Robotics Society Budget Request: Mace

How much you are requesting in total? £2500How will the budget be spent? The primary use of funding within the Robotics Society is for equipment. In order to keep the society as inclusive and appealing as possible, all robotics kit is provided by the society, allowing the members to focus on what to do with it, rather than where they will get it from. This equipment is both componentry (microcontrollers, single board computers, sensors, actuators) and consumables (solder, sheet plastics and 3D printing filament etc). The componentry will be inventoried, and students will be allowed to keep it if they are judged to have used it sufficiently.

An example of the componentry side is the buggy kit we provide to new members of the society. They will be spending the first semester assembling the kit and learning how to interface with the included Arduino. More experienced members of the society will be providing guidance by running workshops on topics like general robotics, programming, 3D printing etc. In the second semester they will get the opportunity to further upgrade their buggy or introduce their own projects. The society also plans to purchase a set of tool kits for students outside EEE to borrow during the sessions. At the end of each session they will be returned to a committee member and checked for their condition. Furthermore, considering feedback from last year’s members, the society has decided to hold socials every second month. These socials will serve to enhance the sense of community within the society and provide an opportunity for members to enjoy some food and activities (like gaming and the end-of-year buggy challenges). How many students will benefit from your activities?The society continues to grow in popularity. At the MACE Welcome Fair we received __+ sign up signatures, the EEE and Physics Fairs provided us with another 130+. We have yet to advertise to the School of Computer Science from which we are hoping for some additional signups.

Following the fading of the inevitable Freshers’ Week enthusiasm, we predict a group of between 50-60 students attending the society regularly, around 30-40 of which will be newcomers this year. These students come from all years, even ranging up to PhD level. The society is making a concerted effort to better integrate members from all schools as we believe this will lead to a larger variety of cross disciplinary projects being produced. Is the society a cross school society if so which Schools are involved and do they contribute to funding?Yes, we are a cross school society and accept interested students from any school. However, most of the society’s members are students from EEE and MACE, while students from other schools like Physics and Computer Science are beginning to show more interest. The society is applying for funding from EEE. It will also be contacting the Schools of Physics and Computer Science regarding the possibility of additional financial help. We will not be pursuing any external sources of funding (corporate sponsorship, SU funding, etc. ) at this point. Addendum, as provided before here is a description of the society:“The Robotics Society is a student-led society which aims to encourage students of all levels to get involved in robotics. It offers a great opportunity to develop your practical skills outside of the course curriculum; you’ll be able build exciting projects with state-of-the-art technology in a relaxed environment. More importantly, it’s a great chance to meet others who are interested in robotics. The society is open to students from across the university, at all study levels. We have members studying the Foundation Year through to Postgraduates, who are on a range of courses such as EEE, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science and Physics.

We run workshops in Semester 1 where we teach participants some of the basics of robotics, such as programming and electronic and mechanical design (including 3d printing). Throughout the semester we encourage members to be actively thinking of ideas for a robotics-based project, then as Semester 1 draws to a close, we’ll work together to form a manageable plan which you can work on in Semester 2. This is where the fun starts!We’ll order everything you need for your robot and open up our large robotics research lab to you – providing everything you need to get it built and start using it. There’s a range of robotics postgraduate expertise on hand when you hit a sticking point, or just to discuss which direction to take your design, as well as the society’s online community to take advantage of.