Coffee Storm - Space Apps Challenge

Coffee Storm | Create a Mascot

Create a Mascot

The world is full of scientific information that can help us make informed decisions and take action. However, that information is not always accessible to young learners. Your challenge is to create a mascot that can help make learning about Earth and space science more fun and welcoming for younger audiences.

Peregrine falcon

Summary

We wanted to create a dissemination tool, which would facilitate access to information directly from NASA to the youngest, that would serve both enthusiasts and teachers. Our project includes both a PC version (Linux and Windows) and an Android version, as well as an Arduino-based 3D printing model of the mascot for those interested in robotics.

How We Addressed This Challenge

At first we opted for the mixed hawk, Parabuteo unicinctus (scientific name), it is an imposing looking bird of prey that inhabits Argentine soils, as well as in the vicinity of Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Spain in the southern United States and Mexico. It moves in open natural as well as urban areas. We were looking for a pet that made reference to exploration, that was sociable, we remember it and say to expose it since it is popular in our province because from the Department of Fauna and Directorate of Natural Resources of Mendoza, the care of the species is promoted since they are natural controllers, that is to say that being natural predators they help with pest control.

rough the research process we concluded that the Mixed Hawk did not reflect the message we wanted to convey, so we preferred to change it for the Pelegrino Falcon, it is a type of bird of prey belonging to the Falconidae family. It is a large hawk, the size of a crow, with the bluish-gray back and whitish underside with dark spots; the head is black and has a broad and characteristic mustache also black in color. A species with a wide distribution, present on all continents except Antarctica. Currently, it is protected internationally. It transmits directly what our project wants to express at a significant level. This message is that of vision and knowledge, as it is also recognized from the European, German and war tradition as a solar emblem, relating it to success and victory. From history we can say that the sun and light mean wisdom. It is also related to the ability to focus, freedom and determination. With the team, we seek that people have a genuine interest regarding art and science and we interpret that these are the necessary values so that they can grow not only in those areas but also personally. To generate that interest regarding new technologies, and an approach to art, we decided to create an application for both computers and mobile devices, in which user interaction with NASA information via APIs is allowed; where you can view real-time data from satellite information or alert of both Earth and astronomical phenomena. With the aim of awakening the vocation at an educational level and generating curiosity.

We developed a play-oriented software (where we incorporate the mascot) in which the information from NASA image galleries is displayed, depending on how the mascot is played (changing the environment, costumes, etc.). It serves as a dissemination tool for the youngest, showing public information that is difficult to access, providing a fun interface that encourages curiosity and discovery. We believe that our solution can perform well in classrooms as a tool for teachers, being a tool to encourage the discovery and development of scientific and artistic vocations among the youngest, as well as for enthusiasts. the project also includes a printable 3d model version of the mascot, and an introduction to robotics using Arduino, where the mascot can be built and placed on the desktop via USB, simultaneously reacting to its peer within the interface.

The environment where the pet is is what determines what type of information will be received. For this project the parallax effect was used, moving different two-dimensional images to generate the perception of movement.

Download (win64): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1tdSqZyhkrbsne-EWNPxnluQspkuZOH7u (Download all and open the .exe file)

Download Arduino code: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PyuBI3w3v32dm_DdXCaQZOSKZ6ZEkgtZ/view

Download 3D files: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11BGlpFPgk_4ck902oGjuqXqk8kQ8oSUB

Tutorial of robotics: https://coffeestorm.wixsite.com/website-2

How We Developed This Project

We believe that it is an area where all members can take advantage of and highlight all our knowledge, to provide an educational level a tool for scientific dissemination, thus generating, through various resources, the fusion of art and science.

The focus at all times was to achieve learning, that they understand how important it is and how close the tools are, both with our project and with other disciplines, that they can feel the vocation perhaps for areas of study that they did not know, and that they can enjoy it in the process

We made sketches by hand, we used gimp 2 to digitize them. we use the IDE of processing mainly to program in java, thinkercad for 3d designs, arduino for robotics.

The fundamental thing in this team was the organization of the activities to be carried out, so that each one could express their knowledge to the maximum as well as perform and perform certain tasks not very common in their comfort area. We all learned something new, since in the case of coordination, for example of visual arts, programming and electronics, at one point it seemed to be very difficult, the use of specific terminologies of the careers of each member of the team was different, and the fundamental thing in that The problem presented to us is having the constant interest in learning and contributing, that was the achievement of the team, that despite the fact that there were too many simultaneous tasks and in areas that we had never worked on, there was perseverance to reach our goal.

How We Used Space Agency Data in This Project

We use 2 open APIs from NASA, APOD (astronomy picture of the day) and NASA Image and Video Library. Our program takes images, names and descriptions using these APIs and displays them as a Gallery, depending on the pet's environment. the images provide interesting data and clicking on them in the browser takes you to the source, to learn more. Each planet requests a different quest, depending on which one it is. The earth provides atmospheric, satellite data, etc. while moon and mars data from current missions, Europa (Jupiter's moon) gives us general information about the solar system, and the space location, extra solar cosmic phenomena. We were interested in using these data specifically because they are not easy for young people to find, and in this way we would give access to this information to a wide audience and we would provide a fun and educational dissemination tool for teachers.