A useful resource made its way into my Twitter feed recently. Yes, it comes as a surprise to me as well that I write “useful” and “Twitter” in the same sentence. As we continue to take action on diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM, we need to learn more about the common critiques and responses that pop up in conversations. From arguments involving reverse discrimination and hiring based on merit alone, to there not being enough persons of color who want to work in STEM, this guide provides resources for more fruitful discussions. The original documents can be found here and I’ve included the PDF on my website just to have a local copy. Have a look.
Final project of the summer
So I’ve wrapped up my final project of the summer. During the pandemic, I’ve been brushing up on my electronics and learning how to use the Unreal Engine to create video games. I wanted to see if I could tie those two ideas together. Watch the video below to see how it’s possible to create a video game that requires you to know what is going on in the physical world. In this case, the color of an LED connected to a microcontroller informs the gamer which colored sphere to shoot.
UE4: Editor assist
I’m continuing to wrap up some summer projects before school starts. I’ve been learning how to create games in Unreal Engine over the past few weeks. One tool that I’ve found handy has been the ability to use Blueprints while in the editor to make life easier. This is one such example, where I use Blueprints to place an actor where the in-editor camera is located.
Web-enabled games
Summer is almost over, and I am cranking through a bunch of projects I had wanted to complete. One of them was to spend as much time as possible learning how to make video games.
I don’t have any delusions of grandeur; however, I do have a fantasy of being able to combine game making with electronics and making in order to design a game that interacts with the physical world. In order to do that, I need a way for the game to communicate with the physical world.
In a previous post, I highlighted some of the things I learned during my first 100 hours with the Unreal Engine. That was enough time (with the right tutorials) to build a simple game called Chicken in the Lab where your a Chicken, in a lab, collecting elements. The trick is that you have to collect them in order of atomic number, so it can be a bit of a challenge.
With some general knowledge on game design using the Unreal Engine, I wanted to learn how a game could interact with the world outside of the game. There’s a plugin called VaREST which allows the game to communicate via REST API calls; however, the documentation on the plugin is virtually nonexistent. I decided to demonstrate how I got it working primarily to have all of this information in one place when I need it again, but perhaps it will be of use to someone.
Continue readingVolume measurements on 3D objects
When creating objects for 3D printing, I find I often want to know the volume. In one particular instance, I am making what is called a low pressure drop static mixer and would like to know what volume of a channel is with the mixer installed. Turns out that the problem is easy to solve, so long as you know the right tricks.
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