In my freshman year of college, I participated in an engineering class that took part in an Over-Terrain Vehicle project (OTV). This vehicle was to be designed over the course of the semester; our mission was to navigate an obstacle course as displayed in the video, as well as detect topography and sense the presence of and put out candles.
What I wish to highlight about this experience was the navigational aspect, as this is where my efforts went. I was the head of the navigation code for our team, and by learning how to use Arduino myself and working with my team members, we were able to achieve perfect navigation marks in the test run. Additionally, we were invited to compete in a final showcase for the top-scoring teams.
Working with my team was a great experience, and it taught me a lot about how to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of your group. Through setbacks, we learned how important it was to plan, prepare, and critically think to achieve a goal; through success, we learned just how much each and every one of us loves and is proud to collaborate and be engineers.
