural Africa. ASAP has partnered with several international partners, to ensure the success of its quality education activities. The organization is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative. The project used the Millennium Development goals as a guideline, and also benchmark for monitoring and evaluation